Pop star Harry Styles is not currently touring, but he has found a new way to monetize his sex appeal by marketing a double-sided vibrator (adapted for both external and internal use) and his designer lubricant. His “Pleasing” brand previously specialized in female lifestyle products such as cosmetics and candles, but has now opened a new line called “Pleasing Yourself.” Styles is definitely not new to selling sex. Doing so seems foundational to his brand, though not without some criticism. For instance, he’s been accused of queerbaiting by many a cultural commentator. Regardless of whether you appreciate Styles’ music (or use his vibrators), his move to capitalize off his celebrity status by selling sex toys is mundane and uninspiring.
Let us, therefore, dear sexual subjects, draw your attention to Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti’s sex toy project. As described by feminist writer Roxanne Gay in the Guardian article we’ve linked for you below, My Toys explores the objects we use to get off, our pleasure tools if you will. Galimberti documents how sexual subjects from around the world use their sex toys to feel good, to fulfill their rights to pleasure, as opposed to their rights to purchase. We live in a world where fucking yourself with a dildo just might be revolutionary! Depending on where you live, even the possession of an object sanctioned as a “sex toy” might get you in trouble with the law. My Toys is not to be confused with another of Galimberti’s project, The Ameriguns. The contrast between these projects, as Gay points out, is illuminating: “I was reminded of The Ameriguns, because there is far less cultural sanction toward such wanton displays of weaponry than toward overt displays of sexuality.” Fascinating, but alarming.
