Frequent masturbation sessions no longer have to feel like you’re two steps away from a mean case of carpal tunnel. Florida-based tech innovator Glovin Life have developed a bionic glove (yes, you read that correctly) designed to aid the chronic wrist cramps and sore arms that accompany some sex toy play.
It’s an idea that gets a lot of shrugs and lukewarm responses when Steve Scrase, the found of the Glov, first tells people about it. “Okay, but what’s it really do?” women typically ask. I myself had the same question for Scrase: Is this a real need for women? Are ladies having that much trouble maneuvering our bodies with all this new sex tech we keep developing?
According to Steve Scrase, definitely. To demonstrate, he physically walked me through the differences between regular vibrator play and play with the Glov. “Stick your hand out, make a first, and move your hand up and down,” Scrase orders. “That’s how you’d work your traditional Rabbit. In order to do a thrusting motion, you literally have to engage your wrist, upper arm, your shoulder, your forearm, your chest, and your back muscles.” I put a fist in the air and tried it out. “Now take your hand and just flex your first three fingers on your pelvic area.” I may have been the only one in office making odd hand gestures by my waist, but Scrase certainly made his point. With the Glov, you don’t have to grip your toy of choice, which can sometimes create fatigue in your arm and take you out of the mood.
Scrase first thought of the idea for a Glov through use of sex toys within his relationships. “Part of my innate pleasure pack is making sure my partner’s pleased,” he tells me. “It struck me that in the relationships I’ve had over the years, that women incorporate toys. A lot of men are intimidated when women do that. I’ve never been intimidated by using toys in a relationship, but for me, when I was watching the women I was with use their toys, I thought to myself, ‘that is not what I’d want to be doing because it’s just so awkward.'” Scrase started visualizing what it might be like to use a sex toy, which are typically gripped at the base and held at a 90 degree angle, and thought of ways to refine the design for a seamless, less strenuous user experience. So he came up with giving woman an extra hand — literally.
Made of 100 percent body-safe latex, the Glov acts as a facilitator between the woman’s hand and her toy. Fitting snugly over the masturbating hand, it connects to two attachments, a Rabbit or Dildo, through a finger bracket (in flashy purple and fuchsia colors). Instead of operating the toy with wrist turning, the Glov responds to a less strenuous waving motion.
The Glov just launched an Indiegogo campaign, where it purports to be comfortable, flexible, diverse, and waterproof. It also boasts a control panel outside of the hand for easy, in-the-moment access that most sex toys just don’t provide. Its ergonomic design, built specifically for quick movements and control, hopes to help women finish without any hiccups, neck strain, disruption, or exhaustion. Best of all, its quick twist-on functionality allows for mid-play or even mid-sex toy swaps. In the future, the Glov will come in different iterations, including more colors, left-handed models, and hopefully more diverse toy extensions for people of all orientations and body types.
Scrase admits that the Glov isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel, it’s just repurposing already existing technology to improve upon the sex toy as we know it. “Beyond being a sex toy company just trying to sell something, we believe sex is healthy, sex is natural, and sex is fun,” Scrase explains of the Glov’s philosophy. “More and more people need to realize their solo sessions are okay and they don’t have to be in the dark. Even if you’re doing it by yourself, who cares? If we can even change one person’s ideology about masturbation, then we win.”
Keeping masturbation as pleasant and as hassle-free as possible is pretty important. It remains to be seen whether a finger-controlled sex glove will get us there, but it’s worth a try. As Scrase humorously explains, “It’s always easy to have control in the beginning. But when you get into a heightened state of arousal, guess what happens? You turn into jellyfish.”