March 8th has been celebrated as “Women’s Day” since the earliest 20th century when the Socialist Party of America proposed it. In following years, mainly Soviet, socialist and communist countries celebrated the day after the victory of the women’s suffrage movement in the USSR in 1917, until the feminist movement in the U.S. re-adopted it in the late 1960s. Today, Women’s day is celebrated worldwide as a day to continue the endless fight for women’s rights, as well as a day to show appreciation to individual women on a more personal level.
Taking action to support women is of the utmost importance—Women’s Day is a great excuse to donate to organizations like Planned Parenthood, the Malala Fund, the Transgender Law Center, GLAAD, U.N. Women, and countless others. These organizations fight to protect women’s rights, whether it’s the right to bodily autonomy, the right to seek an education, the right to be treated fairly in the workplace, or simply the right to survive.
In addition to supporting women through these organizations, few women in your life will ever be put off by receiving a small token of appreciation. These can be traditional gifts, like cards and flowers, date nights and tasty treats, or acts of service and commitments to lighten the burden of the Second Shift, the concept that beyond their regular paid work, women still perform more unpaid labor at home in the form of child-rearing and household duties. Of course, this concept isn’t true of all families, couples and households, but the statistics reveal that this is still the truth for the majority.
Gender inequality continues to rear its ugly head throughout all other aspects of daily life, but another area of concern in the home is in the bedroom. One study found a huge gap in orgasms—men are much more likely than women to orgasm during a sexual encounter than women, and it’s worth noting that that likelihood increases significantly for women who have sex with women. Rather than throwing one’s hands up in despair, though, take this information as a prompt to be alert and pay extra attention to the needs of the women in your life, especially the ones you’re having sex with. Don’t be afraid to bring in an outside hand; sex toys are your friend. Using a vibrator, a cock ring or other orgasm aids provides the opposite of diminishing intimacy—they can only help increase satisfaction and her likelihood of achieving orgasm.
We-Vibe Rave
We’ll never stop raving about this toy that’s truly deserving of its name. We-Vibe uses low frequency, rumbly motors that deliver the most powerful orgasms with a long, delicious buildup. Most vibrators have buzzy, high-frequency motors that can temporarily desensitize the nerve endings of the clitoris. Not to worry—recovery speed is extremely quick, so if you’re using a non-We-Vibe vibe, you’re going to be just fine. Many people prefer buzzy, in fact, but once you go rumbly, it’s hard to go back. The Rave was technically designed for internal use. With its elegant curves and strategically placed dual motors, it can target those hard-to-reach nerve bundles that fingers or other body parts alone can’t quite hit. However, the Rave is an unbelievable dual-purpose toy. Because of its power and ergonomic design, it’s easy to hold and use for external stimulation. Go back and forth for best results!
The Womanizer
On the other end of the spectrum from the Rave, the Womanizer doesn’t rely on buildup or anticipation. The innovative “clitoral pulsator” surrounds the clitoris and uses aerodynamic suction to rapidly suck and blow the sensitive tissue in order to quite quickly and unexpectedly launch the user into orgasm. This out-of-this-world experience can be used on all sorts of body parts that usually enjoy being sucked—the frenulum on a penis, nipples, labia, use your imagination! The sky’s the limit with the Womanizer; it’s a necessary addition to your arsenal. Use it alone or in conjunction with deeper, rumblier toys to draw out the experience and stimulate all your senses.
The Swan Wand
This is for the girl who doesn’t have time to mess around. This is one of the most powerful vibrators on the market. It’s not small, but it’s extremely quiet, especially for its size, and a motor on either end means you can use broader strokes for all-over stimulation or use the more narrow, curvaceous tip for pinpointed stimulation, even some minor insertion. We highly recommend using this vibe with a piece of fabric (or two) between you because for even the most experienced wand user, this is one potent machine.
Pussy Pump
To paraphrase the immortal words of Lil Wayne, “pump that pussy!” This toy has multiple uses—it provides function and pleasure. Use the toy alone to create a vacuum around the vulva to simulate oral sex, lightly release and re-pump and increase in vigor for a lifelike sucking sensation. Or, use it as a foreplay tool to draw blood into the clitoris and surrounding tissue, heightening arousal and increasing sensitivity so that orgasms become more likely to occur during sexual activity between two bodies.
Lelo Soraya Wave
Ever since it was introduced to the world at large by Sex and the City and Oprah in the late 90s, everyone’s wanted to try a rabbit. And for a long time, it was the hottest-selling sex toy. Rabbits made great gifts for partners who weren’t quite sure if their partners preferred internal or external, and many rabbit owners found that dual stimulation increased their ability to orgasm. For many years, there wasn’t much to improve upon until now. There are dozens of rabbit varieties that feature various functions, flexibility, and features that make the user experience simply that more incredible. Lelo’s Soraya Wave is one of those, the Cadillac of vibrators. A graceful curve stimulates the G-spot while quiet but deep vibrations move the clitoral stimulator. Best of all, Lelo’s proprietary Wave technology allows the toy to move in a “come-hither” motion, which is known to stimulate and target the G-spot.
