Sex toys gaining popularity in Nigeria – especially among women
Sex Toys
SEX toys are increasingly finding their ways into the Nigerian market by the day and becoming a habit among women.
The Free Encyclopedia describes a sex toy as “an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure such as a dildo or vibrator.” Sex toys evolved about 26,000 years ago and were created for different purposes.
Some believe that the creation of sex toys was an after-thought, after the evolution of condoms, while others cite instances as far back as 1869 Victorian period in Britain when doctors treated hysterical women by masturbating them.
Doctors in those days were said to have complained of wrist ache while carrying out the act (masturbating
patients), which prompted George Taylor to invent the first steam-powered vibrator.
Taylor’s invention was not the only sexual object as it became popular with time and inspired others like Frank Young in 1892 to patent a ‘rectal dilator’, while in 1904, a group of French sailors devised the ‘dame de voyage’ which later became blow-up dolls that is still in use up till this present time, for sexual pleasure.
Many scientists opined that ‘sex, which is as old as time, gives meaning to sex toys to be as old as the act itself’.
The use of sex toys as a means of masturbation, which has for sometime now been an object of moral and spiritual controversy among renowned religious leaders (who either oppose or support it), is alien to African culture and can be said to have found its way into the society through inter-racial marriages, education and Western influence.
In Nigeria today, it is no longer a surprise to know that sex toys have taken the hearts of a number of women, irrespective of their ages or social backgrounds. It has also become popular among students. In fact, it is not unusual now a days for your 14-year-old teenager to have a dildo which she uses to pleasure herself.
Shops where these toys are sold are all over Lagos and Abuja. Names of shops like Perfect Herbals, Skin Perfector, Divine Healers, Crush World, Libido, Smarties, to name just a few, are known to clients for trading in sex toys.
In Lagos today, it is easier to buy sex toys as many magazines carry adverts on where the shops are located. And many big girls have been found to have keyed in to the new way out of fun starvation.
A visit by Saturday Tribune Ikeja, Lagos, revealed more than 20 shops that deal in toys, ranging from dildos, penile rings, and massagers to vibrators, with prices ranging from N5000 to N30,000 depending on what you want.
Many sex toys traders were unwilling to talk to Saturday Tribune on what they sell, and one of them, after pleading for anonymity, eventually made a lot of startling revelations, and announced that “most of my buyers come here with their husbands. The husbands are fond of saying they prefer having a toy as a competitor.”
The trader, whose shop was stocked with top-of-the-range sex products, disclosed that she imported her goods from the United States and had been selling sex toys since three years ago when many customers walked in and were dejected when they found she was not selling such things.
She told Saturday Tribune that at times, she makes about N1million monthly from selling the products. She also revealed that most of the sales she makes daily are from men who buy the products for their wives, that she has a number of clients that order for toys, which she delivers personally to them.
She sells a range of toys, like the Caucasian-toned toys (for those who have fantasies of sleeping with white men) and double vibrators for lesbians. She also claimed that some women prefer the toys they believe come in the sizes of their husband’s sex organs.
The second shop visited by Saturday Tribune gave another insight into the sex-toy habits among women. Here, an artificial female organ was discovered, which is used by men to attain sexual pleasure.
The toy, which sells for N21,000, is said to be very rare as it does not sell fast compared to other toys designed for women.
It is believed that a high percentage of top class Nigerian women own a vibrator while others own more than one. The habit is said to be common among couples who live apart; widows, single women, divorcees and even married women.
A female journalist, who spoke on the issue disclosed that the number of married women who use sex toys is amazing, adding that the toys know no barriers when it comes to age, class or marital status.
She further explained that people use them for different purposes, some for total satisfaction and others to combat loneliness.
When asked if she owns a sex toy, Nkechi Okoli, a 300-level Law student of the Lagos State University, quipped: ‘Why would I when there are many virile men around?’ On the contrary, Kehinde Yusuff, a nurse, disclosed that she has one, which keeps her healthy and prevents her from cheating on her partner, who, she said, is an engineer that travels around the country frequently.
When asked how the toys keep her healthy, she explained that a sex toy would not get her pregnant or give her sexually transmitted diseases. Another respondent, however, warned that sex toys, if not used and kept properly, could give the user bacterial infections.
Saturday Tribune also discovered that the use of sex toys had become a common topic among women, who now have special nicknames for their toys – which their husbands and partners may not understand when they mention them. For instance, a woman could tell her friends ‘Tarzan has been so busy this week’ (referring to the toy she uses to pleasure herself).
Commenting on the development, a medical doctor, Dr. Segun Olanrewaju, said there had been no medically tested adverse effects on the use of sex toys; and that the only effect is psychological, as it is possible for users to get so addicted to them that without using the toys, they can no longer get sexual pleasure.
Another medical practitioner, Dr Ireti Shofola, claimed that using sex toys is a good way of fostering peace and trust in the home. According to her, a husband that lives apart from the wife can easily understand the importance of a sex toy and may not suspect the wife of infidelity. But she also warned that the practice could lead to selfishness and addiction.
