SexTech survey: Delhi shops for more high-tech sex toys than Mumbai

Delhi is 'hornier' than Mumbai. You always knew it. But now, it emerges that Delhi also shops for more SexTech, or high-tech sex toys, than Mumbai.

AdultProductsIndia.com, a site that sells such toys, conducted a small survey among 240 males in the two cities. About 27 per cent of online shoppers from Delhi purchased at least one product that fell within the SexTech category versus 14 per cent in Mumbai. However, what is more interesting is what they bought. Those from Mumbai bought traditional sensual products such as penis extenders, lotions, sex dolls, and penis sleeves.

Delhiites? They settled for stuff that leverages technologies such as Virtual Reality for an 'immersive experience'. One such product is the Virtual Reality Stroker that comes with goggles. Users can use iOS and Android phones to enter 'a world of their dreams'. The company said another product selling in Delhi is the Fleshlight Launch, an automated toy that connects to compatible interactive porn videos 'to match the on-screen action'.  

"Males in Delhi are seemingly more willing to purchase and engage in high-tech sex toys, and are almost twice as willing to try the latest sexual technology than males in Mumbai," a press note from the company said.

Sex toy shops online operate on being discreet. In India, such toys can be a taboo. So AdultProductsIndia.com ships the products in boxes or envelopes, marked as a regular product such as 'phone case'.  The billing is also discreet - the bill would not match the name of the site. And the company promises that it would not "sell or share your personal information beyond what is necessary to complete your order".

Sale of sex toys, nevertheless, is illegal in India - it is widely available in markets such as Delhi's Palika Bazar and online, often garbed as 'wellness' by e-commerce firms. Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code makes hiring, distribution, publicly exhibiting, the imports and exports of obscene books, pamphlets, drawings, representation or figure or any other obscene object illegal and punishable. Section 67 of the IT Act makes publishing or transmitting of material "which is lascivious or appeal to the prurient interest" in the electronic form punishable.  

AdultProductsIndia.com has a tacky mission statement on its site: "To provide fellow Indians with the means to freely express their sexuality without law makers telling them what to enjoy and how to enjoy it."