For consumers in Taiwan, the aim of the study is to understand the social perceptions and the acceptance of sex toys, the development context of sex toy industry as well as the impact on society. Moreover, this study intends to evaluate the current and future development of the sex product industry and to call for the government attention on this industry so as to protect the rights and interests of consumers. I have individual interviews and focus group discussions with sex toy consumers, manufactures, sale traders, scholars and graduate students of sexology. In the study, I get the following findings: First, sex toys have no longer been regarded as obscene products. Gradually, they have been accepted by society, sometimes, they could meet a wide range of sexual activities. Even they have been regarded as important implements of preventing venereal diseases and AIDS. Second, the consumption of sex toys is in a state of privacy and ambiguity. Consequently, there is a flourishing channel of network sales even if the physical layout of the store also has considerable privacy. Without rent fees, full-time labor costs, and product inventory, network sales have the advantage that consumers can see and tough the products and the products are guaranteed. In addition, consumers can get appropriate recommendation and guidance from the salespersons. Also, consumers can increase the safety of using sex toys. Third, complex laws of sex toys don¡¦t have comprehensive management. Law enforcement is not stabile and doesn¡¦t limit the qualification for sale traders. The organizations of the authorities which monitor sex toy industry are not united. Thus, the industry position of the sex toys is ambiguous. There are no guarantees for consumer¡¦s benefits. Fourth, there are no clear associations doing self-restraint in the industry. Therefore, the government has the obligations to manage and counsel the industry of sex toys. Allow the storekeepers of sex toys to have a good business environment, so the consumers will be benefited from these measures.

Thesis (M.A.)--Missouri State University, 2009. / "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-137). Also available online.

I have studied and investigated why sex toys for women look the way they do and what the norms are that affect the design and use of sex toys for women.Through the collected information, I have investigated what can be done better. I have chosen to write about this as I believe that the market that exists now is limited and does not meet the needs that exist from women today. The design is in my opinion outdated and strengthens norms and prejudices from the past and thus inhibits sexual health among women. I have contacted experts in the field to learn more, done user studies and read literature that is relevant and interesting for the work that can strengthen me in my own discoveries. The final product will serve as an example of how design can help strengthen healthy uses and stimulate sexual health in women, and the product will also serve as a response to how sex toys should be designed to suit the needs of the market. The report cannot answer exactly why sex toys are designed the way they do, but I have addressed history and cultural norms that could possibly explain the design and design choices for women's sex toys. I also discuss why it is important to change the look of sex toys for women.

Jag har studerat och försökt att undersöka varför förpackningar av sexleksaker ser ut som de gör och i processen har jag också undersökt hur deras visuella kommunikation uppfattas och vad som eventuellt skulle kunna göras bättre. Anledningen till denna uppsats är att min uppfattning av förpackningari sexleksaksindustrin är sexistisk, kränkandeoch framför allt består av dålig design. Jag redogör för litteratur som jag anser vara intressant för uppdraget och den behandlar både byggandet av varumärken och förpackningsdesign. En undersökning ochintervjuer med experter kommer också att presenteras. Slutligen gerdesignarbetet ett exempel på hur enstilren förpackningsdesign kan vara svaret påfrågan om hur man bäst kommunicerarförpackningen till en sexleksak.Uppsatsen är inte avgörande i den aspekten att den inte ger ett svar på varför paketenär utformade som de är, dockutvecklar jag vad några av möjligheternaskulle kunna vara. Till slut diskuterar jag varför det är viktigt att en förändring sker detta område av förpackningsdesign. / I’ve studied and tried to investigate why thepackaging of sex toys look like they do, andin the process I’ve also researched how theirvisual communication is perceived and whatcould possibly be made better. The reasonfor this thesis is that my opinion of packagingin the sex toy industry is sexistic, offensiveand mainly consistent of bad design. I reviewliterature that I consider to be interesting forthe mission and it treats both the building ofbrands and packaging design. A survey andexpert interviews will also be presented. Finallythe design work gives an example of how aclean package design can be the answer forthe question of how one best communicatethe packaging of a sex toy.The study is not conclusive in the aspect that itdoesn’t provide an answer to why the packagesare designed the way they are, I do howeverelaborate on what some of the possibilitiesmight be. In the end I discuss the importanceof why a change must be made in this area ofpackaging design.

