Like millions of individuals out there I buy all of my sex toys almost exclusively on the internet. It’s nice to hide behind the anonymity, compare reviews, and also compare prices from the comfort of one’s own home.

Today I am specifically talking about butt plugs and finding the right one for you. You’re shopping on the internet, so how do you know size, weight, and material? Well it should be listed in the description, you should read that description and measure it up against what you were originally looking for. You should also take notice that different companies mean different things when they say ‘small’, ‘medium’, and ‘large’. Recently we had a bit of a mix up in my house with the online purchase of a butt plug and dimensions. I would suggest maybe referencing a ruler or tape measure to get an idea of what you’re looking at. Reading measurements in number form and then what they actually look like in real life when you are preparing to stick them up your keister are vastly different!

How do you even know what you’re looking for? I guess if you have never experimented with anything in the anal pleasure department then you are kind of like a boat drifting out at sea. I mean, who was the first person to even think that up? For me, I had no idea I would ever like anal sex, I think one also gets tainted by other people’s experiences. I had been hearing horror stories since my girlfriends ever started talking about sex- no one ever liked it. It was something all the dude’s wanted and something all the girls hated. Clearly, it was unenjoyable and men were just dirty pigs and who would ever agree to such a distasteful act?

Mind you my husband never brought up anything about anal sex, so I am not complaining about him forcing the issue. I don’t think it was ever a discussion- maybe he didn’t even know if he would like it.

Zip forward to a few months into our new marriage. I was still safely ensconced in my kink closet but we were having pretty hot sex on the regular. It was a whiskey fueled night and I ended up bent over the back of the arm chair in the living room. My husband and I have an annoying height difference that makes most sexual positions more like a circus act than anything even when sober, so being drunk and attempting a pseudo-doggy style position maybe wasn’t the brightest idea. Anyway there was confusion and slippage and entrances into places one did not intend. This was followed by profuse apologies (on my husband’s end) and a surprising admission (on my end). You know what? I didn’t hate it… that’s how the conversation started. Okay, then I kind of liked it. Then, maybe we should try that again, a lot, all the time. I love this!

Maybe not everyone’s progression into anal pleasure is as natural and organic as mine was. And I am sure there are still plenty of people in the ‘no way in hell’ camp. But I am just saying if you want to experiment a little in that realm, I think you should! And buying some toys might just help.

I think the main thing to keep in mind when shopping for a butt plug (or really any toy) is that you may need to try several before you find one you like, or you might even like a few different ones depending on your mood (or that’s just me, but I highly doubt I am alone).

I am not at all saying I am an expert or an authority on butt plugs but sometimes there isn’t someone you can ask about these things in your real life, so you turn to the internet. Here are some tips in my humble opinion.

If you are just starting out and have never ventured into any kind of toy in your backdoor I would suggest starting with silicone. Plugs come in all kinds of materials, but silicone has a certain amount of give to it. It’s also ideal if you were thinking about double penetration. You are probably also going to want to start small. Maybe you think you might like the idea of a plug, but you want to ease yourself into it. Smaller is better in this case. Figure out if you even like the feeling. From there you can decide if you want something more.

You can buy a set of three plugs that range in sizes; I’ve heard a lot of people like to start out this way because then you have the option of graduating up to the next size without the hassle of purchasing a new one.

Personally I stuck in the silicone zone for a while and used different sizes- preferring a medium size for most of my play.

I ventured into glass and while the size of this particular glass plug I was using wasn’t much bigger than the medium silicone one there was a definite difference. It’s immediately noticeable that the glass plug has no give, which gives the toy a bit of a more serious edge. It’s heavier, you won’t be likely to forget it’s there and it takes a bit longer to get used to it. Sometimes that’s just the mood your in!

More recently we ventured back into the silicone realm but this time with the added perk of a vibrator. We decided on the Vogue Grand Aria Vibrating Plug by Trinity Vibes (after a mix up with the sizes) in medium.

Since the button to turn the vibrator on is located in the base of the plug you are unable to sit down with this plug like you would be able to with a plug with a flat base. I sometimes like to have a plug in for a duration of time, in some cases venturing out of the house with one in place. You wouldn’t be able to do that with this plug, although with the vibrating going on I am not sure that you would want to.

At first I was a little disappointed in the intensity of the vibration. I think I would describe it as a moderate intensity, but since it only has one speed I can see why this works. As our session progressed and I became more sensitive and aware of all of the sensations going on with my body the vibration seemed to be stronger (it wasn’t- it was just my awareness of it). I think at this point a stronger vibration or a higher speed may have been too much, so I appreciated the moderate intensity.

My favorite part of the vibrating plug was that we could both feel the vibrations, making the vaginal penetration all that more intense. As someone who rarely orgasms vaginally, the plug with the vibrations coupled with the vaginal penetration easily sent me over the edge. It was like a whole new world. A world I look forward to exploring further.

I would give the Vogue Grand Aria Plug five stars for its ease of use and comfort. I also like that it comes in various sizes. It has definitely made me want to experiment more with vibrating plugs.

Casey McKay enjoys fighting the boredom of her soul crushing day job by being a spanking fiction writer by night. Writing books she would like to read- not surprisingly they all become romance novels, with lots of spanking. She likes a good romance, with a little bit of comedy, a happy ending, and of course some spanking. Follow her blog at www.caseymckay.com