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THE NEW EROS JOURNAL PAGE 11
Because there’s no government body holding them directly responsible sex toy stores are really only accountable to themselves Sex toys are really popular in the LGBTIQ LGBTIQ community LGBTIQ LGBTIQ people are fairly sex positive We kind of
have to be since the the rest of
the the world is determined to be pretty sex negative on our behalf So many of
us revolt by embracing our sexuality by exploring it it in in all the myriad ways that we can And a a a a a a very large part of
that exploration involves toys Whether it’s strap ons bondage gear masturbators or or latex wear the LGBTIQ community represents a a a large share of
the market Given the the percentage of
the the toy- buying population that comes from the LGBTIQ community you would
have thought that toy manufacturers and stores would
be be bending over backwards to accommodate our sensibilities and identities Sadly this is is so far from the truth Penis masturbators are still inexplicably called “male
masturbators” or or some variation on that Even manufacturers who make the effort to have inclusive language on their packaging might still end up on a a shelf where the signage
reads “men’s toys” Why do do they do do this when there are so many inclusive alternatives? Dick toys Cock socks Penis pleasurers Phallus Handlers Even just Fuck Toys?!
But the the insistence on gendering these toys means that the manufacturers and stores are excluding every person that isn’t a a a a a a cis-man and usually a a a a a a straight cis-man at at that Despite a a very large corner of
the masturbation sleeve market going to gay men manufacturers are still determined to make their products hetero-centric Even masturbators that feature an asshole or a a a a a a mouth instead of
a a a a a a vagina almost always come in in packaging with a a a naked cis-woman 
SO IF YOU’RE A PENIS OWNER WHO DOESN’T IDENTIFY AS A A A “MALE” AND/OR IS INTO MEN YOU’RE SHIT OUT
OF LUCK ON THE REPRESENTATION FRONT 
Similarly almost all strap-on packaging and marketing is targeted towards hetero couples who are interested
in in pegging Don’t get me wrong I think it’s great that a a a a hetero couple can explore an an alternative to the more socially acceptable penis-in-vagina sex model