Let’s Get Christmasy!

Kate Sloan

Sometimes I have silly ideas for blog articles, which nonetheless get put into action. This is one of those.

Here are some fun red-and-green sex toy combinations for you to indulge in this Christmas!

SpareParts Tomboi harness + VixSkin Mustang

It’s hard to say whether someone wearing this toy combo would appear masculine, feminine, or just alien-like. Either way, it’s hot.

Tenga Flip Hole + Ripple Triple Silicone Stimulator

Admittedly, the Ripple Triple is supposed to be for G-spots, clits, and female asses… but I’m thinking you could slip the “vaginal” part into your (male) butt, and the so-called clit stimulator would put pleasurable pressure and vibration on the perineum. Combine that with a Tenga masturbator and any gentleman’ll be good to go!

Duncan Charles Pleasure + 10-Speed Vibrating Egg

It’s hard to beat the classic combination of dildo and vibrator. So much the better if you can color-co-ordinate like a BAMF.

Rosebuds Crop + Sex and Mischief rope flogger

Kinky Christmas, y’all! See, impact play doesn’t have to be all about somber black leather equipment – it can be festive, too.

We-Vibe Salsa + Fleshlight Freaks Frankenstein dildo

Here’s a pairing for someone who needs a lot of stimulation. The Salsa is super rumbly, and the Frankenstein has a freakish (literally) amount of texture. Sensory overload!

Do you have any toys that remind you of Christmas?

Who Are You Kissing on New Year’s Eve?

Kate Sloan

It’s 1AM and I’m at a bar, dressed up like Molly Ringwald on acid. I got tired of dancing downstairs, so I went exploring, and found dozens of folks crowded into an upstairs room, gathered in a circle. They were playing Truth or Dare; obviously, I joined in. Now I’m seated between two strangers, sipping my Smirnoff Ice (I know, I have terrible taste in booze). A cute fella singles me out, dares me to pick the person I find most attractive in the circle and kiss them. It’s an offer I can’t refuse.

This is Crush T.O., a monthly mixer thrown by the wonderful ladies who make up I’d Tap That. Crush parties, as they’re colloquially known, are an opportunity for sex-positive people to get together, dance, drink, kiss, and maybe take each other’s bras off on a tipsy dare.

You might remember my previous ramblings about another I’d Tap That endeavour, Body Pride workshops, in which women (and occasional gents) get together, get naked, get drunk, and get body-positive. Yes, these chicks are awesome.

As a mostly-monogamous introvert-4-lyfe, I don’t run into a whole lot of opportunities to meet – let alone kiss – attractive, sex-positive people. I was immediately drawn to the idea of these crush parties because they have an obvious atmosphere of desire and sexiness, but aren’t limited to singles or poly folks – anyone is welcome, monogamous or not, straight or not, cis or not, kinky or not. As long as you’re sex-positive, queer-positive, and enjoy having fun, you’ll be accepted and you’ll have a good time.

On top of all that goodness, safety and consent are never an issue. As sex-positive folks tend to be, the Crush T.O. partygoers are very respectful. The game of Truth or Dare I participated in was full of utterances of “Can I kiss you?” and “Is this okay?” There are even designated “safety people” who you can call on if anyone or anything makes you uncomfortable – but I have yet to need this service, because everyone there is great.

The next crush party is new year’s eve. It costs $15 to get in, and the location is TBA. There will be hot music to dance to, hot burlesque performers to catcall, and hot people to kiss you at midnight. And of course, I will be there, incognito. It’s the perfect way to start off the year!

Images courtesy of I’d Tap That and Becca Lemire. Merci!

Review: Icicles No. 26

Kate Sloan

Last week I went to an introductory anal play workshop at my local sex toy store. The instructor warned, “The rectum curves, so toys made of hard materials like glass are not ideal if they’re longer than a couple of inches or so.” I nodded my agreement, but then, at the end of the workshop, I totally ignored her advice and bought an Icicles No. 26 butt plug. It was just so pretty. And, I rationalized, I had never tried a glass plug before.

I should have listened to the instructor. This plug has 4″ of insertable length, which is longer than a firm plug can comfortably be (at least, for my body) – and to make matters worse, the tip of it is pointy and pokes me in the rectal wall. Lovely.

The tapered tip makes insertion a lot easier, which is why it’s such a staple of anal toys everywhere, but in a toy this long and this hard, it’s just not a practical feature once the plug has been inserted. I can’t sit down while wearing this plug, because it feels like I’m going to puncture something.

The base is also annoying, as circular butt plug bases tend to be. It cuts into my asscheeks unrelentingly. Will anal toy designers (other than Tantus, Fun Factory, and Njoy) ever learn that cheeks exist?

