By GENNA RIVIECCIO | Who among us hasn’t felt possessed by a “Superbad”-reminiscent desire to draw dicks everywhere they go? Well, a new Instagram account called @hardwarelosangeles is encouraging the urge by glorifying the all-American dildo in its many shapes, sizes, and colors at various locations throughout town.
From the shelves of bookcases to the water bottle holders of bikes, few stones (metaphorical and literal) have been left unturned when it comes to showcasing these rather unassuming dildos, billed as “tools not toys.” Like any person pursuing an all-consuming art project, there’s a motive behind the photographer’s placement of these sex toys, so often deemed by common society to be something to be embarrassed and ashamed of – meant for concealment rather than parading. “The Hardware Instagram was started as a way to position sex toys as tools – objects that can be celebrated sex toys for their utility and functional design,” the photographer – who hopes to build up Hardware into a full-fledged sex toy business – stated in an interview with Bustle.
She also added that the root cause for wanting to commence with the Instagram motif stemmed from going to sex shops and always seeing dildos and other pleasuring devices packaged as “gag gifts” or “novelty items.” But does wanting to have an orgasm every day need to be novel? Not in this day and age, and certainly not in L.A.
The reaction to seeing dildos in these “normalized” contexts has thus far received an extremely positive reaction, so much so that the innovator has even started mulling the prospect of creating her own line of sex toys – the kind that won’t be placed in “zany” packaging to belittle one’s right to masturbate.
“I think conversations about sex toys typically have high barriers of entry – people are nervous to talk about it, but the Instagram has been a casual way to get the conversation going. It’s fun and low-key, but for me, the bigger mission of getting more people comfortable talking about sex and sexuality is what really gets me excited.””And so, one orgasm breeds another.
