Sex Toy Injury Spike Since 50 Shades Was Published

Excuse me for a second because before I get serious, I just have to have a little bit of a chuckle. Okay, sorry, it isn’t funny, but also kinda is a little funny. A lot of sex positive folk, BDSM practitioners, sex educators and the lot, have been warning people about the pitfalls of reading 50 Shades of Grey and using it as a guidebook to BDSM. Especially since almost everything in the book is wrong about kink.

And now I read that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that while hospital visits because of sex-toy injuries have doubled over the past eight years, a huge increase was seen just after the release of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy over 2011 and 2012. So it turns out, we should have been worried not only that people might hurt themselves through bad bondage techniques, but also by stuffing sex toys up where no sex-toy should ever be.

The CPSC collects anonymous data on ER visits and what causes them, especially injuries caused by consumer products such a “massage devices and vibrators” – sex toys fall into this category, but then again so do massage chairs and back-scratchers. The Washington Post disregarded 20% of the “massage/vibrator” injuries caused by non-sex toys and focused instead on causes specifically bedroom-related.

If you’re wondering what exactly has been going wrong, well so far since 2005, 83% of sex toy injuries that require a trip to the hospital also require “foreign body removals”. Which makes me think that while people are getting more adventurous in bed, there still needs to be some education regarding the usage of said sex toys.

It is really great that one book has fired up the fantasies of so many people. Really it is. And this already has people trying to be more adventurous in bed – again great! But things can get ugly if not taken seriously. BDSM practitioners are very careful while playing. And yes, misusing a sex toy can hurt you. So please be careful people.

On a slightly more encouraging note, the oldest woman treated for a sex toy injury was 67 and the oldest man, 85! Well hats off to you adventurous sexy seniors! I sure hope I’m still as frisky at that age! Meanwhile, please be careful with what you insert, and where!

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