On top of all those other complaints, I also found this plug too girthy at 1 ½”, but that’s a matter of personal preference. Just be aware that a glass plug will always feel thicker than a silicone one, even if it’s the exact same size, because glass does not squish to accommodate your body. Yet another reason why silicone is the best material for anal toys.

One of the only things that makes a glass butt toy worthwhile is that, if it’s clear, it allows a partner to look up your butt. For reasons I cannot personally empathize with, some people find this sexy. If you do, this is a good plug for that.

Aside from being a butt-o-scope, though, the Icicles No. 26 is really kind of awful. Pipedream makes another glass plug which looks plenty more manageable, so maybe I’ll try it once my ass recovers from its recent trials.

Bisexual vs. Pansexual

Kate Sloan

When I was 15, I came out as bisexual, because I liked boys and girls.

A few months later, my friend confided in me that she thought she might be bisexual too, because she’d found herself unexpectedly crushing on another girl at summer camp.

We did some research online together, excitedly chattering about sapphic infatuations all the while – and as we learned more and more, my friend said to me, “I think I might be pansexual, not bisexual.” I asked her why and she said, “Because I’m attracted to people regardless of whether they’re male or female.”

This felt strange to me then, and it still feels strange to me now when I hear this argument from other people. Being bisexual doesn’t mean I’m attracted to dicks and pussies – it means I’m attracted to people, people of either sex, but people nonetheless.

It’s been suggested to me many times that perhaps pansexual would be a better label for me, since I’m often attracted to people who don’t conform to the gender binary – mainly, boyish girls or genderqueer female-bodied folks. The term “pansexual” was essentially invented to describe people whose attractions don’t fit within the clean-cut gender binary of male/female – and yeah, that’s me.

But the more I think about it, the more I feel that bisexual is a suitable label for me – because I’m attracted to people within a binary. It’s just not the traditional gender binary. I’m attracted to cis men and gender-fucking female-bodied people. There are occasional exceptions, but those are the two major groups I find myself drawn to, romantically and sexually.

The prefix “pan” means “all” or “every,” and that just doesn’t apply to me. I don’t seem to have the capacity to be attracted to people of every gender identification; only a few.

From time to time, I toy with the label “androsexual,” since masculine energy is really what gets me hot, regardless of what type of body it’s emanating from. But that’s not as recognizable a term as bisexual. I don’t always relish having to explain my attraction patterns to heteronormative folks, because they’re prone to asking questions like, “If you’re attracted to butchy women, why not just date men? Isn’t it basically the same thing?” (Oy vey.)

How do you feel about terms like bisexual and pansexual? Do you identify with one, neither, or both? How do the people in your social circles use these terms?

Review: Fun Factory G4 Patchy Paul

Kate Sloan

Vibrators don’t really excite me that much anymore. I’ve tried so many, and sometimes it feels like they’re all the same. Y’know?

But the Patchy Paul definitely excited me. After it spent months languishing in my wishlist, I finally decided to snap it up… and it delivered.

Fun Factory, particularly their line of G4 vibrators, is known for reeeeally intense and rumbly vibrations. This is not your mama’s vibrator (well, maybe it should be, because she would probably like it too!). This is a badass creation filled with pleasure potential.

Sometimes people ask me, “What can I get that has the power of a Hitachi without the dependence on an electrical outlet?” That’s a very tall order, and I’m not convinced that anything really fits the bill, but probably the closest is either a large Smart Wand or a G4 vibe. If your favorite masturbation accoutrements are slightly reminiscent of a jackhammer, you’ll love the motor in any G4 toy.

But why specifically the Patchy Paul? I chose it because I like texture, but not an insane amount of texture, and I also appreciate some G-spot lovin’. The Paul looks like a caterpillar, with a body that strokes your vaginal walls and a head that nuzzles your G-spot. It even has a little face – perfect for all you caterpillar fetishists out there. (Kidding. Those people aren’t reading this; they’re off looking at a nature blog somewhere. Duh.)

The Patchy Paul is rechargeable, 100% waterproof, and made of body-safe plastic and silicone. The only thing I don’t dig about it is that the vibrations are focused toward the middle of the shaft, not the tip of the toy where they ought to be… but they’re so strong that it doesn’t really affect my experience. I can use this toy vaginally or clitorally and either way, it rocks my ladyparts’ world.

The Patchy Paul has now officially become my favorite G-spot vibrator, right up there with the Lelo Mona. If you can get past its creepy caterpillar face, the two of you might end up being very happy together.