How Many Women Use Vibrators?

“More than half of 2,056 women, aged 18 to 60, use a vibrator either during masturbation or intercourse”, says Debby Herbenick, PhD, MPH, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University, Bloomington, who led a survey, looking into vibrator use. The reason why is that many women need more stimulation than a hand, mouth or intercourse can give. When women look surprised and disturbed to hear this we often say, “is it unusual to need glasses to see better or to need running shoes to run better. These things are not necessary but they help us do what we want with more efficiency and more joy..the same is true for vibrators. Sure many women can enjoy sex and have orgasms without them but many women also find that the whole experience is far better with them.

Often with age, testosterone drops and a woman’s ability to have an orgasm becomes more difficult, may take longer and they may be weaker once she has them. A good vibrator can help with all these issues. The stigma around vibrator use has certainly lessened but hopefully some day it will be accepted just like anything else that makes  our health and our lives better.

 

The Intensity

The Intensity by JOPEN, claims to do many things. “After using Intensity, you will notice that all of your orgasms (both solo and with a partner) are more frequent and more intense.  This is because the internal stimulation strengthens your vaginal muscles and research has proven that stronger vaginal muscles result in more powerful and longer orgasms.”

For starters, It has not been proven that the internal stimulation strengthens your vaginal muscles. This claim bothered me a little because I love research but the truth is that this is a sex toy – so why do they need to prove anything? It really is just for pleasure. The device is actually called an “adult novelty product” and retails for $170. That price point is actually a little high for a vibrator, though my guess is that it is more costly because of the stimulation contacts.

Secondly, there is very little research to prove that stronger pelvic floor muscles actually improve your orgasms. Stronger pelvic floor muscles improve your vaginal health and can help with incontinence but claims that they improve your sexuality have yet to be substantiated.

Intensity was created by two doctors, Ryan Brown Cassaday and Jessica Cassaday. They are relationship experts and they have written a book called, “Stop Wondering if You’ll Ever Meet Him: A Revolutionary Approach for Putting the Date back into Dating”. Though that certainly qualifies them to talk about the importance of vibrators in a relationship, I do not think it qualifies them to make claims about the anatomical and biological benefits of the device.

Because I am in the business of reviewing vibrators I like to give everything a fair shot and I applaud innovation, but I would say the jury is still out on this one. The results were split, some liked it and some did not. The person who liked it she said she would have liked it even more if it was really improving her pelvic floor. The one who did not like it said she found the electro-stimulation an unpleasant feeling.

The company that makes the Intensity is now working on a new device created solely for pelvic floor strength and to treat incontinence. They are still awaiting FDA approval but the device and the preliminary research looks good.  If that device gets approved I would certainly give it a try and possibly recommend that, because I do believe all women need to have pelvic floor strength and this may be a good way to get it.