UK sex trends: ‘Fisting is the new black’
We got under the sheets with the managers of London’s sex shops to talk about the sex trends of 2016.
In anticipation of Pride in London, we decided to visit a handful of central London sex shops to find out what you, our dear readership, are getting up to in the bedroom.
It’s been two decades since the Sex And The City episode featuring a Rampant Rabbit seemed radical, and what a long way we’ve come. 2016 is the time for all things fisting.
We’re talking fisting lube, fisting gloves, and £160 worth of prostate stimulating vibrators to prepare for, you guessed it, fisting.
Sam at Fifty & Dean said, “Fisting is on the rise. We’ve been selling a lot of fisting lube. Fisting is the new black.”
Toys for long distance relationships are also becoming increasingly popular. Now you can buy a vibrator which can be controlled with your phone from anywhere in the world.
Sam also mentioned the trend in wireless products, “People like the remote control toys. When a partner can turn it on at dinner or the cinema.”
However, the average bullet vibrator, invented in the 19th century to treat hysteria, is declining in sales.
Instead, more interesting and discrete variations of the classic toy are gaining popularity. Gender neutral sex toys are also particularly popular – toys that can be used by all variations of couples for different purposes.
“People want toys that are more discreet,” Laura at Harmony said. “Items that don’t actually look like a sex toy, they look like anything else but a sex toy.”
Matthew, an employee at Ann Summers explained that people aren’t going for basic toys anymore.
He said: “A lot of people are going for rechargeable toys. It saves you money and is more discreet. You can plug it into a USB port and hide it somewhere.”
“They’re looking for something more powerful, more different, more imaginative,” he added.
In an industry that is worth £10 billion globally, with an expected rise to £35 billion by 2020, it’s not just bog standard vibrators and dildos that are available on the market. Glorified flesh lights, dog masks and bondage are also popular with sex shop clientele.
“For Valentine’s day this year every single toy, every single thing we sold was with either bondage tape or rope,” said Laura, a Harmony employee for nearly 10 years.
Pride, Halloween, Valentines and Easter are the busiest time of the year for many sex shops. Yes – Easter. According to Harmony, large quantities of viagra go flying out the doors. What a way to celebrate the second coming, or maybe it’s just people lavishing in the bank holidays.
According to London Sex shop Sh! 61% of people find just the idea of buying a sex toy arousing in itself, and 66% of people would prefer to buy sex toys/erotica from a real shop rather than online.
We’d love to know what you think of London’s bedroom habits in the comments below.
