I was an unintending participant in a conversation between a bunch of female nurses recently, where the majority (3 of 3) of those speaking declared that Ben Wa balls really were not terribly fun to play with. Their auto-erotic qualities were dismissed pretty much across the board.
The accompanying opinion asserted by two of the RNs was that those vibrating ‘bullets’ on a string were however, quite prized and delivered a lot of ‘bang for the buck’. The other RN had not tried that particular variety, having been disappointed by the Ben Wa performance, so offered no opinion.
It was at that point that my ‘expert’ opinion was solicited as to the physiology behind the whole dichotomy.
I pretty much winged it, talking about ‘passive’ vs. ‘active’ stimulation of the Grafenberg spot, potential malpositioning of the two Ben Wa balls leading to suboptimal performance, and the liberating power of modern AAA batteries.
My answers mollified the queries somewhat, but I was charged with researching the whole Ben Wa topic in greater depth. Some tentative research indicates that said balls were really more of an aid for Kegel exercises (to tighten up the pelvic sling muscles and enhance sensation), not an erotic device in their own right. But other sources claim that when used properly, the Ben Wa items are without peer for auto-erotic pleasure.
So: Can any of our dopers confirm or rebut the opinions put forth above? Firsthand reports are most prized, but cites of scholarly literature are always appreciated, and secondhand anecdotal accounts will not be rejected out of hand.
[sub]I swear, RNs talk about sex more than adolescent males. And Prison RNs never blush![/sub]
You were really recruited to see how much you would bullshit on the topic. They intend to laugh at you to your face and behind your back. Surprising that a prison doc doesn’t know when he is the subject of a con.
I disagree that the nurses were pulling the doc’s chain. (That’s what RTs are for.)
I’m sure they seriously wanted to know. RNs talk sex almost exclusively, except when they’re talking about their boobs. I never tried Ben-Wa balls but heard they were more for exercise than self-pleasure.
Cynb, OB/GYN RN and we don’t blush much, either.
Playboy once had an article about Sex Toys (Gee, imagine that!) and the female author wrote something like “I hear you saying, ‘what about Ben-Wa Balls?’ well, what about them?..” She went on to outline her experience with them, which was that Nothing Happened. Despite David Reuben’s endorsement in the book mEverything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex…But Were Afraid to Ask, I haven’t heard or read anything positive about them anywhere else. (and I note that Reuben was a guy – he couldn’t know firsthand).
Wikipedia has an article on them that seems to credit them more as an exercise device, analagous to Kegel exercises, than as a pleasure device:
I’m an occasional user of Ben Wa balls (I use the Smart Balls variety), and have noted both their exercising and pleasure-inducing properties. The latter, for me anyway, comes from the ball bearings encased in mine that rattle and ‘vibrate’ - quite nice when going up or down stairs, but nothing orgasmic. I’d say that they’re a good wear-around-town-toy, but not the right tool for quality masturbating time.
Don’t know about women, but I’ve known men who use them quite frequently. The vibrating ones are more fun than the non-vibrating, and pulling several of them out has its own special rewards.
Personally, I have been the ball-er, but never the ball-ee.
I, as a woman, have wondered about them but never used them. I’m not super into vaginal stimulation/insertion but I am curious to know what they’re like.
Can’t speak for back then, but it makes me think of the present fad here of having small ball bearings surgically implanted underneath the foreskin. Supposedly heightens sexual pleasure for the partner.
As for back then, maybe they hung them from the penis in a misguided attempt to stretch it out?
A former GF used to carry them in a case in her bag and if we were on a walk or a hike, or spending the day outside, she’d insert them. She said they were sort of a turn-on in that they directed her attention to her genitals and there would be sort of a pleasant sensation as she moved around (swinging on a swingset in a park was a particularly good day), but she’d never be able to orgasm that way. They just provided an extended sensual feeling while they were in there.
Totally useless in my opinion. In fact, the one night I tried them I completely forget they were in and I promptly ejected one into the toilet at the bar :smack: Never tried the egg thingy.
From the responses from the ladies here, it sounds like experiences are similar to those of the gals I work with. Good to know. Physiologically it makes sense, too. Though a woman who was quite familiar with her gspot and placed the balls appropriately would probably get more results from them than a less-practiced gal.
As for beads, I’ve seen a few guys wih them implanted under the skin of the shaft. Mildly weird, but not weird like bagel dog man, whom I posted about some years back.
I know I’ll probably sound like Chief No-Fun (yet again), but . . .Qadgop, man, I like you and respect you a lot. Given the perceived power disparity between nurses and doctors, and the gender difference between you and the nurses, and the fact the converstion is overtly sexual, and the fact that you work with these ladies . . . . I would be very leery about continuing this sort of conversation in the work place.
Feel free to disregard, of course. I’m not trying to get in your bidness or anything.