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The data provided by IMbesharam, a sexual wellness company shows that its female customers have increased from 20 per cent to 39 per cent in the last three years. Its order totals from women too have gone up from 18 per cent to 44 per cent during the same period.
“More and more women are now shopping for themselves or asking their partners to shop for them,” says Armani adding that he gets requests from couples for special gold plated vibrators as wedding gifts.
While it’s true that movies like Veere Di Wedding (known for actor Swara Bhaskar’s masturbation scene) and Lust Stories (showing actor Kiara Advani, climaxing under the effect of a vibrator), have played a role in the growing popularity and acceptance of sex toys, doctors too are now contributing to the mainstreaming of sexual wellness products.
“Some of the sexual wellness products sold by sex toy companies like premature ejaculation sprays, lubricants and suction devices for erectile dysfunction are actually medical products,”says Dr Ajit Saxena, uro-andrologist at Indraprastha Appollo Hospitals, New Delhi, who specialises in treating erectile dysfunction and prostate disease. “The good thing is that they are now easily available, encouraging many young doctors’ to prescribe them.”
But how effective are they?
“There are cases where sprays and suction devices have worked like magic where medicine has failed,” says Dr Saxena.
The pandemic has also triggered an interest in sexuality research among Indian researchers. Articles published in various scientific journals now regularly explore the sexuality-related implications of Covid-19. For example, the Journal of Psychosexual Health, published an article on ‘Sexual Behaviour during the Times of Covid-19 Lockdown in India’, recently.
The study confirmed the claims made by sex toy entrepreneurs. That people have started using remote-controlled sex toys, for sexual gratification, due to the fear of infection from kissing and touching. The Indian Institute of Sexology, Orissa, too came up with a report on ‘The Changing Scenes of Sexuality during Pandemic’ in its India Journal of Health, Sexuality and Culture. ‘Sexuality, sexual wellbeing and intimacy...’ was the focus of another article published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, a peer-reviewed journal from the Indian Psychiatric Society.