I know it's been a little intense here at Purrversatility over the past few weeks, so I want to spend some time (for my own self care, as well as yours) highlighting how sexy and fun consent culture can be (not that it NEEDS to be- it just needs to be fucking respected- but it CAN be sexy too). So to celebrate the launch of Consent Culture (thanks Tajasel for constructing the site and Tom Ker-Oldfield for designing the logo, btw!) let's start off with some discussion of Valentine's Day and a giveaway, shall we?

Crystal Delights, who have been major supporters of Consent Culture, has offered up a beautiful frosted butt plug with a pink jewel in it as a giveaway prize for the High Holy Day of Femme (known to some as Valentine's Day). You can sneer about the day, as many do, but to me it's culturally meaningful as one day a year where women's emotions are supposed to count and even be catered to. Sure, Hallmark and candy companies have made it a consumer nightmare, but there is a beauty to the holiday, says Sublime Femme:

For femmes, Valentine’s Day is a high holy day. But I think we’re often made to feel like our appreciation for the romance of the holiday makes us superficial. Like beauty and fashion, love and romance are trivialized in our culture because they are feminized. If these things mattered to men, I guarantee you that they’d all be as important as the Super Bowl.

I wrote a bit about this last year, when I did a bunch of alternative gift guides (which I'll likely do again) about how a unique gift that reflected the tastes of your lover was endlessly more important than trite "romantic" gifts:

So I was talking to a friend on Twitter about this stuff, particularly relating to the Valentine's Day Do Not Buy list I wrote for online sex toy shop Electric Lady Lounge. She suggested I add "motorcycle parts" and "paintball ammo" to the list- which, for her, is true, but I know other ladies who would be delighted with those gifts.

It brings me to an important point forgotten by this Hallmarking of the holiday- not all women are alike. One lady might love practical gifts but hate chocolate that's not fair trade- another might not be too picky about chocolate, but be sensitive to certain chemical scents, so perfume is a bad idea. Still another lady might prefer a handmade card to roses. And never mind where guys fit into all this- I date the sort of guys who would like flowers and a bit of fuss made about them, and they're often more lovey-dovey than I am.

Which points to the ultimate issue with this media marketing frenzy- one size does not fit all, and if you assume it does, you will fail your mission here. If V-Day is a day where women's thoughts and feelings matter, this means you need to know the woman in your life well enough to seduce them in the way they want to be seduced. If she doesn't like expensive dinners, don't take her to one. And why just get a little something for your lover? Show the various people you love that you care about them- family, friends, pets- hell, maybe do a bit of trash cleanup or gardening to declare your love to the earth, too, why not? V-Day doesn't have to just be about couples and wishing you were in one, or in a better one, and to let the media win on that account is to passively let them define love in that way. Ugh.

ANYWAY, what have we got here but a giveaway for a beautiful sex toy that will appeal to the (often femme but not exclusively) magpie in each of us!

I reviewed a similar plug from Crystal Delights over Christmas, if you want to get an idea about it. This one, however, has a pretty pink color, is frosted, and will look gorgeous glinting between your asscheeks whatever gender you identify as! It's incredibly comfortable to have in and to remove, so you can wear it on a fancy date out or as a special adornment at home. I also love that it comes in a pretty padded bag, so it's already wrapped and ready for gift giving possibilities!

I'm sorry, but this is a US-address only contest this time around. :/

Finally, please do not leave your entries as comments on this post- I won't count them unless they are submitted via Rafflecopter. This makes life easier for me! Thank you and good luck! This contest ends Friday at noon EST so that hopefully you get your toy in time for the holiday, but no promises. ;)

Contest now over- congrats Phia!