When you’re at odds with your body, it can be difficult to feel sexy, and trans individuals tend to have a hard time masturbating when their genitals feel wrong to them.
The general consensus on forums discussing this topic with regard to trans men has been to try anal or masturbate while wearing a strap-on. The lack of options is as daunting as the fact that there’s nowhere for trans guys to go to discuss these things openly.
More: 13 Sex Toys With Ridiculously Good Amazon Ratings
Trans men have been manufacturing their own sex toys for… well, as long as there have been trans men, I imagine. A popular DIY-sex toy seems to be made from a water bottle, but others have recommended hand towels coated in lube or manipulated nipple play suction cups.
Fortunately, trans activist and entrepreneur Buck Angel created a masturbatory aid for trans men so they can jerk off without the usual dysphoria.
The specially designed sex toy is described as “the first product designed specifically for trans men to engage in stroking fun.” Designed for trans men who have already started their transition (i.e. are taking testosterone, which enlarges the clitoris), the toy plays into those biological changes.
The Buck-Off took five years to develop, and while it is mostly similar to other masturbation sleeves, it is shorter and wider than other sleeves and can create suction. This makes it the perfect masturbation accessory for trans men who feel dysphoria when using other means to self-satisfy.
More: 9 Household Items That Can Double as Sex Toys
In an interview with Vice in 2016, Buck Angel explained that trans men “are very disassociated from their vaginas because it doesn’t feel masculine to them. When you transition, you want to have a penis, you want to feel like a man, and so you don’t necessarily want to touch your vagina.” So, he created the Buck-Off, which “allows you to masturbate without touching your vagina.”
Despite having entered the sex toy market in 2016 and outlets describing the Buck-Off as “one that could set a precedent for investors and manufacturers to broaden their horizons beyond strap-ons and slings,” the toy lacks competition in the market. Other similar trans-specific sex toys are nonexistent; it’s only fair to speculate that they are either still being produced or that there is a belief that one toy for the trans community is enough — a common (and misplaced) assumption.