The decade of the 2000s has been fantastic for sex, porn, and the toys we use to make all infinitely better. Big names (like Lelo and JimmyJane) arrived on the scene and began questioning the idea that sex toys would resemble machine parts. That creativity is what has propelled the industry to where it is now.
There have been several particularly memorable events in the 2000s that have had an effect on the sales, distribution, and acceptance of different types of sex toys.
Adult material and pornographic websites.
Despite the fact that Playboy magazine had been around for decades, the early 2000s saw the emergence of a mainstream form of porn that seemed to normalize what it meant to be sexually curious in the twenty-first century.
In the spring of 2007, Pornhub, the visual porn juggernaut of the 2000s, opened. People all over the world now had access to adult content, resulting in an increase in sex toy sales. Along with that increase came another when adult films were licensed in video rental stores (I’ll keep your card in my wallet forever, Blockbuster.)
Grey’s Anatomy (50 Shades of Grey)
As much as I dislike including this (my feelings about the franchise are well-known at this point), 50 Shades of Grey ushered us even deeper into the normalcy of sexy toys, especially bondage toys, and we’re all grateful for it.
The 50 Shades of Grey franchise resulted in a massive spike in sex toy sales (up to 400 percent in some cases), with some of them also being themed to match the novels. Blindfolds, bondage accessories, and love balls/beads were the most common items at the time.
Podcasts and posts on sex
All can be written about in the modern era, but nothing hits like sex. Sex is a hot commodity. This has been the case for, well, ever. People are getting more comfortable talking about sex thanks to podcasts about kinks and fetishes (like our own Sofia Gray Show and others), which means more people are being clear about what they want in the bedroom, including the use of sex toys.
Sexy technology makes a huge step forward.
Although the evolution of sex toys is fascinating, we’re left wondering: where do we go from here? Even in the last few years, sex toy companies have shown (for lack of a better word) completely crazy creativity.
There are Bluetooth vibrators that monitor your orgasms using a sensor in the toy to help you keep track of your sex life, as well as vibrators that can be controlled remotely from anywhere on the planet. We’ve come a long way since stone dildos and bee-filled gourds.
The sex toy craze caused by the coronavirus
People have been trapped in their homes for weeks and months, only leaving for the necessities, as the global pandemic COVID-19 wreaks havoc in 2020. All of the stores were closed, but online stores were booming, and online sex toy retailers were no exception.