Bunny Backtalk

Pet Your Bunny Ad, Reader Responses

Wow! When we ran our censored bunny ad (featuring the Rabbit Habit vibrator), asking why you thought it pushed people's buttons, we had no idea that 226 of you would respond so passionately! Needless to say, we couldn't reprint all your thoughtful comments here, but we did pull out some of the most articulate, funny, and righteous ones we could find. By far, the majority of you thought this ad was banned because it too clearly celebrated women's sexual empowerment.  But there were several other viewpoints as well. Read on...

Strong, Determined, Horny, and Self-Sufficient

The majority of you felt the reason our ad underwent so much censorship is that it challenges society's narrow-minded view of female sexuality:

"She looks strong, determined, horny, and self-sufficient. Put all that together and you can imagine why some people love it and others hate it. Too much sex and too much power for people who are anxious about the convergence of sex and power. But for others of us, it's the stuff of dreams. Hot, wet dreams."

"The *real* reason has to do with power. Folks don't want us to have it, folks don't want us to use it, and should we have it and use it, we at least shouldn't let them know we are doing so."

"people [are] so closed-minded that they can joke or speak about male masturbation but believe that women either shouldn't or just plain don't."

"self-sex or any variant on the heterosexual model makes our society uncomfortable and intimidates and challenges patriarchy. They think, "Oh no! If my wife, prospective wife, or ANY woman finds an alternative to my big, huge, man penis, then she won't need me."

"America has forever had trouble identifying with its inner bunny… Its time for some serious confidence building self-help exercise craze to sweep the nation. "

"[It’s] the age old double standard against female sexuality being applied, especially when it shows them talking charge of it."

"I feel that the reason this ad in particular is banned as opposed to the far racier images in women’s magazines is because of the idea of female empowerment embodied by the vibrator... This woman in your ad is clearly a strong, self-reliant person who takes her pleasure into her own hands, literally."

"Your ads always prominently feature vibrators and yeah women's sexual gratification is sometimes viewed with fear by mainstream America!"

"In our society, we are constantly bombarded with images of skinny, "perfect" women in highly sexualized positions of heterosexual inferiority, and we need more ads celebrating real-life women caught in empowering, independent sexual acts!!!"

Sexy and in Your Face

Other people applauded us for the ad's directness.

"I think the difference between this ad and other ads is it takes the person and the toy and puts them together in the concrete manner for which they were intended. If a woman's holding a bouquet of vibrators as if they're flowers, their impact is minimized to the scale of flowers, but this sexy-ass ad is putting the bunny with the money…You can't look at the ad and not make the sexy jerk-off connection."

"When I first saw this ad, it immediately created in my mind the image of the model inserting the rabbit where it would do the most good."

"Since we still live in a world where sex is taboo to discuss openly, (except with best girlfriends) this ad is blatant and in-your-face which I could see could offend a segment of the population."

"Your ad pushes the envelope; it titillates and excites; it is provocative and on the edge."

Violent, Disturbing, and Unattractive

A few felt that the "bunny-petter" came on too strong:

"I love sex toys, but somehow this ad feels violent to me. Between the outfit she's wearing, the "thrusting" angle of the toy, and the veins popping out of her hands, it looks like she's going to hurt herself with the rabbit. I love a good rabbit, but I tend to have to use mine a bit more delicately than this girl looks like she's going to."

"My first reaction to this advert is that I thought the person was a man. Very masculine looking. I find the black leather outfit unattractive and [it] looks weird. I thought it was a sex outfit on first glance. I'm not into that stuff and find it distracts and is a turn off from the point of the product. The Bunny itself is a turn on, no need to say much more."

"I have to be honest, there is something that somehow disturbs me about this ad. Not enough, of course, to find censorship acceptable, but it just makes me squirm a bit not just in that good way that sex toys usually do). I can't put my finger on what it is, but maybe because it's not a super girly person lying down in a bubble bath to enjoy a minute alone with a vibrator. This person is going to fuck some shit up."

Thanks to all of you who took the time to send us your opinions!