Couples and individuals on campus are feeling the good vibrations — literally.
Sex toys have been around since God created Adam’s right hand, and after all this time, the devices are still popular.
Janette Davis, manager of Hilife Wonderland on West State Street, said the toys are mostly in demand with couples looking to spice up their sex life.
The store’s products range from a vibrating tongue ring, priced at $5.95, to an $89 glass dildo. She said the most popular item is the “Silver Bullet,” a vibrating device shaped like an actual bullet.
Davis said in all her years of working with sex toys, she has only heard of one accident involving them. She said the safety concerns mostly stem from allergies related to the materials used to make the toys.
She said the store doesn’t have a set policy on professionalism when dealing with customers shopping for sex toys, but whenever she sees customers browsing through the store’s selection she tries to talk to them, though she said most people don’t like to talk to her about the touchy subject.
“We just try to make people feel as comfortable as possible,” Davis said.
A 2011 study conducted at Indiana University suggests that the use of sex toys, mainly vibrators, is becoming more acceptable to Americans aged 18 to 60.
The study found that nearly 70 percent of men are OK with their partners using vibrators. But 37 percent of female responders thought men wouldn’t be comfortable with women using vibrators.
English secondary education junior Matt Perez said he wouldn’t consider buying a sex toy.
“I wouldn’t need them,” he said.
Perez said more women use toys than men, but he also could see a lot of couples utilize toys in the bedroom.
“It keeps the relationship interesting and brings in an outside element,” he said.
Philosophy senior Rachel Bedsole said she doesn’t have a problem with the toys but would never use one herself because of religious reasons.
Bedsole said if she were to go into a store to buy sex toys, she would feel comfortable because she would think of the situation as funny.
Some students think the privacy of the issue would make shopping for sex toys a little nerve-racking. English secondary education senior Brian Sain said he wouldn’t feel completely comfortable going to a store to buy sex toys.
“You’d feel uncomfortable only because it’s private,” he said.
Sain said the toys can be good for a relationship and to add spice to a couple’s sex life.
“It’s more of a couples thing and less of a perversion,” he said.
 
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Contact Kevin Thibodeaux at [email protected]