Long-play: Dr. Martin Dahlberg

In September 2021, the International Organisation for Standardisation (or ISO) published its first design and safety requirements for sex toys after a two-year project.

The ISO project was kicked off by, today’s guest, Swedish surgeon Dr Martin Dahlberg, who realised he was increasingly performing operations to remove sex toys lodged in people’s rectums.

Martin is a surgeon at the Södersjukhuset Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. He got his medical degree back in 2011, and has performed several hundred surgical procedures throughout his career. 

Sprinkled amongst them are those that involve the removal of rectal foreign bodies. That is to say, Dahlberg has surgically freed a number of objects from a number of butts over the years. At times, he’s even found himself in the position of operating on the same patient twice.

Dahlberg began comparing notes with his colleagues. In January of 2019, they put together an academic study concerning the prevalence of retained sex toys among the Swedish population. They found that the number of incidences was on the rise, particularly among men.

After reviewing a number of cases performed at his hospital, he found that the rectal insertion of vaginal toys was most commonly associated with major surgery.

While people getting sex toys, and a wild plethora of things, stuck in their butts, has objective comical value, a rise in the issue raises interesting questions around education and regulation that ensures people’s safety. 

Following the study, Dahlberg contacted the Swedish Standard Institute (SIS), a non-profit association that assists in developing standards across various industries. The aim was to add sex toys to the agenda.

Following a two-year project, the standards have now been released. To comply with the new ISO standards, manufacturers of sex toys must use “body-safe” material in the event of contact with the genital and anal areas, use a design to minimise the risk of injury during reasonable and predictable use, and provide sufficient information to ensure people’s safety. However, what effect do these standards have? Do sex toy companies even take the standards seriously?

A statement from Lovehoney Group, the parent company behind We-Vibe and one of the manufacturers that helped develop the safety standard, says it is up to each country’s regulators to enact laws to make the standard mandatory.

So who should be responsible for ensuring the safety of consumers bodies? Governments? retailers? or should customers be responsible for doing their own research? 

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