The Fleshlight is a brand of sex toys designed for penetration and marketed primarily to heterosexual men. The Fleshlight is designed and marketed by Interactive Life Forms (ILF).[1] The Fleshlight is named for the flesh-like material used in its inner sleeve, as well as the plastic case that houses the sleeve, which is fashioned to look like an oversized flashlight. The inner sleeve is available with vulva, anus, and mouth orifices. The inner sleeves come in flesh (from a variety of ethnicities) and ice/crystal (see-through) as well as a limited edition blue color for an Avatar-like look, and 48 different internal textures[2] (6 original, 15 girls, 10 special, 5 Sex-In-A-Can, and 12 boys textures).
The Fleshlight was designed by Steve Shubin.[3] He was granted a patent in 1998 for his invention, as a "device for discreet semen collection".[4] It was also designed to be a safer alternative to real sex, considering STD's, pregnancy, and involuntary celibacy.[5]
The Fleshlight is stated to be made of medical and food grade, phthalate-free polymers.[6] According to the Fleshlight website, the insert material is called "Real Feel Superskin" and is not made from latex, plastic, or silicone. The Fleshlight FAQ[7] claims the material is "a company secret covered by a series of US patents" but according to the public patent, the material is an elastomeric gel being formed from a mixture of 90–94% by weight of plasticizing oil and of 5–9% by weight of a block copolymer comprising an admixture of a styrene ethylene butylene styrene block copolymer and a styrene ethylene propylene styrene block copolymer combined in a ratio of 1:5 to 5:1.