Trump's administration has proposed a 'harmful' law and it involves sex toys

Self-gratification may become harder for Americans because of a new Senate bill that has been described as waging a “war” on masturbation.

Officially known as Senate Bill 3003, the proposal calls for age verification for the sale of sex toys online.

Republican Senator Angela Paxton, wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, introduced a bill to punish online sellers of an “obscene device” to customers without proper age verification.

Translation - an obscene device, according to the state of Texas Penal Code, is “a device including a dildo or artificial vagina, designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs”.

Age verification has become a hot topic in the US, particularly in southern states and revolving around the usage of porn websites. Site owners would face a fee and a misdemeanour charge if they failed verify the age of its users. Some US states have laws requiring adult websites to verify the age of its users before allowing access to sexually explicit content, often through government-issued IDs, with both Texas and Louisiana leading the change.

It could become harder to buy a sex toy in the USIFONNX Toys on Unsplash

Privacy concerns and data collection have been paramount amid the rise of age verification. In a statement shared by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), staff attorney Lisa Femia disapproved of existing age verification laws in Texas.

“Texas’ age verification law robs internet users of anonymity, exposes them to privacy and security risks, and blocks some adults entirely from accessing sexual content that’s protected under the First Amendment,” Femia said in a press release. “Applying longstanding Supreme Court precedents, other courts have consistently held that similar age verification laws are unconstitutional.”

And a recent study by New York University suggested that age-verification laws don’t work very well, with one reason being that people can just use a VPN and pretend to be located somewhere else.

The bill on “obscene devices” would make selling and distributing sex toys without implementing an age-verification process at the point of sale a Class a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $4,000. Although the bill does not prohibit the sale of sex toys, it could make indulging in one-on-one time a lot stickier, so to speak.

Dr Shamyra Howard discussed the proposal with the Dallas Observer, arguing: “Requiring ID to purchase a sex toy sends the message that pleasure is something to be policed and surveilled.

“It pathologizes something that is completely normal and turns a private, healthy act into something shameful.

“This kind of legislation doesn’t protect people; it embarrasses them. It creates unnecessary barriers and reinforces harmful stigmas that many of us have spent years trying to dismantle.”

Howard also mentioned health benefits of individuals using sex toys, as well as the importance of ease of purchase.

“What’s often overlooked is that sex toys are not just about pleasure,” Howard added. “They’re also part of comprehensive sexual wellness.

“Men use them too, both for pleasure and to manage erectile issues, neuropathy from diabetes and poor blood flow related to high blood pressure.

“There are devices designed to support pain management, pelvic floor health, sex toys even help people manage mental health issues through stress relief and help to re-establish intimacy after medical procedures or trauma.”

You should also read:

• Trump said he had 'nothing to do' with Project 2025 - here's the proposals he's implementing anyway
• There are big changes afoot for people watching porn in Utah

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