Among some of the most notable things to come from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene were her comments about the ready availability of sexual wellness tools. “You can pick up a butt plug or a dildo at Target and CVS nowadays,” she groused to the audience at the New York Young Republicans Club Gala in December 2022.

While Marjorie’s exasperation earned her usual share of online pushback — driven in part by the fact that Target’s sex toy inventory carries neither plugs nor dildos — she’s not wrong about the mainstreaming of sexual wellness. Twenty-five years ago, audiences tittered upon watching Charlotte York discover the Rabbit vibrator from “Sex and the City”; to today’s sex-positive members of Gen Z, that scene reads as cute. Quaint, even.

“There is a large faction of people worldwide in the West, but especially in America, who are very sex-positive, gender-inclusive, and thirsty for education. They are really changing the way that we think about sex and engage in sexual behavior,” says Kate Balestrieri, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and certified sex therapist whose open and honest Instagram account informs more than 132,000 followers. “And then there’s a faction that is pushing against that, and that would probably be our more conservative folks.” But behind closed doors, red America and blue America are spending a lot of greenbacks on their sexual well-being. In the United States, the $10.3 billion sexual wellness market is forecast to grow to $19.9 billion in revenue by 2030, according to findings from Grand View Research.

Beauty retailers are paying attention — and making room on their shelves. Trend-setting beauty boutiques such as Shen Beauty and Violet Grey have offered luxury vibrators and lubricants for years. In 2022, Sephora and Ulta Beauty followed suit by launching their own “intimate wellness” categories with products for personal lubrication, pleasure, and vulva washes. This move makes sense financially and culturally, Dr. Balestrieri says. “If you’re a Sephora or an Ulta person, you get your facial care and hair care there, so it makes sense that they would leverage their brand trust and introduce some other products. It also can speak to a growing recognition of the need for sexual health to be a part of our overall self-care plan.” Retailers such as Bluemercury and Credo Beauty offer sexual wellness products, as well.

Thinking of investing in some “market research” to suss out the next big thing in sexual wellness? Below, Dr. Balestrieri highlights the mind-blowing vibrators, ecstasy-invoking lubricants, and next-gen pleasure tools that impressed her most in 2022. From a connected couples’ toy to immersive virtual reality experiences, they represent our society’s ever-changing attitudes toward sexual health, wellness, and pleasure.

BallDo

Buy it now ($79)

“BallDo is a ball dildo set that slips around the testicles and creates a hard phallic position. When this is slipped around the testes, a person can still penetrate and thrust, and there’s still amazing sensation around the testicles. But their penis doesn’t have to be involved, which is great for penis owners who struggle with early ejaculation or erectile dysfunction.”

Lelo F1S V2

Buy it now ($229)

“The Lelo F1S V2 is a masturbating sleeve that uses sonic wave technology, which is similar to a lot of their clitoral stimulators. What I really think is so cool about this toy is that it is connected to an app and it tracks things like a person’s stamina, their performance, and their skill. That can allow them to get better at being a sexual being with a partner because it does give them that feedback, and in theory, can help them with things like early ejaculation as well. It can help them learn how to practice self-stimulation in a way that allows them to have more staying power later.”

Unbound Babes Bender

Buy it now ($71)

“I really love the Bender by Unbound Babes. It can be used for things like nipple play, clitoral stimulation, penetration of the vulva, and maybe even the anus. It’s long enough for overall stimulation, but it’s moldable so you can bend it to reflect any kind of shape that’s really interesting to you. It doesn’t look like a phallus; it has a gender-neutral appearance. It’s not off-putting for somebody who wants a penetrative experience, but also doesn’t want to look at a penis.”

Trojan BareSkin Raw

Buy it now ($10)

“Trojan BareSkin Raw is my favorite condom. It’s America’s thinnest condom, and it’s so much more comfortable and easier to use. It has a much more realistic sensation than a lot of the other condoms that I’ve used. I recommend it to all of my clients.”

Wild Flower Enby 2

Buy it now ($75)

“The Wild Flower Enby 2 is really great for people of all genders and for all genitals. It’s sculptural, sort of like a bike seat. It’s got the capacity for penile stimulation, but it also can be ridden by folks who have a vulva, and it can be put into a strap-on. It’s great for all different kinds of genital stimulation and body-to-body contact. It’s especially wonderful for folks who have gender dysphoria or who are in transition with their gender.”

Dezyred

Buy it now ($10-$60)

“So many people are turning to the metaverse and VR porn. They’re having experiences there and really organizing their pleasure around a one-person psychology—meaning that their body is learning how to be turned on without the biofeedback stimulation of having another human being in the room. Dezyred is a virtual reality porn app that’s given some of the best marks. It’s the only app available in 8K, so it’s incredibly realistic. The user has a sort of choose-your-own-sex-adventure, because the user decides the next move for every experience that they’re in. They’ve got content that allows you to have POV. You can have sitting, standing, or lying-down experiences. It’s immersive and high-tech.”

Lovense Sex Machine

Buy it now ($1,399)

“If we look at the experience that a lot of vulva owners are having, especially straight cisgender women, we’re seeing a flight away from men in general. The trend right now is that women are sort of over men — they’re done. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I’ve seen an even greater increase in the disillusionment of women toward men in straight cisgender relationships. And the Lovense Sex Machine blew my mind when I saw it. It looks daunting and awesome at the same time. It’s interesting because it can give the experience of being penetrated without having to hold the toy or really be responsible for the toy’s movement. It’s the first approximation to getting railed. Some people are using it for more of a BDSM purpose — a little bit of a pain exchange or in a forced-orgasm sense. But it certainly is an interesting device.”

Lovense Nora and Max 2

Buy Nora or Max 2 now ($99 each)

“The number-one thing that I love for couples is a two-piece situation from Lovense: the vulva device is the Nora and the penis device is the Max 2. You can pair two vulva devices, two penis devices, or a penis and a vulva. Lovense is great with teledildonics, where technology meets sex toys. These two toys are great for partner play in the room or long distance, because you can control the app from anywhere. Unlike other app-controlled devices, you can actually sync your movements to each other’s devices. For example, if one partner has a penis and another partner has a vagina, the penis owner can thrust into the Max 2 and it will record the movements and put them into the thrust of the Nora. So the person who’s using the Nora for vaginal penetration will be thrust at the same speed and intensity as the penis owner because they’re syncing up movements and vice versa—if the vulva owner squeezes down on the Nora, the Max 2 will squeeze down on the penis owner’s penis. I love this toy because so many couples are living long distances apart, and it gives them a way to play with authentic, organic movements that are their own.”

House of Wise Sex Serum

Buy it now ($45)

“The number-one thing that I love for couples is a two-piece situation from Lovense: the vulva device is the Nora and the penis device is the Max 2. You can pair two vulva devices, two penis devices, or a penis and a vulva. Lovense is great with teledildonics, where technology meets sex toys. These two toys are great for partner play in the room or long distance, because you can control the app from anywhere. Unlike other app-controlled devices, you can actually sync your movements to each other’s devices. For example, if one partner has a penis and another partner has a vagina, the penis owner can thrust into the Max 2 and it will record the movements and put them into the thrust of the Nora. So the person who’s using the Nora for vaginal penetration will be thrust at the same speed and intensity as the penis owner because they’re syncing up movements and vice versa—if the vulva owner squeezes down on the Nora, the Max 2 will squeeze down on the penis owner’s penis. I love this toy because so many couples are living long distances apart, and it gives them a way to play with authentic, organic movements that are their own.”