The sex shop has existed as spatially Othered and ideologically transgressive. However, the last decades have witnessed both a literal and figurative move into a position of normalcy and legitimacy. Previous research conducted on this topic has covered this shift, and the importance of a “feminization” of the market for this to happen. While the previous research is extensive on the “new” sex shop, it has partly overlooked the hybridization of the traditional with the feminized. This essay has thus aimed to discern the trends of a “mixed-gender” sex shop, in order to both contribute to the understanding of the Swedish context as well as how class, gender, and past & present work as distinctions within this. The results show that a stereotypical femininity and masculinity is visually used by the store as tropes of distinction. As abstract ideals they converge in a rhetoric of an aspirational class, that sees knowledge as well as consumption as vital to a “sexual health”. However, while the commodities on offer are partly marketed with such sophistication, they are equally advertised as realistic resemblances of genitalia or parts of the body. Thus, the sophisticated consumption is diversified with a realistic, at times vulgar, address. The conclusive observation here is hence that the traditional sexuality-related consumption can coexist with a feminized version within one and the same store. Consequently, this essay sees that a plurality of desires is a part of the market’s continual expansion.

Material artefacts to be used during sex is today commonly known as “sex toys”. This thesis has aimed to understand the discursive practices preceding this late-modern conceptualization, and what the previous historical conceptualizations testified to in terms of sexual morality and constructions of sexuality. The focus has been on a Swedish expert-led discursive context, spanning from the late seventies to the mid-nineties. Despite a general idea of Swedish sexual progressiveness, the results show that the discourse around these objects were all but welcoming. The Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) considered the selling of “sexual technical aids” as a difficult topic. Good sexuality was to share an emotional loving connection. Thus, it should not overemphasize sex and the body, which sex aids did by being used for sexual functioning or corporeal sensations. I have shown how a discussion of sex aid-use by men with certain physical disabilities dealt with this problem, by providing a context of enabling sexual activity within a romantic union between the men and their partners. Thus, erective aids were especially in focus. I argue that this shows a somatification of male sexuality, which has previously been discussed as taking place in Sweden after the introduction of pharmaceutical erective pills in the late 1990s. Parallel to this, I show a development of heralding female use of “sex toys” in the early 1990s media. Whereas male masturbation with sexual objects were still ridden with an idea of social inadequacy, women were increasingly championed to consume to masturbate. I argue that the developments of how to conceptualize sex aids in Sweden indicate a larger discursive change regarding sexuality. Not only were men and women increasingly considered as beings with separate sexualities, and thus given separate sex aid-markets to court this – but acceptable sexual expression overall broadened. Good sexuality in the Swedish 1990s had begun to embrace the bodily sensations felt during sex, as well as accept sex itself as an independent aim, and in consequence sex aids – or “sex toys” – as a more acceptable means to this end.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Little existing research has examined women’s solo masturbation and vibrator usage in a way that highlights the importance of both sexual agency and the sexual/romantic relationship context. This research evaluates if and how social factors, partnership status and the relationship context, and sexual self-concept impact a woman’s behaviors and attitudes toward masturbation and vibrator use. Using cross-sectional survey data from adult women (N=112), descriptive and bivariate analyses were used to explore a variety of factors. Single and partnered women did not differ significantly on a majority of measures, suggesting that partnership status may play an insignificant role in predicting women’s solo sex attitudes and behaviors. Regarding the relationship context, partner communication and positivity toward masturbation and vibrator use significantly varied together. Finally, greater sexual openness and sexual entitlement were associated with higher masturbation frequency. Results from this study suggest that masturbation and vibrator use are common among adult women, and women are capable of sexual agency in relation to masturbation and vibrator use, whether they are in established partnerships or not.

