The rabbit vibrator scene in Sex and the City (1998) where the product skyrocketed in popularity.
What Is A Rabbit Vibrator?
A rabbit vibrator is a type of sex toy that is designed to stimulate two places simultaneously — typically the clitoris and vagina (and more specifically, where the g-spot and internal structure of the clitoris reside) — to stimulate multiple areas for a different kind of pleasure than what is usually achieved with just external or internal stimulation alone.
Earlier designs of the rabbit vibrator were designed to look like a little rabbit (or other animals) for the clitoral stimulator part, where the ears often acted as a fluttering motion. These designs have changed over time.
While the traditional looking rabbit style vibrator still exists and is enjoyed by many, different designers have taken different spins on the design over time from removing the rabbit appearance, improving on the vibration range of the device, adding other types of movement to the shaft part of the device (or removing the vibration from the shaft entirely), adding suction for external stimulation, and improving on the clitoral nubs to make it larger, stronger, or more flexible for different body types and masturbation techniques.
How Does A Rabbit Vibrator Work?
For reference, I’ll be using my own product, the Lioness Vibrator, to help describe some of these features because it’s what I helped design and know best.
A rabbit vibrator always has these 3 parts...
1. A shaft
The shaft part of the rabbit vibrator can come in different sizes — look out for those measurements if you know you want something of a certain size. The shaft is also sometimes shaped to curve slightly or be a little more bulbous at the tip for added g-spot stimulation.
While there is often a vibration motor in the shaft, this is not always the case. For example, the Lioness Vibrator does not have vibration in the shaft due to customer feedback that didn’t prefer vibration inside the vagina. Instead, we removed the vibration there (leaving the clitoral stimulator) and focused on optimizing Lioness’s biofeedback functionality.
2. An external nub
Traditionally, the external nub is sometimes shaped like a rabbit or another animal, where the bunny ears flutter to stimulate a lighter, fluttery vibration. Since then, a lot of companies have improved on the design over time by adding a stronger motor and changing the surface shape to produce different (i.e. stronger) sensations.
For the Lioness, we also made the external nub quite flexible so people can maneuver and hold it in places that feel good to them. A few other companies do this, but most keep the nub stiff. While this is good for optimizing engineering durability, it’s sometimes too stiff to move to the right places for different body types (different people have different clitoris-to-vagina distances)… so as a designer or an engineer, you need to make various trade offs for product durability and body type adaption. Others who have taken different approaches with the rabbit style are Womanizer Duo (using suction for clitoral stimulation) and We-Vibe Nova 2 (flexible clitoral arm).
3. Vibration!
A rabbit vibrator wouldn’t be a vibrator without vibration… right? Just like size and the external nub, not all vibration is created equal.
Although you can’t break into a toy to see what motor they use, and if you buy online you can’t feel the vibration through the screen, know that the vibration can vary between different products depending on the choices the company makes.
As noted in our first vibrator guide, we typically recommend going for something that can be stronger and more rumbly as a first vibrator, since it’s easier to dampen the vibration than to make a lighter vibration stronger (which is basically not possible).
While a rabbit vibrator (and most other vibrator types) cannot be as strong as wand vibrators, which are larger and can house the largest and strongest vibration motors (but as a trade off, provides less targeted stimulation and isn’t optimized for dual stimulation), there are ways to narrow down on rabbit vibrators that can be effective at their size:
- What kind of metal is used for the vibration motor? While stainless steel is most commonly used and is cheaper, it doesn’t perform as well as tungsten metal at the same size, which is more dense and can make a vibrator more rumbly. For Lioness we went with tungsten metal so we can maintain a smaller form factor, yet still be effective for many people.
- How big is the surface area that’s in contact with the clitoris (or other parts of the body)? To provide a contrast — using the rabbit ears alone on a traditional rabbit vibrator may not feel very substantial because they are very light and fluttery. Having a larger surface area that can encompass the clitoris and the vulva can more easily feel stronger. There isn’t any wrong way here and people have different preferences, but if you know you’d prefer one or another this is an important consideration when choosing a rabbit vibrator.
A rabbit vibrator sometimes has...
1. Rotation
Some vibrators are designed so the shaft rotates or makes a come hither motion, presumably for vaginal or g-spot stimulation. Most of these don’t work very well. The pelvic floor muscles that bowl around the vagina and rectum are quite strong, and what I find is that the movement makes the handle move, if anything. Instead of having the mechanized motion, I’d recommend opting for moving the vibrator yourself in the grinding or thrusting motion, two techniques I describe in the next section on how to use a rabbit vibrator.
2. Flexible external nub
Many rabbit style vibrators are designed for the external nub to sit in one place. While this can be good for engineering integrity (preventing added stress by the user by bending it), the bending and flexibility is pretty important for a better user experience. Maybe one position is perfect for clitoral stimulation but terrible for g-spot stimulation... and vice versa. Why not add some flexibility to make reaching both spots easier?
Different people have different clitoris-to-vagina distances, and some people need to move the nub around to get it in a particular spot they want. Creating a flexible clitoral nub can make it easier for the product to work with more body types.
