Several weeks ago, my husband was cleaning up the house and found my vibrator in the kid's toy box. I mean I know my dear friend "Mr. Purple" is a "toy" but not the kind that belongs next to Barney the purple dinosaur. And so I grabbed the Silicone Beast from my husband and rightly hid it under a stack of my panties. For the time being, Good Ole Purple rests safely in the drawer of my private life.

But the whole incident made me think about how hyper sexualized vibrators are. It made me question why I feel a sense of shame if, God forbid, my vibrator is seen outside of its sexually cloistered environment. Vibrators, I thought, are in the closet. And so when Lisa and Kristi invited me to see their photographic series, "The Daily Grind," I welcomed the opportunity to "Out" the vibrator.

It's hilarious to think about June Cleaver cleaning the house, preparing dinner for Ward and then, with extra care, dusting her brilliantly red vibrator. Knowing June, she'd probably polish it to a rock-hard, resilient shine and then place it neatly next to Ward's cock ring. Cock ring aside, the images of a bright red vibrator snuggling between two pieces of Wonder Bread, resting in the pasta dish, and sitting in the fridge make us laugh because they challenge us to think of female masturbation as part of the everyday. The 1950's "little woman" imagery evokes a period in American history when white bread was the norm, women were domesticated, and men were "on top." What we don't realize, of course, is why the happy housewife was so genuinely so happy.

The truth is that the vibrator has been "Mommy's best-friend" for decades. But like women's sexual pleasure itself, the vibrator has been hidden from view. And so Lisa and Kristi are, indeed, "boldly buzzing new territory in the history of the vibrator" by taking their pleasure wands out of the drawer and into the rest of the apartment.

I know that in my case, Barney the dinosaur anxiously awaits this event.

Michelle Melles
Segment Producer, SEXTV