While going through my collection of sex toys, keeping some and getting rid of others in preparation for getting back into sex toy reviewing, I was thinking about why I love being a sex toy reviewer. However, I then realized that the main reason I was going through my boxes of toys was the need to make room for more toys. It also got me thinking about the dark side of being a reviewer. While many of these won’t apply to everybody, every one of them has applied to me at one time or another.

The light side…

1. It’s fun. And it’s damn fun! There’s really nothing quite like knowing you have a vibrator, or dildo, or porn, or adult book, or some combination of all that on it’s way to you! If nothing else, it’s mail that’s not a bill!
2. It’s a positive hobby. It’s something you have that you do, with or without your partner, that provides discussion, interest, orgasms and can really help enforce and/or establish positive self image by providing positive images, ideas and associations with nudity, all body types and sexualities.
3. Community. Need I say more? There is such a wonderful community involved in sex toy reviewing. And while there is drama, there will be drama no matter where you go and what you do. There is no shortage of accepting, kind people willing to listen and provide support, ideas and information about anything and everything sex and sexuality related.
4. Learning opportunities. I have learned so much about myself, my body, my sexuality, and sex in general from reviewing sex toys and other sex accessories. It causes you to think, to research, to experience, and thus to grow as a sexual being.
5. Masturbation. I masturbate a lot more being a reviewer than I would do otherwise. This provides wonderful moments of spending time with myself, as well as a lot of stress relief through pleasure and orgasm. Not to mention how good for the body orgasms are in and of themselves.

The dark side…

1. Storage. I seem to forever be on the lookout for sex toy storage items that I enjoy the look of and that are safe for toys. While this can be fun, it’s also quite frustrating at times.
2. A plethora of toys not used. No one will like everything, thus there always seems to be a pile of “toys I’m not going to use again”, which begs the question; “What do I do with them, then?” While sterilizable toys can be traded or simply given as gifts (to those who are comfortable receiving them) there are going to be ones no one wants, ones that are not sterilizable or even ones that are broken.
3. A constant need for batteries. It never fails; you get that toy you’re super excited about but you’re out of batteries, the ones you have that fit are dead, or the toy needs a special size you don’t have, and it didn’t come with one. While more and more companies are making rechargeable toys and rechargeable batteries help with a lot of these, it never fails that there are toys which need odd camera-style batteries. Frustrating.
4. There will be times when you’re masturbating or having sex simply because you have an item you need to try out. While this can be a great reason for sex play, sometimes it can really take away from the moment, if not even creating a sense of “must” or “have to.”
5. Awkward moment with the delivery person if packaging is not discreet. There’s nothing quite like receiving a delivery when the delivery person knows there’s naughty things in the box. While this is not something that happens with EdenFantasys, it does happen from time to time with several other companies.

The neutral side…

To tell or not to tell. Which this is not necessarily a bad thing, it is an issue many might have. Do you tell your friends and/or family you test sex toys? As many people still see sex toys as bad things, finding out their relative/friend is a tester of these items could cause problems. This is not to mention having to stash away toys which are sitting out when the landlord/maintenance guy comes over, or someone you simply don’t want seeing your new favorite butt plug or nipple clamps.