While masturbation was generally demonised in the past, it now even has a whole month dedicated to it as May is the "International Masturbation Month". This year, it was topped off by a fitting event,the first International Sex Toy Day. Six companies joined forces and raffled off prizes worth 10,000 dollars on the final Wednesday of May. One of said companies was Lovely Inc., probably best-knoen for their cock ring of the same name. Lovely Marketing Manager Supratim Dam took the time to tell us more about the International Sex Toy Day.

May 30th was the first International Sex Toy Day, which was organised by Lovely and a group of other companies who took part in this event. Why did you choose to establish this day and why on this date?

Supratim Dam: The first International Sex Toys Day was hosted on 30th of May,2018 as a tribute to the celebration of what has now come to be known as the International Masturbation Month and as a part of these celebrations, we teamed up with five other sex toy companies to do a massive give-away of sex toys worth more than $10,000.

Which companies took part in the 1^st International Sex Day and how did this cooperation come to pass?

Supratim Dam: Lovely Inc, MysteryVibe, Vibease, Minna Life, Blew It, and PelviFly  joined hands to celebrate the 1^st International Sex Toy Day. This cooperation was established because of our mutual mission to make sex toys more accessible to people around the world.

Besides getting the names of the products and brands out, was there another reason why you decided to start this promotion?

Supratim Dam:The main reason for putting together the International Sex Toy Day was to raise awareness and celebrate the sexual joy that sex toys bring every day for millions of people around the world as well as educate everyone on what makes a quality toy and on how to use them,along with making the topic less of a taboo.

How many participants did sign up for the giveaway and how happy were you with this number?

Supratim Dam:We had more than 6,100 entries from all corners of the globe,from Venezuela to Australia. Considering this was the first time that we organized it, we are definitely happy with the number and will strive to achieve even greater participation next year.

Do you feel that sex toys are still something that’s overlooked by the public? Should companies in this industry try to reach out more in general?

Supratim Dam:It is definitely not part of the daily conversation. There’s so much stigma and taboo surrounding sex and sexuality even today,not to mention the myths surrounding sex toys. I don’t thin it’s overlooked per se by the public but the myths need to be busted and the companies in the industry definitely have to try and reach out more in general, case in point-investing in programmes related to adult adult sex education and design campaigns that help normalize the use of sex toys.

Will there be a 2^nd Sex Toy Day 2019?

Supratim Dam:Yes, there will be. Bigger and better. Mark your calendars. The last Wednesday of May. So next year, we will celebrate it on the 29^th May 2019.

——From Ean