Commentary: A Brief History of Silicone Dildos

LOS ANGELES—For us dildo slingers out there, we are well versed in the qualities of silicone dildos: non-porous, high quality, long lasting, and many other positive attributes, but did you know why they were invented in the first place? Silicone remains the material of choice not only for retailers, but for savvy consumers as well. For comparison, there are other commonly used materials used for making dildos and various pleasure products. TPE and TPR are similar and both are basically rubber, as is silicone. TPE stands for thermoplastic elastomer and TPR is thermoplastic rubber. Unless you’re a PhD chemist, there probably isn’t much of a difference between “rubber” and “elastomer” but generally, TPE is commonly used as a coating and TPR is the material that many toys are made of, including the many popular strokers. Another common rubber is PVC—polyvinyl chloride—which is cheap both to manufacture and purchase, and is often stinky, and there may be some concern about PVC being body safe, so it’s best to let the purchaser decide what they want to put into their bodies. Lastly, when concerns are raised about latex in pleasure products, (perhaps because of a latex allergy), latex has pretty much been out of sex toy existence because of TPR and TPE, which is less expensive to manufacture and a easier to pour than latex. Silicone is a pure rubber that can vary in hardness because of the formulas used by different manufacturers. They can range from being squishy to very firm. Silicone is frequently used as a thicker coating around a hard plastic toy (think ABS plastic), giving the exterior a softer, more body-friendly texture. The beauty of silicone is that it is non-porous, meaning with proper cleaning, it won’t hold on to any germs. Always use care when using and cleaning silicone toys so the surface of the toy isn’t broken, making sure to keep it away from cats and dogs, teeth, zippers and ferrets. They love chewing on rubber products, as do rabbits, and can easily destroy your sex toy investment. Silicone dildos were invented in the late 60s by a paraplegic man, Gosnell Duncan, a native of the Caribbean island of Grenada, who lost his ability for an erection due to paralysis from the waist down, caused by an industrial accident. Calling himself “a ladies man” and being dark skinned, he was unable to find a dildo that felt realistic and represented his skin tone at the time. They were always a standard “flesh” color and often made of vinyl. After attending a disability conference where he met other men experiencing the same difficulties, he began to ponder about what material was commercially available that would best imitate the “give” of a real skin erection. Clever thinking led him to silicone bathtub caulking, as he figured this material would make an excellent prosthetic device for fellow disabled men once it was molded and cast into a penis shape. Gosnell then contacted the manufacturer of silicone, the industrial giant, General Electric (GE), and began a two-year quest with their scientists to formulate a blend that felt realistically skin-like. The first dildos were penis-shaped, in various lengths and widths, and in tan, pink, and brown skin tones, with a semi-circle base that the user could wear over their genitals without creating pressure on their groin. They were a hit since they provided men and their partners sexual pleasure that had been missing in their lives. In 1974, Dell Williams founded Eve’s Garden in New York City, the first sexuality boutique catering especially to women. At the time, the only way to get publicity was to advertise in newspapers, one of which caught the eye of Duncan. His first thought was “I wonder if lesbians would like these?” And he contacted Dell right away. Dell first balked at the thought of lesbians using a realistically shaped dildo and suggested a non-realistic, relatively plain dildo with a round base for easy handling. The two of them designed the Venus silicone dildo, a gently, barely rippled, shape in several sizes and in pale pink and brown. Sales of the Venus took off and soon, Gosnell added several shapes to his expanding market. Then in 1997, two enterprising women expanded the availability of silicone dildos and started manufacturing them in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. These companies, Tantus and Vixen Creations, still exist today, along with hundreds of other silicone toy manufacturers, keeping dildo users happy and healthy. So next time you sell, buy, or use a silicone dildo, you have the late, great Gosnell Duncan to thank.