Have you ever used a sex toy?

Jasmine Gardner
28 Jul 2009

Gone are the days when women had to be coy about owning a vibrator.

In fact, after Sex and the City made them a breakfast-table topic, sex toys began to go upmarket and now, luxury sex-toy companies such as Myla and Jimmyjane (the makers of Kate Moss's £226 gold-plated “little something”) have made sure that “bedroom aids” have moved from seedy shops to the mainstream.

So, since sex toys are officially out in the open I decided to go to Soho (where the sex toy market thrives) to ask Londoners whether they have ever had a go with a Rampant Rabbit, or similar.

No
Martyna, 18, student
“I've never even thought about it. I think they're unnecessary, aren't they? Perhaps I'm just too young for them.”

Yes
Pedro, 25, stockbroker
“Unwillingly. I had an ex-girlfriend who had spent the weekend working in a branch of Ann Summers to earn extra cash. She had a box-load of dildos and wanted to try them. I was really stoned and said no, but she thought I had agreed and, well, we all know how that story ends.”

Yes
Steve, 34, tree surgeon
“It wasn't a sex toy as such, but once, when I was going out with a somewhat larger lady, there happened to be an exercise ball in the room. I thought, since she's quite large, things are going to wobble, so I asked her to bounce for me on the exercise ball. It was a definite turn-on.”

No
Peter, 42, editor
“I think it's a filthy disgusting thing to do. They don't appeal to me in any way, shape or form. I don't even know what they are.”

Yes
Sophie, 23, recruitment consultant
“I've used several with my boyfriend, handcuffs, dildos, cock rings. I think it was his idea. When you've been with someone a long time it's nice to try something different.”

Yes
Anne, 20, student
“To keep it interesting I used one of those rings that vibrates with my boyfriend. To be honest I didn't feel anything. I think he had more fun than me.”

No
Sinead, 19, student
“I've never had the opportunity. It's never come up. Right now I don't really have any need for them.”

Yes
Amber, 24, recruitment consultant
“I used to be an Ann Summers rep, and I was using them pretty often then. I've used about four different types of rabbits and a cock ring. They're good for spicing things up.”

Yes
Jeff, 29, consultant
“Wrong, bad and horrible things happened. I put it somewhere and things came out that I wasn't expecting. Lessons were learned and I will never go back there.”