Big Oh! Box is a sex toy subscription service where every three months, customers receive a box of quality sexy products to enjoy with a partner or two. Lubes, massage oils, bondage gear, aphrodisiacs – there’s always something different and new to make part of your pleasure explorations.
Big Oh! Box is unique in an ocean of similar services. They’ve specifically tailored their business to include queer and trans customers by keeping their language gender neutral and picking products that can be used by anypartners. They provide full size products rather than samplers so you’re getting your money’s worth. And they let you pick the type of toy that will be your box’s focal point!
Yes, Big Oh! Box is a mystery box where you’re able to make a choice. It might seem counter-intuitive in concept – because how can it surprise you if you already have an idea of what you’re going to get? – but in actuality, it creates the best kind of surprise: one you know you’re probably going to like.
When you sign up for a quarterly box, Big Oh! Box asks you to Pick Your Pleasure: backdoor (anal toys), g-spot (toys for pleasuring the erogenous zone inside the vagina), p-spot (toys for stimulating the prostate), stroker (penis pleasuring toys), vibrator (often considered a clitoral toy but suitable for all kinds of fun!), or dual stimulation (toys that stimulate both the clitoris and vagina simultaneously.) Initially this might seem like a lot of options, but being able to be specific about the pleasure you want means you’re more likely to have your needs met. Needs that are individual to you and your body; needs that can’t be anticipated just by checking a box beside innie or outie. Pleasure is far too complicated to be narrowed into two binary categories. Bodies are far too complicated to be narrowed into two binary categories.
And that’s a great thing! How boring would sex be if we all just liked the same things in the same ways? If we weren’t all unique sexual beings with preferences that are both established and undiscovered? Sexual pleasure is an adventure, and if all paths were the same, traveling wouldn’t be as exciting!
Excitement is exactly what you should be feeling when you receive a box of sexy mystery goodies. Excitement for the unknown (will I get some bondage cuffs this time? Do I like being tied up?) but also excitement for the known. Each quarter brings with it new goodies and accessories to explore and experiment with, but you also know you have a toy coming that will stimulate you in the ways you know you enjoy most. This is my absolute favorite part of getting a box.
Being specific about our needs allows us to advocate for our own pleasure. Even though I have a vulva, I’ve always preferred clitoral stimulation and have shied away from services that don’t let me opt out of penetration toys… which is most of them. My needs and my identity can’t be summed up in a clumsy catch-all category like “female.” I’m not female. I’m not a fan of every toy type geared towards my anatomy. So I’m grateful for choice-based models like Big Oh! Box’s that not only don’t gender their categories, but structure them to allow customers to choose what we know we like. Because what we actually like is valid, important, and deserves consideration, even in a mystery box.
And if you change your mind, want to try something new, or want to give a partner with difference preferences the focus, you can change the toy type for the next quarter’s box! (Though leaving it the same doesn’t mean you’re getting the same toy in your next box, just that it will be the same type.) Being able to pick a different pleasure was great for me, because my partner and I have very different pleasure needs and switching meant we were able to explore new paths together.
Every Big Oh! Box is an adventure. You may retread known roads, trek through unfamiliar territory, or find new routes to familiar destinations – but you get to choose how you get there. The surprise is how much you might enjoy the trip.
–Betty Butch