3. Suction
With the recent resurgence of suction style sex toys, some rabbit vibrators use suction for clitoral stimulation instead of vibration.
4. Biofeedback
Okay, well this is a little moment to toot our own horns, but if you DO want to use some new technology to see and learn what works best for you, the Lioness Vibrator is a rabbit style vibrator that is the only vibrator out there with biofeedback and an app that can do just that. There is also a live view feature that lets you see your pleasure muscles working in real time, if you choose!
How Do I Use A Rabbit Vibrator?
A popular assumption is that rabbit vibrators can only be used for vaginal/clitoral dual stimulation. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Although the rabbit vibrator is designed so youcan stimulate two places at once, you’re not limited to just using a rabbit vibrator that way.
The one golden rule? Always have a great bottle of lube on hand (and in particular, one that is good quality because not all lubes are created equal).
Below are a few suggestions of ways I suggest exploring using a rabbit vibrator:
1. Use a rabbit vibrator for external stimulation only
You can use the shaft or the external nub to stimulate not only clitoris and vulva, but also the anus, nipples, testicles… you get the idea. If the vibration and shape of the toy feels good on some part of the body, you can use a rabbit vibrator that way. It doesn’t need to be exclusively for clitoral/vaginal dual stimulation.
You can use a rabbit style vibrator this way for foreplay or for a complete masturbation session. There’s no such thing as the masturbation police (thank god) so if you like it, it feels good, and it’s safe, then you do you, my friend.
2. Two-handed technique
Just as you can use the rabbit vibrator for external stimulation only, there’s no reason not to consider using both hands to pleasure yourself at once. You can use one hand to hold the handle and the other hand to hold the external nub (provided it’s flexible enough to move around).
3. Hold the external nub instead of the handle
You don’t have to hold on to the handle. You can hold on to the external nub instead so you can have more control over where you focus vibration on yourself. I recommend this method along with the grinding method.
4. Thrusting
I’ve found in my experience studying rabbit vibrators (yes, it’s a job!) that if you are looking to use a rabbit vibrator for significant thrusting movement, you’ll want to be mindful what you get and learn how to best use it.
A difficulty with rabbit vibrators is if you move the handle to move the shaft, that also moves that clitoral nub — and depending on the design of that nub and how you use it, it might move the nub to places you don’t want. I’ve yet to see anyone figure out a single design that works for everyone’s bodies and preferences, but there are some who come close and can do well for many people. Some toys are better designed for different body types or masturbation styles. I’ll be listing some below in the “Best Rabbit Vibrator” section.
5. Grinding
I’m leaving my favorite technique for last. One of the most foolproof ways to use a rabbit vibrator (provided you like how it feels) is the grinding motion. Basically, after any foreplay you might do, you insert the shaft and position the clitoral stimulator where you like it (adding lube to the shaft beforehand if you need some extra lubrication). Then once you start using it at your preferred settings, you basically grind on the clitoral stimulator and can rock the shaft back and forth, rubbing against your g-spot.
You can use your hand on the clitoral stimulator to add a bit more pressure or control over the clitoral nub for more precision as though you’re fingering yourself but only the external vibration gives you superpowers.
It’s probably one of the better ways to maintain control over the toy and rub everything the way you want it, and it’s how we designed the Lioness Vibrator to be.
What Are The Best Rabbit Vibrators?
While this is by no means a comprehensive list, the vibrators we’ve chosen below display some of the diverse qualities a great rabbit style vibrator can be. All of these products below are made of body safe silicone and are well-loved by many people.
LELOSoraya Wave
The LELO Soraya Wave is a classic-yet-modern rabbit style vibrator that looks sleek, sports a sapphire blue color, and the shaft can move a bit, hence the “Wave” part of the name. With it’s trimmings it’s designed to feel like a luxury experience.
Doc Johnson Kink Vibrator
This rabbit style vibrator is pretty cool because it’s one of the only ones I know of that sportsthree clitoral stimulators. Most rabbit vibrators only have one or two, but the three kind of envelop the vulva and clitoris for a fuller experience so you don’t have to choose where you want to concentrate your stimulation.
Lioness Vibrator
Of course, I can’t leave out my own! I’ve tried suitcase-loads of rabbit vibrators over time and put a lot of those thoughts into building my own. If you’re not familiar with the Lioness, its primary selling point is its biofeedback and self-improvement capabilities, though it’s also a pretty great rabbit vibrator (I at least think).
From hundreds of user tests, we made a flexible clitoral nub that conforms to many body types (and has a specific shape to “nestle” vs. poke); a unique, ergonomic, cradle-style handle; a specific angle for g-spot stimulation; a special tungsten motor (to have a deeper vibration than a vibrator of this size should otherwise have); and finally is phthalate-free, non-porous, medical grade silicone.
Womanizer Duo
If you like suction, the Womanizer makes a “rabbit style” version of their popular suction line. This is a solid choice if you want to marry suction with g-spot stimulation in one device.
WeVibe Nova 2
Last but not least, the Nova is a novel rabbit style vibrator that is particularly great for those who prefer the thrusting technique. The nub is flexible and curls so that it can be more bouncy and travel with you as you thrust up and down along the toy.
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