RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – About a year ago, a hitherto unknown term began to emerge in Google searches and in the subsequent months it would become very popular: the Satisfyer.
The search peak coincided with Christmas 2019 and later the March confinement because of Covid-19, which suggests that the clitoral sucking device was as good a gift in the holidays as a companion during confinement.
In the coming months, it is quite possible that the trend will be repeated, although this time the term in searches will not be the Satisfyer, but the Arcwave Ion, a sexual toy that promises men orgasms as intense as women’s.
Manufactured by WOW Tech, a company that also commercializes the Womanizer (a clitoral sucking toy that was overshadowed by the Satisfyer’s aggressive advertising campaign), the Arcwave Ion is the result of two years of research, more than a dozen prototypes, and a process of experimentation with real men, which bases its efficiency on a little known anatomical issue: the close resemblance between the penis and the vagina in terms of nerve endings.
Based on this, the Arcwave Ion employs pulsating air waves to stimulate the frenulum, the lower part of the tip of the penis that connects the glans to the foreskin and contains the same nerve endings as the clitoris.
Although the Satisfyer and Womanizer’s popularity is largely due to the process of de-stigmatization of female desire triggered by box-office hits such as Fifty Shades of Gray, their movie adaptations or initiatives such as tuppersex, the extent to which a masturbator for men can repeat this success is not as clear.
On the one hand, male desire is not exactly surrounded by taboos; on the other, men may be buyers of sex toys, but they are reluctant to be their users. According to a survey conducted by Appinio in July 2020, in which 7,000 men and women from 14 countries were involved, one-third of those interviewed considered that it is much more acceptable for women to use a sex toy than men. Data that explain why manufacturers and the male audience have not yet connected.
“The market is still searching for a way to arouse men’s interest in this kind of product”, comments Miguel Vagalume. According to the sexologist specialized in sex therapy, couples, and several relational models, “for male masturbation, there are already many supports. In addition to pornography or chats, there are many realistic replicas of penises, vaginas, anuses, and silicone mouths like the Fleshlight or dolls that reproduce the bodies of porn stars.
Although it is true that with the Arcwave Ion the stimulation system changes, since it uses air rather than vibration, we cannot forget that there have been penile masturbators of this type for a long time. For instance, the Cobra, from Fun Factory, which is also featured in black and with an automotive design because, for the male public, these toys are marketed as if they were the engine of a car or a gun.”
“When it comes to stimulation, and this is the key aspect of the Arcwave Ion, a penis looks a lot like a vulva. Therefore, according to Miguel Vagalume, “men could perfectly use conventional vibrators, but there are many prejudices”. One of these prejudices is to focus the importance of male masturbation on erection. “The lack of it is so problematic that men don’t let themselves be carried away by the curiosity to try new things. That’s why they constantly seek effectiveness, performance, and ideal functioning as if masturbation were an Olympic discipline.”
Another of these prejudices regarding male masturbation refers to orgasm and its constant comparison with female orgasm. According to Vagalume, “focusing all attention on orgasm has the same effect as focusing on erections. In other words, although it complicates things much more for people, the industry, whether with viagra and the like, or with all kinds of toys to have “better” orgasms, will benefit.
So, far from what we have learned all along, orgasm is not meant to be like a job. It doesn’t have to be effective and perfectible thanks to an increasingly “better” technology, be it a vibrator, a sucker, a gel, or a ring. Orgasms get much better if you feel at ease about your future job, if you have time to rest or connect with the people you love.”
In conclusion, Miguel Vagalume points out another detail to consider when dealing with these products: in a world of fluid and non-binary sexualities, sex toys are no longer so much for men or women, because “orgasms are not male or female, but occur in penises or vulvas. Therefore, I think that in time it will be realized that there is simply one type of toy more appropriate for penises and others more appropriate for vulvas,” regardless of the gender with which users identify.
Source: El País