Memento gaudere semper

Perhaps D’Annunzio was not so far off with his famous phrase memento audere semper. Partly because he dedicated it to his armed torpedo motorboat, the MAS 96. Partly because the border between enjoying and daring is really very thin.

In Ricardo Tronconi’s stories, we are often immersed in a world that is more than a little Almodovarian, where women hide big secrets under their skirts and men don’t shy away from surgery for a nice pair of new breasts. There is no attempt to describe a world that fights for LGBT rights, but a subtle provocation in showing readers an already acquired normality.

In this sense, the characters often live adventures that lead them to explore a world that they know, but do not fully understand. References to phallic and vaginal natural elements are recurring (as happens in Venturing in “The Vulva” and in the mushroom house of I germogli del seme del male) and often translate into real “medical treatments” (think of the violinous fungus or the fragrant strawberry of La Cappella Sedici).

But there is something else at play.

In Fabia Claudia and Claudia Fabia, set in ancient Rome (precisely in 52 BC), we find a musical instrument specifically designed to transmit vibrations and music to the whole body – a lyre with one of its arms vaguely phallic in shape. In one of Ricardo Tronconi’s early, unpublished short stories, there is talk of a new product for the parafarmaceutical market called “Pinomarine.” The instrument is inspired, in a deliberately ironic way, by a spaceship and is cylindrical in shape with two ellipsoidal spheres at the base.

It is clear, therefore, that the author, always with a humorous vein, constantly touches on a theme that has only been accepted in recent years, especially thanks to online sex shops: that of sex toys.

What are sex toys?

A sex toy is an object that intensifies erotic pleasure during sex and promotes a more playful and intimate relationship with one’s partner. Although the definition is easy to understand (and put into practice), the sex toy is only now beginning to find its dignity.

In reality, phallic objects have been found in Europe since prehistoric times. Even in Shanghai there is a Sex Museum, which exhibits a green jade phallus dating back to 6,000 years ago. Not to mention the Sex Machine Museum in Prague, which houses a collection of about 200 erotic mechanical devices, some dating back to the 16th century.

However, the first object officially recognized as a sex toy is much older. The olisbos, sold by merchants in the Greek port of Miletus in 500 BC, is the predecessor of our modern dildo. The Kama Sutra (300 AD) talks about the first cylindrical instruments for penis enlargement (made of wood, horn or leather). In 500 AD the first evidence in Japan of vaginal balls to strengthen the pelvic floor (commonly called Geisha Balls) is found. And long before E.L. James drove the market and fantasies of female readers crazy with Fifty Shades of Grey, in 1791 the Marquis de Sade published Justine or the Misfortunes of Virtue, the first book on bondage ever written.

In any case, the most well-known pleasure instrument in the world, the vibrator, was invented in 1869, in the midst of Puritanism. It had a medical purpose, as explained in a very amusing way in the movie Hysteria, to cure female hysteria through orgasm. Unfortunately, with the spread of pornography in the 1930s, the vibrator was downgraded to a “simple” sex toy and became a taboo until the 1960s (but, I dare say, even much beyond).

Fortunately, thanks to the TV series Sex and the City in 1998 (which normalized the rabbit, the vibrator with double ears to stimulate the vagina and clitoris together) and, twenty years later, the lockdown (strange as it may sound, but it is so), it seems that the modesty related to the field of sex toys is finally beginning to give way, together with a greater enjoyment of ethical female pornography.

How many and what sex toys?

Sex toys can come in practically any shape and color. Although they are often (and not incorrectly) associated with female pleasure, there are also toys available for men. In addition to penis extenders (silicone sleeves) and pumps for penis enlargement, there are also so-called cockrings. These are vibrating phallic rings worn like a belt around the penis, with a dual function of stimulating both the penis and vagina and delaying ejaculation. Anal dilators and vibrators also have a strong presence in the market, but masturbators are the real kings. These are cylinders, sometimes with molds of famous porn stars, that simulate the internal anatomy of the vagina and anus.

To some, it may seem sordid, but in sex, nothing is forbidden as long as it is consensual and gives pleasure. The “Rocco Siffredi Satisfyer Men,” sold on MySecretCase, is a real technological wonder that with its pumping, suction, and valve system can (they say) faithfully reproduce the sensation that the vagina transmits to the penis. After all, if women have fun with dildos and vibrators, why can’t men be granted the counterpart of their choice?

Regarding women and, more generally, couples’ play, the choice of sex toys is truly wide. Essentially, they are divided into four categories: vibrators, dildos, clitoral suckers, and vaginal balls. Apart from these, there are also the wand, the most faithful evolution of the very first vibrator, and the vibrating egg.

How do these sex toys work?

The dildo is generally used for penetration, effectively reproducing the shape, size, and veins of a penis. Some types of vibrators, such as the egg or the wand, are designed to stimulate the clitoris, the G-spot, and generally all erogenous zones through vibration (adjustable for intensity and rhythm). The clitoral sucker (whose function is easily deduced from the name) is a direct evolution of this. The sex toy of the moment is evidence that we are finally starting not only to talk but also to think about a vision of sex that recognizes a woman’s ability to enjoy and be part of a mutually satisfying sexual relationship. Finally, the phenomenon of vaginal balls is interesting, representing true “healthy” sex toys. Because, yes, we age, but we want to do it with style, so why not also exercise the pelvic floor muscles, in addition to the abdominals?

A whole world opens up before our eyes if we choose to open them. It seems that the right path towards a “true” sexual liberation has been paved, and more and more people finally feel free to walk it.