The use of sex toys by married people which of late has been on the increase in Zimbabwe could be a trigger for loss of affection and desire in marriages leading to high divorce rates and spousal separation, a top Psychologist has warned.
In an interview with Health Times, a leading psychologist in Zimbabwe, Dr Kudakwashe Muchena said sex toys allow couples and partners to explore their sexuality.
He however warned that just like masturbation, uncontrolled use of sex toys could result in serious mental health issues which can lead to broken marriages and relationships.
Dr Muchena’s warning comes when there has been a rise in the marketing and distribution of sex toys in Zimbabwe.
In 2020 an Online Sex Toy Shop was licensed in the country and other distributors are using their social media platforms to market and sell the coitus enhancing products. Warned Dr Muchena:
The use of intimate toys or sex toys is around two things which is openness to experience and openness to communication.
Generally, the use of sex toys has been popularized in most developed countries where they are more interested in exploring their sexuality and they believe it is their right to do that.
In our context, Sex Toys have been something that is taboo and has been mostly linked to Homosexuality because they have been seen as a substitute for having a partner.
So in a heterosexual (between a man and a woman) marriage, the use of sex toys can actually destroy that marriage because one of the partners involved may actually feel like they are being replaced by a toy so that may destroy the relationship.
Dr Muchena added that using sex toys in marriages may lead to the other partner feeling inadequate and feeling insecure. He said:
That results in some serious damage in terms of mental health. It impacts heavily on the mental health of the other partner involved.
Research has shown that when there is open communication between the two parties and when they open up and say we need to explore more of our sexuality, they can actually get sex toys to help them.
Whilst the idea behind getting a sex toy is to enhance the sexuality of the partners involved. In most cases, it may end up replacing the other partner.
Once the part realizes that they can get satisfaction from a toy whether it’s a vibrator or anything, it then diffuses the idea of having a physical partner.
For men mostly, we are looking at masturbation even for women, research has shown that a lot of people who are involved in masturbation end up losing that personification in terms of sexual contact, they feel that they don’t necessarily need a physical partner to actually satisfy their sexual needs.