Editor's Note: A few months back, we asked you to nominate and then vote for your favorite sex toys. In July, we announced the winner and teamed up with StorErotica to award the first ever Kinkly Consumer's Choice Award. And, well, it comes as no surprise that readers voted for the Grand Poobah of sex toys; one of the oldest, most powerful, most respected and most recognized toys around. Yup, you guessed it: This year's winner was The Magic Wand by Vibratex. But, being the savvy consumers you are, you picked the latest, greatest version of this sublime sex toy, The Magic Wand Rechargeable. Like you, we love the Magic Wand, and we wanted to give it a fitting tribute. So, we created this piece as an homage to your (and one of our) favorite implements of personal pleasure. Enjoy!
Imagine a circle of sisterhood, where women gather to experience orgasmic pleasure. As we step into the space, not only are clothes shed, but so is the guilt, shame and should’ves we’ve been fed all our lives. Yoga mats kitted with pillows, towels, almond oil, and almighty Magic Wands radiate from a center lit with candles. Women command their position of choice – closer to the center for a bird’s-eye view of Betty Dodson, the iconic octogenarian, and her partner in crime, Carlin Ross, in ecstatic action – or along the outer circle, to better soak up the view and sounds of a few dozen powerful women owning their pleasure.
“Grab your wands, ladies! It’s time to start your engines!” roars Dodson, as the "Sex for One" author instructs women to pick up their Magic Wands. (Previously the “Hitachi Magic Wand,” the brand switched up its labeling in 2013 when it produced a newer version and dropped the word “Hitachi” from its packaging.) The women mimic Dodson’s every movement, firmly holding the wand between their legs as they grind their clits back and forth. Dodson slowly teases the toy up and down the length of her torso before having her army of orgasmic woman lie down for the Big O business at hand.
Betty Dodson (and Magic Wands!) at the Bodysex Retreat at Menla in Phoenicia, NY
Photo Credit: Julia Emerald
The smell of pussy is palpable, as attendees lube up their vulvas with almond oil. (Almond oil is Dodson’s favorite lubricant. It’s 100% organic and you can pick it up in any health food store.) Within minutes, the room starts to erupt with waves of orgasms, as everyone coaxes climax after climax with their trusty Magic Wands. (If you’re ever on the verge of coming, watch closely or listen to a nearby woman climax – it’s goddamn contagious.)
This is what daily “Erotic Recess” at a recent Bodysex Retreat at Menla, a Tibetan retreat center in the Catskills of New York, looked like. Close to 50 women descended upon this magical mountain valley to celebrate the life work of Dodson and her almost-90th birthday.
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?
Ryn Pfeuffer is a versatile print and digital writer specializing in sex, lifestyle, and relationship topics. Over the past two decades, her work has appeared in more than 100 media outlets including Marie Claire, Playboy, Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post, WIRED, and Thrillist.
She adopted a pseudonym and was AVN’s (Adult Video Network) first female porn reviewer – while penning children’s books at the same time. More recently, she is the author of 101 Ways to Rock Online Dating (2019). She lives in Seattle with her rescue dog, Mimi. You can find her on Twitter @rynpfeuffer or IG @ryn_says
