What the science says about vibrators

What the studies say overall

Surveys that ask women about vibrators find that it is a widespread practice: many have used one at some point, both alone and with a partner (Herbenick et al., 2009; Herbenick et al., 2010). In a sample of women who have sex with women in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, most had used one (Schick et al., 2012).

In a survey of eight hundred women, almost eight in ten used sex toys, and most of them washed them, mostly with soap and water (Collar et al., 2022).

Use changes with age: in a urogynaecology clinic, women over sixty-five used vibrators less than younger women, and three in four patients thought doctors should talk about vibrators (Roberts et al., 2025).

Several studies link use with better scores on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, which covers domains such as desire, arousal, lubrication and orgasm (Herbenick et al., 2009; Herbenick et al., 2010; Schick et al., 2011).

In the study of women with female partners, the difference appeared in those who had used the vibrator with their partner in the past month, not in those who only used it when masturbating (Schick et al., 2011).

Other studies look at what goes along with use.

In the US national sample, a better image of one's own genitals was related to using a vibrator and to masturbating more often, and in another survey from the same country, women with positive beliefs about vibrators scored higher in several areas of sexual function (Herbenick et al., 2011; Herbenick et al., 2011).

In China, a study of women aged sixteen to fifty-eight linked traditionally masculine traits with more positive attitudes towards vibrators and with using them more (Jing et al., 2018).

Where they disagree

The fact that users score higher does not mean the vibrator is the cause: women who are more comfortable with their sexuality may also be the ones who use them most. These studies cannot separate one from the other.

Limits of the evidence

Almost all are one-off surveys of volunteers, and three of the studies come from the same US national sample (Herbenick et al., 2009; Herbenick et al., 2010; Herbenick et al., 2011). One was carried out in a urogynaecology clinic and another only in China (Roberts et al., 2025; Jing et al., 2018).

Randomised trials with the general population are lacking.

The studies, one by one

We have gathered 9 verified studies. Each summary is our own; the quotation in inverted commas is taken word for word from the original abstract, in English.

Other topics in the library

• Clitoral stimulation11 studies
• Sex toy use9 studies
• Sex toys for couples9 studies