Dildo

Dildos are a type of sex toys that resemble a human penis and that is used for penetration during masturbation or during sex with two or more partners. Other sex toys that may or may not fall into this category according to clitoris.com include vibrators, prosthetic aids and other products that despite not identically looking like a phallus, are indeed meant to be used for vaginal penetration. The history of the dildo is almost as old as sex itself, with upper Paleolithic artifacts having been found that were arguably used for sexual purposes, although archaeologists have not  reached a decisive conclusion. Nevertheless, dildos were mentioned as far back as 411 BC in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata.

Dildos were made with rubber in the 1940′s with an inner steel spring that provided firmness  but could also proved dangerous. Later PVC dildos were made with softer filler and are still inexpensively available today. However, PVC and jelly rubber sex toys contain plasticizers that have been associate with cancer and other health conditions. Silicone rubber has probably been the most popular material since it was introduced in the 1990′s, but there are other elements involved in the manufacture of dildos, such as steel, wood, glass and cyberskin, which is the material that comes closer to the feel of human skin.

There are different types of dildos available, including double-ended dildos, strap on and anal dildos. The strap on can be worn around the waist over the penis, or in lieu of it. They are fastened with a harness and can be used in much the same way an actual penis would, for solo or mutual masturbation and penetrative oral, anal and vaginal sex. However, lubricant use is recommended to facilitate insertion. Harnesses can be two-strap, three-strap, built into corsets and other clothing apparels and can be made with nylon, leather, cloth, plastic, latex, rubber and PVC. As for the dildo part of the strap on, it can be standard, probe, g-spot and prostate, textured, vibrating and rotating and double penetration, which are two dildos attached to a common base design for simultaneous vaginal and anal penetration, and should not be confused with double-ended dildos. The strap on wearer can also find pleasure from contact against the genitals, especially the clitoris, and many features can be added to increase enjoyment, such as raised bumps, vibrators and internal plugs. A major appeal of the strap on is that it allows a woman to penetrate another women, or even a man.

Anal dildos are more frequently known as butt plugs. As the name implies, anal dildos are inserted into the rectum to achieve sexual pleasure. They are different from regular ones in that they are usually shorter and feature a flare end in order to keep it from slipping whole inside the anus, where it would become irretrievably lost, except by surgical means. This is important because whereas the vagina is blocked by the cervix, the rectum leads into the sigmoid colon, through which a item could travel to the bowel. Furthermore, the shorter length of the butt plug impedes it from perforating the lower bowel. Copious amounts of lubricant are recommended to be used with this and any other practices that include anal penetration. As with dildos, butt plugs can be designed to follow several different color patterns, shapes, sizes and textures. Latex is the most common material, but silicone, neoprene, wood, metal, glass and others may also be used. Vibrating, expanding, inflatable and electro-stimulating butt plus are also available.

Double ended dildos offer many options such as vagina to vagina, vagina to anus and anus to anus penetration. They can have traits such as anal and vaginal stimulators on a single shaft, kits of two separate vibrators and double sided hands and strap free dildos.