I'm the "Giant Butt Plug Girl" Thanks to a Viral Facebook Post

When you work for an adult toy retailer, there's never a dull day at the office, and what happened to me recently was a first-class example.

A shipment of very unique, "larger-than-life" adult toys arrived at Adult Toy Mega Store's headquarters in New Zealand. Having only worked for the adult online retailer for a couple of months, I'm still intrigued and constantly surprised by some of the items we stock.

Like many people, I have been relatively sheltered and uneducated about the adult toy industry. It wasn't until I became immersed in it that I realized how big the industry really is — both in terms of the amount of different sex toys available and how many people buy them!

One item included in the shipment was a gigantic butt plug that measured 13 inches long and five inches wide. I hadn't seen anything like it in my life, and I couldn't believe that it could possibly fit inside a human being.

As it turns out, it can. In fact, while the percentage is very small, there are quite a few extremely advanced adult toy users out there!

I took a photo with the giant butt plug and posted it on my work's Facebook page. I didn't do it to be malicious or negative about the extremely large adult toy; I merely wanted to showcase the "huge" range of adult toys available. What happened next utterly amazed me. The photo went viral and spread across the internet like a wave of locusts in a wheat field.

Within 24 hours, the photo had been shared more than 150 times and had more than 8,000 comments and counting. That was it, I thought. I'd forever be known as the "giant butt plug girl." What would my mother think?

But something positive came from the virility of the image. Here's why I'm not embarrassed or ashamed to be known as the "giant butt plug girl." In fact, I'm proud of it.

If I've learned anything since I started working in the sex toy industry, it's that people love adult toys, but they don't want anyone to know about it. It's like a secret society that one talks about. But the fact is that a multitude of people are purchasing adult toys each and every day — trust me!

There's no doubt that people can be very reserved when it comes to talking about sex. If the virility of the giant butt plug photo has proven anything, it's that anything sex related that's sexually experimental or "outside the norm" carries a social stigma.

Yes, the butt plug is gigantic, and 98 percent of people wouldn't use a sex toy of that size, but there is still a small percentage of people that would, and they shouldn't be made to feel inferior because of what they enjoy in the bedroom.

Sex is a completely natural part of life. We do it to procreate, obviously. But we also do it for pleasure. But for some reason, as soon as we throw sex toys into the mix, we're made to feel embarrassed for doing so.

Why is this stigma still around when sex toys have been around for what is believed to be thousands of years?

We don't like to talk about our sex lives, and anyone who does openly might even be judged and thought of as being some kind of sex addict or perverted freak. Combine the conversation with the topic of sex toys and you're considered a "kinkster" with a pleasure room that would put Christian Grey to shame.

As long as people are being safe and aren't causing harm to others, what they do behind closed doors is none of our business, nor does it give any cause for judgment. People shouldn't be made to feel embarrassed or ashamed for purchasing "tools for the trade," either.

Open your minds, people!

Who are we to judge? Who cares if you love using gigantic butt plugs or if you own a vibrator? Sex and masturbation are natural, healthy, and important parts of life, and sex toys are tools designed to make good sex even better.

Let's stop being so reserved and open up a little!

How about we start dispelling the unnecessary social stigma around the use of adult toys and make the world a more sex-positive place? I'm sure it would become a considerably happier place, too!

Janelle Cheesman writes for online adult toy and lingerie retailer Adult Toy Mega Store.