While the Covid19 pandemic has paved the path for a rapidly unfolding economic crisis worldwide, China has noted a massive upswing in exports of sex toys ever since countries began going under lockdown.
Chinese sex toy exports have increased by 50 percent so far with the US, France and Italy being the biggest consumers. “Our production lines are running around the clock, and our workers are working in two shifts to meet the surging demand,” Violet Du, overseas sales manager of Shandong-based Libo Technology, told South China Morning Post. Du added that the company had to increase its production line staff by 25 percent to keep up with the workload. Aibei Sex Doll Company, another manufacturer from Dongguan, said that even though the company added more staff to its workforce, they have been forced to turn away orders because of sheer volume. “All our products are export-oriented, with the US and Europe being the largest market,” the representative from Aibei said, adding that sex doll exports to Italy have increased five-fold since March.
A similar trend has been observed in several countries across the globe as well. Early in April, while people around the world were busy stocking up on toilet paper and pasta, New Zealanders were buying sex toys with such frenzy that their sales tripled in the country since lockdown began. Canada and Australia, too, reported spikes in the sale of sex toys. Meanwhile, there have also been sharp surges in porn views around the world.
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India, too, isn’t far behind. Under lockdown, the sale of sex toys has risen by 65 percent in India as citizens continue to “stay home, stay safe.” Mumbai recorded the highest sales of sex toys, followed by Bengaluru and New Delhi. Interestingly, while 64 percent of the customers continued to be male, the number of cities with more female buyers also jumped by a whopping 300 percent, and now includes smaller towns like Vijaywada, Jamshedpur, Belgaum, and Jabalpur.
Under lockdown, there has also been a spike in Google searches for homemade sex toys with doctors having to issue warnings against them. “I’ve been sent some research about people making their own sex toys at home during lockdown — using mobile phones for vibration, electric toothbrushes and cucumbers. Whilst this is not uncommon, I would not recommend using make-shift sex toys due to the risk of infection and complications such as retained parts in the vagina… I would [also] not recommend using toothpaste, or any other bathroom product as lubricant,” Dr. Shree Datta, a consultant gynaecologist from MyHealthcareClinic in London, told The Mirror.
According to guidelines issued by the NYC Department of Health, titled Safer Sex and Covid19: “You are your safest sex partner.” And, it seems like people around the world have taken this advice seriously. Since it appears that the pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon, social distancing measures will be around for a while. So, the next time you’re bored, we recommend heading to free feminist porn websites like Bellesa, Ms. Naughty and Sounds of Pleasure.
