Erotic furniture, also known as sex furniture, is any form of
furniture that is designed to act as an aid to
sexual activity. This includes furniture and harnesses designed to aid positioning,[1] assisting with comfort, penetration level and stimulation.[2] Other types of erotic furniture are constructed to be an aid to
erotic bondage. The functionality may be obvious or the erotic furniture may be designed to appear as conventional furniture.[3] Some conventional items of furniture such as the
four-poster bed and the
chaise longue traditionally have erotic associations,[4] but they are not considered to be erotic furniture as their primary use is not erotic.
Erotic furniture can also be furniture decorated with
erotic art.
According to an urban
legend, the 18th-century Russian Empress
Catherine the Great collected erotic furniture, including tables with penises for legs and other items carved in relief with penises and vulvas.[6]
The 1791 French novel Les Délices de Coblentz describes beds that are designed to increase sexual pleasure by virtue of the elasticity of their springs.[7]
Edward Gorey's The Curious Sofa, (1961) is a neo-Victorian pseudo-porno satire described as a "pornographic illustrated story about furniture". The book consists of euphemistic illustrations with strategically deployed objects, such as potted plants and tree branches, that block the reader's view of sexual activities taking place on furniture.
The British pop artist
Allen Jones has designed erotic furniture.[10] His piece Hatstand, Table and Chair, consisting of scantily clad female mannequins converted to items of furniture, was first exhibited in 1970.[11]
In modern times erotic furniture continues to be produced mainly by small businesses rather than large scale manufacturers.[3]
Types
Specifically designed furniture for erotic purposes can include:
Sex gliders (also known as monkey rockers) – rocking stools with built-in dildos[16]
Devices for using gravity to aid in lovemaking without the use of complicated slings.
Various types of angled foam wedges or specially designed
sex pillows that support various
sex positions.
Liberator Shapes are an example[17] which can be used to improve
g-spot and cervical stimulation.[14] Another example are the ergonomically based Lovebumpers.
Sex chairs and sex sofas, positioning furniture which in some cases have openings to allow for genital or anal access.[14]
The Love Chair, a chair made of curved
tubular steel, articulated in several ways and designed to facilitate otherwise impossible sexual acts. This device was advertised in men's magazines in the mid-1970s, and is seen in at least one of
Nina Hartley's Guide to videos, but it is no longer commercially available.
Wooden horses, which are shaped much like the
sawhorses used for carpentry, but have a sharpened edge and are primarily sat on to achieve a feeling similar to a
crotch rope in bondage.
Sybians, a type of
sex machine consisting of a vibrating saddle-like seat with an upward-pointing shaft for internal stimulation.[18]
Kemper, Alfred M. (1972). Love Couches Design Criteria. Los Angeles.
LCCN75-36170.
OCLC3592145.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link) (101 pages. Design criteria for assistive furniture, with sections on accommodation of disabled persons.)