Help save the world from Toxic Toys
I must premise this post with the statement that this is my understanding of the situation, and as I am Australian rather than American I might be a bit whack a do when it comes to how things work in the USA – I’m open to being corrected, just don’t flame my ass, ok!
So what is Dildology?
Dildology noun Dil–dol-o-gy [dil–dol–uh-jee]
The study of dildos and sex toys to determine exactly which materials they are made from with the view to having truthful & accurate product labelling in the future, hopefully saving the world from toxic toys.
Not everyone knows that sex toys can be made from materials that could have negative side effects. Heck, most of us don’t really know what exactly is in our food, so I can’t say that I’m surprised. In both cases we trust that our governments and consumer safety authorities have our backs. And they do… to an extent. But as the Sex Toy industry is completely unregulated there are ways for manufacturers to circumvent things by using that god awful Novelties label.
Novelties? I think NOT
There is nothing ‘novel’ about having a sore, red, inflamed and itchy vagina due to a sex toy being made out of sub-standard, possibly porous, possibly toxic materials despite the fact it is sold as a toy made from Silicone.
Many sex toys get labelled as ‘novelties’. This is done so that manufacturers don’t have to undertake the rigorous testing and undergo the scrutiny of the FDA that is required for an item to be approved for use as a ‘medical device’ – which is the category into which vibrators and dildos fall due to their interaction with our bodies. When labelled and sold as novelties, rather than as medical devices, companies aren’t required to divulge the exact makeup of the materials used in the toys construction. And in order to legally label a novelty product as being made of silicone said item only needs to contain 10% silicone – it’s such BS!
This leaves an awful lot of grey area that many companies can AND DO unscrupulously exploit.
As consumers we are unprotected. The sex toy industry is not regulated manufacturers can do what they like without consequence, but for their customers the consequences range from irritation, itching & swelling all the way through to cancer and birth defects. The ownice/responsibility is deflected from big business onto us. As consumers we need to be savvy & do our research to ensure we don’t buy unsafe products.
Luckily we do have some companies that want to do the right thing. They haven’t gone through the expensive and lengthy process of FDA approval for their products, however they are still self regulating and adhering to the same conditions they would need to if they did wish to get such approval. But these companies are the minority.
There needs to be a way to accept sex toys as their own category so that they don’t need the stringent examinations required for medical items so that they can be regulated and have in place for consequences for failure to adhere to regulations. It seems insane to me that this whole huge chunk of consumer products aren’t governed by anyone at all.
Where sex bloggers and adult product reviewers come in
I feel that as sex toy reviewers we are in some ways forming our own grass roots style of governing agency. We are where savvy consumers turn to in order to find out if adult products really are what they say they are, Whether they are as long and as wide as the products specs state, as strong and whisper quiet as they claim or living up to other claims made by the makers or printed on their package. We are on the frontlines informing consumers whether these items are being marketed truthfully or whether its a load of crap. Whilst we can easily measure the size of a toy and test to see if it really is waterproof or whisper quiet, we are unable to tell you whether a toy is made from what they say it is – let alone share exactly what the toy is truly made of. We simply don’t have the tools to test materials1 and GC Mass Specs aren’t exactly cheap!
And So they founded Dildology.org
This is why Dildology.org was conceived by Dangerous Lilly, Crista Anne and XVO – to act as an independent body to test whether sex toys are really made of what they claim to be. Dildology was created so that we (we as in the sex toy reviewers, retailers and lovers of sex toys all united) can test some of these toys and create a database of the information, which will be available to the public, therefor allowing us all to make more informed choices. Hopefully as Dildology.org start collecting and collating data it will be able to be used to help prove how desperately the industry needs regulation and ‘fingers crossed’ start the ball rolling to exact some major changes in the industry. It shouldn’t be up to us, but no one else is doing it.
It’s a worthy project and a cause that needs your support!
The only issue is that this testing is ridiculously expensive and as Dildology doesn’t generate any revenue so as to remain independent, we need the help of as many supporters as possible. Thus Dildology needs donations from wonderful sex toy lovers as yourself to get started. And in return for your donations and pledge of support they have some benefits to share with you, their much appreciated donors.
- If everyone who reads this post were to donate a dollar we could raise enough to buy a couple of the toys to test.
- If everyone who reads this donates $15 that could buy all the toys for the initial phase of testing and in return each of you will receive a discount from SheVibe.com Or my lovely new site sponsor MissX.com.au for us Aussie guys & gals.
- There are also cool stickers and sexy t-shirts for those who Donate $25 or $50.
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Most Importantly of all When they finally do bring in regulations covering the sex toy industry you can say “I helped to make that happen!”
How Do I Donate?
You can either visit Dildology.org and donate via your Paypal account or you can pledge your support via their campaign on the adult friendly crowdsourcing site Offbeatr (Think Indigogo, but for sex stuff) where they are hoping to raise the $3,000 needed to get the initial database built and help get the first batch of toys bought and tested.
To find out more about what Dildology are doing and to discover just why their mission is so very important visit them at Dildology.org. You will also find them on twitter and facebook so that you can stay alerted to discover who is and who isn’t telling the truth about their products materials.
Violet xx
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