What's in a word? Plenty, it seems.
Take novelty, for example. In certain circles, that seemingly innocuous utterance has been deemed a misnomer when it comes to describing our industry. Same for adult, toy, and porn, all of which, like novelty, are accused of carrying negative connotations. In our brave new PC world, coy phrases like sexual health products are the suggested doublespeak for dildos, vibrators and the like. (Gee, whatever happened to "marital aid"? Wait, don't answer that.)
Depending on your point of view, this exercise in semantics is either a magnanimous effort to redefine our industry for the good of all, or an attempt at segregation by the self-anointed arbiters of sexual legitimacy.
For industry veterans, the latter may elicit feelings of déjà vu. A little less than twenty years ago, after an intense period of federal indictments and prosecutions, the X-rated video industry-already known for its secrecy-became even more mistrustful.
Copious hand-wringing was accompanied by equal amounts of finger pointing. I lost count of how many times I heard someone proclaim "We make erotica; they make porn" or "Those guys are ruining it for everyone because their stuff is too damn hard."
Many who had loudly championed the importance of free speech for all now preached self-preservation instead. It was clear that if it came time to circle the wagons again, certain companies would not be welcome. So much for the notion of there being power in numbers.
According to some, the word porn itself was the problem. If the industry could only change its name to something like adult visual media (I shit you not), the government's witch hunt would magically go away and enemies of sexual freedom would welcome us with open arms.
Of course, the linguistic sleight-of-hand didn't fool anyone. "Porn" went on to become entrenched in our common parlance not as a slur, but as the de facto descriptor for sex movies. A myriad of influences--including a sex-obsessed media, Jenna Jameson (and her #1 bestseller How to Make Love Like a Porn Star) and a generation of teens sporting "Porn Star" T-shirts--saw to that. Porn is accepted more than ever, and sex toys are also enjoying ever-increasing approval. If it's good enough for Sex and the City, it's good enough for (fill in the blank).
Sadly, there will always be those who use porn, dildo, and similar expressions with contempt. Even sex remains a dirty word to many in this country, and already carries enough shameful baggage without our industry's implicit demonization of toys and porn that don't pass some arbitrary muster. If we choose to look down on those who prefer a blow-up doll to a pricey vibrator, then we have truly lost our way.
It's quaint to think that a new moniker will buff our image and appease our foes, but the reality is that it will accomplish neither. To anyone who finds the notion of sex toys even mildly offensive, it doesn't matter what you call a butt plug; it will always be something you stick up your ass.
That said, it's your right to call a butt plug a sexual health product-or anything else for that matter-especially if it helps you sleep better at night. If you have a problem with the word novelty, then shun it--verbally and on your packaging. Just be consistent. We all have the right to call these items whatever our hearts desire, and to market our products and establishments as we see fit. What none of us has, as far as I can tell, is a mandate to impose these same decisions on the industry as a whole.