Don’t want to be embarrassed by security? Not sure what you can bring on the plane?
Find out with Reid Mihalko from ReidAboutSex.com and Cathy Vartuli from TheIntimacyDojo.com
Cathy: Someone asked, can I bring my vibrator with me when I fly? Is TSA going to pull it out and embarrass me in front of everyone? This is Reid Mihalko from ReidAboutSex.com.
Reid: This is Cathy Vartuli from the TheIntimacyDojo.com.
Cathy: I’ve flown with mine a number of times and I have no problems. You can’t leave batteries in one that uses batteries. You have to pull the batteries out.
Reid: Yeah, and make sure that whatever vibrator you’re flying with, especially if it’s rechargeable, pack it in such a way that it doesn’t get turned on accidentally.
Cathy: Yeah.
Reid: Especially if you’re checking your baggage, this can be problematic, because anything that’s vibrating in a suitcase, at least when, the last time I talked to some TSA people, they have to pull it and treat it as if it’s an explosive. You kind of, don’t do that to yourself.
Cathy: Yeah. I have had, when I’ve traveled with the Enjoy, it’s just stainless steel. I’ve had them pull it out and discretely ask me what it was.
Reid: What did you tell them?
Cathy: I told them that it was a sex toy and one time I almost missed my flight because we were talking about it and they wanted to write down the website name and they were really intrigued. One time I got in line and it was, this is old stereotypes, but there is like this gentleman, he must have been in his 70s, looked very conservative and he saw everything and I had Sex Geek stickers on some things and he was like, Sex Geek, huh? And I’m like oh damn, I’m in trouble now and he’s like really cool. Have fun. I was like, oh, most of the time people are cooler than what we think. They’re just scared.
Reid: I mean, you might get embarrassed, but usually the embarrassment is coming from somebody being ignorant and unknowing, not necessarily that they’re trying to shame you in TSA and TSA’s been around long enough now where, believe me, you’re not the first sex toy that’s come through the x-ray machine. Often with me, when I’m flying with my sex toys …
Cathy: You have many sometimes.
Reid: I have many and they will call people over to the x-ray screen to, like look, and then when they look over at me, because I’m this person, I’ll be like (waving) and they wave me on through. No one wants to talk to me about my contents of my bag.
Cathy: Even when they’ve pulled it out, it hasn’t like, the people I’ve been traveling with, they haven’t shown it to other people in the line. They discretely went behind the screen and go, what is this, a weapon?
Reid: That’s where, the only thing I would caution is if you’re flying with …
Cathy: Your boss?
Reid: Kink and BDSM toys, which can look pretty ominous, make sure that you check those if you can and for super kinky folk who are flying with like knives or whatever they’re into, whips and things like that, I would usually check those rather than have those in your carry-ons, because duh, you can’t bring a knife onto an airplane.
Cathy: Yeah. Thanks for asking. Great question.
Reid: Yep. They are not weapons of mass destruction, they’re weapons of mass orgasmic pleasure. What are your ideas or what are your experiences, those of you who are watching, about flying with things of pleasure? Last but not least, make sure if you’re flying with lube, get the three ounce bottles ladies and gentlemen. You don’t want to lose a good bottle of lube to TSA.