Den sexuella hälsan och sexualiteten utgör centrala faktorer i kvinnans livsvärld. Historiskt sett har bilden av kvinnans sexualitet varit belagd med olika tabu vilket ännu idag återspeglas i samhället. Förlossningsbristningar kan leda till fysiska och psykiska konsekvenser som kan påverka kvinnans sexuella hälsa. Barnmorskan kan hjälpa kvinnan till en bättre sexuell hälsa genom att inneha god kunskap om förlossningsbristningar. Stöd och information före och efter förlossning kan bidra till en ökad Känsla av Sammanhang, KASAM, och främja den sexuella hälsan. Caritativt vårdande kan bidra till att lindra lidande samt använda lidandet som motivation till förändring. Förlossningsbristningar kan påverka kvinnans sexuella hälsa och därmed hennes livsvärld. Syftet med studien var att belysa kvinnors upplevelser av hur deras sexuella hälsa har påverkats efter att de drabbats av förlossningsbristningar. Studien utfördes som en kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktiv ansats där 10 kvinnor intervjuades. Resultatet visar att förlossningsbristningar begränsar kvinnors sexuella frihet. Kvinnorna upplevde en försämring av den sexuella hälsan men ibland även en förbättring då nya aspekter av det sexuella livet framtonades. Dock upplevde kvinnorna sig som begränsade även när deras sexuella hälsa förbättrats. Känslor av att vara trasig, smutsig, ha ett påverkat självförtroende, en påverkad relation och/eller svårigheter att träffa någon ny framkom. Sjukgymnastik, tydlig information från vården samt att utforska nya sätt att utöva sexualiteten till exempel med hjälp av sexleksaker och icke-penetrerande sex främjade den sexuella hälsan. Skamkänslor, nonchalans från vårdens sida samt bristande information upplevdes som försämrande faktorer. Det krävs en större öppenhet kring att tala om sexualitet inom vården samt en bättre samordnad och koordinerad vårdkedja i kombination med förbättrad information, utbildning och uppföljning. Sexuella hjälpmedel behöver lyftas och implementeras i vården. Barnmorskeledd utbildning av olika yrkeskategorier i att tala om sexuell hälsa kan vara av stor nytta. / Sexual health and sexuality are central factors in a woman's life world. Historically, the image of women's sexuality has been covered with various taboos, which are still reflected in society today. Perineal tears can lead to physical and psychological consequences that can affect a woman's sexual health. The midwife can help the woman to a better sexual health by having good knowledge about perineal tears. Support and information as well before as after childbirth can help increase the Sense of Coherence, SOC, and promote sexual health. Caritative care can contribute to alleviate suffering and use the suffering to generate motivation for change. Perineal tears can affect a woman's sexual health and thus her life world. The purpose of the study was to describe women's experiences of how their sexual health has been affected after they suffered from perineal tears. The study was conducted as a qualitative interview study with an inductive approach where 10 women were interviewed. The results show that perineal tears caused a limitation to women’s sexual freedom. Women experienced a deterioration in sexual health, but sometimes also an improvement when new aspects of sexual life emerge. However, the women felt restricted regardless of whether their sexual health had improved. Feelings of being broken, dirty and having affected self-confidence, affected relationships and/or difficulties meeting someone new emerged. Physiotherapy, clear information from healthcare and exploring new ways of exercising sexuality, for example with the help of sex toys and non-penetrative sex, promoted sexual health. Feelings of shame and nonchalant treatment from healthcare professionals as well as a lack of information were perceived as limiting. There is a need for greater openness in talking about sexuality in healthcare as well as a better coordinated chain of care in combination with improved information and follow-up. Sexual aids such as sex toys need to be lifted and implemented in care. Midwife-led training of various professional categories in talking about sexual health can be of great benefit.