Dodson, the Mother of Masturbation, was integral in putting the electric muscle massager on the map back in the early '70s, when she featured it as a tool for female pleasure in her book, "Liberating Masturbation." After experimenting with other sex toys on the market, Dodson found that the Magic Wand gave her the strongest, most consistent form of stimulation.
As woman, we’re taught to take up as little space as possible. But, when I bought my first Magic Wand at the age of 18, it was with the sole intention of taking up more space, of owning my pleasure. (After all, the Magic Wand is hardly a subtle sex toy.) After several awkward romps between the sheets, I recognized that if someone else couldn’t please me, l had better learn how to pleasure myself.
In the late '90s, I used to quip that my Magic Wand could get me off faster than Madonna’s then-smash-hit track, "Ray of Light" (“She's got herself a little piece of heaven… And I feel like I just got home, and I feel… Quicker than a ray of light.”). I’m not alone in my cult-like allegiance to what’s been dubbed, the “Cadillac of Massagers.”
Sex and relationships writer, Gigi Engle first saw a magic-wand like toy in an episode of "Sex and the City," when Samantha tries to return a personal massager to Sharper Image. “I think it was actually my first time seeing someone buy a sex toy at all,” she says. It was the early days of internet search engines, so she went home to find out more online.
“I looked up ‘sex toy wand massager’ and the Hitachi Magic Wand ... was the first thing that popped up along with a bunch of other creepy shit from seedy sex toy stores,” says Engle. Like myself, Engle bought herself a Magic Wand in college and has never looked back.
“I have a ton of sex toys, but my Magic Wand will always be my LBD of vibes,” she says.
So, how did the Magic Wand become the most recognizable sex toy on the planet?
“Back when it first came out and was sold in regular drugstores, women discovered that it could be used for more than for just soothing tired muscles,” says Shay Martin, Vice President of Vibratex, Inc., exclusive importer of the Magic Wand since 2000. “There was never any connotation that it was a product that brings women to orgasm. So it made it feel more acceptable as a pleasure toy, than let's say, using a dildo which screams, ‘I'M MASTURBATING!’” Back then women seemed more afraid of their sexuality.”
Flash forward to today and the Magic Wand still holds some of its "innocence" and secret "super powers,” despite being named one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Gadget of All Time” by Time Magazine 2016.
“Just imagine having a product made by a giant corporation that makes satellites, bulldozers, elevators, televisions – everyday innocuous products – and it gives AMAZING ORGASMS!?,” says Martin. “That will make any woman who has internal fears about masturbating feel more receptive to trying the art of self-loving.”
Besides, she adds, “Younger women know that the Magic Wand is, like, the ultimate tool if they want to get the job done.”
Few claim they can't orgasm from using the Magic Wand (unless they use it on high and against bare skin, then we're pretty much scraping you off the ceiling). The biggest challenge is trying not to orgasm too fast! (Pro tip: To soften the Magic Wand's powerful vibration, put a piece of fabric between you and the vibe; a soft washcloth or sock works well.)
For me (and many other men and women) Betty Dodson and the Magic Wand are synonymous with self-pleasure. Recently, The Magic Wand Rechargeable received the prestigious StorErotica “Consumer’s Choice” Award, the only consumer-voted award presented at the 11th annual StorErotica Awards.
“It doesn't matter how big or small you are, how far your clit is from your vagina, if you have vaginal atrophy or a large vagina, how short or long your arms are, the Magic Wand works for everyone,” says Martin.
Not only that, it’s helped us better understand our bodies, what feels good, and in turn, made us better, more orgasmic lovers for our partners.
What's not to love?
