Necessity is often times the mother of invention. This is particularly true for the invention of the fleshlights line of sex toys.
Just as other toys such as
jelly vibrators and other sex aids for women arose from the need of eighteenth century doctors to supposedly cure women of
hysteria, fleshlights were developed from the necessity to provide the inventor sexual release he could not otherwise get because of certain circumstances.
Fleshlights are
sex toys for men and are a particular type of artificial vaginas available for male use. They are aids to male masturbation, so named because of their cylindrical shape and size which is about the size of an ordinary flashlight or battery powered torch. This likeness to an ordinary and common item makes it a discreet type of
sex toy and has proven to be one of its main selling points. It is made of two parts. The outer sleeve is actually just a casing to contain the second part which is the inner sleeve. This inner sleeve is molded in flesh like material to look like the mouth, vagina or the anus. It is available in different color tones and different textures. These different textures are also meant to simulate the sensations one experiences during the oral, anal or vaginal sex.
During masturbation, the penis is inserted into the inner sleeve and manipulated by the arm to stimulate sexual intercourse. The use of these aids brings a degree of realism to male solo sessions making masturbation a more pleasant experience. Moreover, the manufacturer claims it can aid in the building of sexual stamina and can serve as “practice” for men who have never engaged in sexual intercourse before. It is also being marketed as one of the ways on can engage in safe sex.
The device was invented by Steve Shubin, a former police officer. Shubin came up with the device when he was forced to abstain from having sex with his wife who was undergoing a high-risk pregnancy. Not wanting to be unfaithful to her but desiring a more realistic experience than what ordinary masturbation with the hand or other materials could give, he came up with the fleshlight to help him relieve his sexual urges.
After further development he acquired a patent for it in 1998 as a “device for discreet sperm collection.”
