China’s millennials stimulate $15bn sex toy market

BEIJING: Single and locked out of Beijing’s dating scene by the pandemic, Amy was encouraged by other women in online chatrooms to find a solution to her enforced abstinence — a sex toy.

“Before, I felt a bit scared and embarrassed to use them,” said the 27-year-old, who did not wish to disclose her real name. “Then I discovered a new world.”

Amy now plans to expand her collection.

Demand for sex toys is increasing in China, which is already the world’s biggest exporter of bedroom aids.

That is partly thanks to the coronavirus, which brought prolonged separations for partners due to lockdowns, and lengthy closures of public entertainment venues that ruled out hook-ups.

But it is also a product of a wider cultural shift in attitudes towards sex by a younger and more…