Article by Danielle Koagel
Photography & Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Olwin
The phallic playthings dangle along the back wall of Lovers. Lined up on a shelf, their sparkly glitter insides shine through the thick layer of packaging, but something more sinister is also lurking in the sexy line up of jelly rubber dildos, vibrators and anal beads.
New studies on phthalates, a chemical compound found in jelly-rubber sex toys, suggest that sex-toy users should be wary of what’s in their pleasure playthings.
Phthalates (thal-ates) are the most commonly used plasticizers in the world. They are found in everyday items such as adhesives, nail polish and paint. They are a popular material in sex toys and other products because of their cheap production cost and ability to make rubberized plastic toys soft and flexible.
Phthalates are found in children’s toys, but were recently banned by the European Union and California due to a link between high phthalate levels and health problems in developing fetuses. However, the use of phthalates by sex toy manufacturers remains completely unregulated and untested due to the government classification of all sex toys as novelty items or "gag products."
According to the European Phthalates Information Centre, phthalates refer to a group of chemical compounds derived from phthalic acid. Phthalates are added to plastics to make hard plastic more flexible, which they do by allowing the otherwise rigid polyvinyl molecules to slide against one another.
Phthalates are most commonly found in jelly-rubber sex toys. Sex toys refer to a variety of products including cock rings, vibrators, masturbation sleeves, anal beads and dildos. Most sex toys are for internal use in the vagina or anus, although this isn’t always the case. Jelly-rubber toys are distinguished by their soft squishy feel and strong chemical ‘new car’ smell, and they often come in an array of bright colors, shapes and sizes. Phthalates are in many sex toy products, but are found in higher concentration in dildos and vibrators.
Audrey McManus is the marketing and education manager at Babeland, a sex toy store in Seattle. She said the staff at Babeland makes sure customers know what they are getting into, or rather, what’s getting into them, when they buy products that contain phthalates.
"We hand out information sheets on phthalates to all of our customers," McManus said. "And we always recommend putting a condom on jelly-rubber sex toys before use."
McManus said Babeland has pulled a lot of its jelly rubber products off the shelves in recent years after studies done on rodents suggested phthalates could be harmful to reproductive health. McManus said she had her suspicions about the safety of the toys.
"I don’t need a study telling me these toys are harmful," she said. "The smell is overwhelmingly toxic with chemicals."
McManus said toys with phthalates are popular because of their cheap price. Only 5 percent of Babeland’s toys contain phthalates because of their status as potentially harmful. Babeland employees try to suggest alternative materials, such as silicone and hard plastic.
According to McManus, most jelly rubber toys cost an average of $22 while alternative materials like silicone tend to cost an average of $65. She said Babeland keeps a small number of these products on the shelf to provide a cheaper alternative for customers who can’t afford higher quality materials.
"Sometimes it’s just not practical for people to spend that much on a toy," McManus said. "So they put a condom on it and take their chances."
Even putting a condom on a jelly-rubber toy isn’t 100 percent safe because phthalates are slowly released in a gas form which condoms aren’t designed to protect against, McManus said.
At the Bellingham Lovers store, part of a national chain of adult stores, customers were surprised to learn the collection of vibrators they were browsing is a potential health hazard.
"Since when did vibrators get so complicated?" one customer said.
Tracy Dahlstedt, education programs manager of the Mount Baker Planned Parenthood, said she worries that the outgassing chemicals of phthalate sex toys will enter the blood stream through the vagina or anus and have long-term health consequences. However, because only limited studies have been conducted and none have been long-term, she said she doesn’t know enough to properly inform patients about potential risks.
Phthalates are classified as "endocrine disruptors" because of the way they mimic the body’s hormones after entering the blood stream. Studies have shown that phthalates’ ability to recreate the body’s hormones can cause reproductive and neurological damage.
Phthalates were recently banned in children’s toys in California and the European Union due to fear that children would ingest the chemicals by putting the toys in their mouths.
The ban of phthalates in children’s toys in California was enacted after researchers at the University of Missouri found that women with high amounts of phthalates in their blood were more likely to give birth to boys with reproductive organ abnormalities. Other studies on rodents have shown a link between high phthalate exposure and damage to the liver, lungs, kidneys and developing testes.
According to the Phthalates Information Center Web site, the center works closely with government agencies so these materials can continue to be used safely in a wide array of products. Formed in 1973, the information center is an industry group composed of all major manufacturers and users of primary phthalates in U.S. commercial commerce, including BASF Corp., Eastman Chemical Co. and Exxon Mobil Chemical Co.
The site examines the benefits of phthalates in everyday products and endorses their use in children’s toys, medical equipment and cosmetic products.
Marian Stanley, manager of media relations at the Phthalates Information Center, said no studies have been conducted to test the effects of phthalate exposure in sex toys. Most studies relating phthalate exposure to its effects on human subjects haven’t been able to draw a direct correlation to health problems. The only tests that successfully link phthalates to health risks have been on rodents.
"Studies on rodents are inadequate because they measure a toxic level of phthalates that wouldn’t normally be seen in humans," Stanley said. "The average human would simply pass phthalates through their system."
Stanley said she believes the media has blown the dangers of phthalates out of proportion by cherry picking inconclusive results from a few studies.
"Phthalates are about a millionth of a percent of most products," Stanley said. "They are even used in medical equipment because of their clear, strong, flexible and sterile quality."
Janette Casolary, coordinator for Western Washington University’s Sexual Awareness Center, said she has noticed a difference in sex toy products containing phthalates and those that don’t. She said jelly-rubber toys often give off a strong plastic smell and can get slimy and smelly if left in an enclosed casing for a long period of time.
"They might be cheaper," Casolary said. "But they’re impossible to disinfect because they are quite porous and they melt if you use a disinfectant like bleach on them."
Dahlstedt, of Planned Parenthood, said sex-toy users are often unaware of the consequences of improperly cleaned sex toys. She said reusing dirty toys can lead to a multitude of bacterial infections, including sexually transmitted diseases and yeast infections.
"Sharing or reusing a toy without a condom and proper cleaning carries the same risks as having unprotected intercourse," Dahlstedt said.
Casolary said even though most adult shops sell disinfectant cleaners, such as Safe Suds, the porous nature of jelly-rubber is designed to trap bacteria even after a thorough washing.
She said other materials, like silicone, are safe to boil, put in the dishwasher, disinfect in the microwave or even store in the freezer to keep the toy sterile.
"Most adult stores in the Bellingham area will let you know how to properly clean a toy," Casolary said. "You just need to make sure you go somewhere where the staff is knowledgeable and not just worried about making the sale."
Casolary said she personally recommends Babeland and Lovers because of their extensive knowledge about the safety of their products.
Casolary said she was disturbed by the government’s lack of action in regulating phthalate use, and thinks the government needs to recognize the common use of these products and test them rigorously for safety.
McManus said she was also concerned about the sale of sex toys as novelty items, but said she thinks it is the duty of adult shop owners to help their customers make informed decisions about the risk that comes with using a toy containing phthalates.
"I know how I feel about it," McManus said. "If the government says children shouldn’t be putting it in their mouths, I certainly don’t want to put it in my vagina."
Danielle Koagel studies journalism. She has been published in The Seattle Times, The Western Front, The Enterprise and The Ebbtide.
