By Peter Berton

SYDNEY, Australia – No vibrators, please; we’re Australian. That might as well be the mantra for Oz’s Woolworths after the supermarket chain pulled Durex’s Play Delight vibrating bullet from 900 stores nationwide.

The chain Australians call Woolies became the first mass-merchandiser in the country to offer battery-powered sex toys less than one month ago. The grand experiment came to an abrupt halt after a Christian group called for a nationwide boycott.

“Society is already suffering massive problems with young children being over-sexualized,” Roslyn Phillips, a spokesperson for FamilyVoice Australia, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “This move by Woolies just makes the problem worse.

“’I, personally, would not patronize Woolies while this situation exists, and I encourage everyone else to boycott them too,” she added. “I hope parents will let Woolies know how they feel, and I hope they tell them they’ll continue to shop elsewhere until these products are removed.’”

Woolworths’ decision to stop selling the vibes puzzled sexologist Dr. Nikki Goldstein, given that condoms and lubricants have remained on store shelves.

“Why is it so offensive?” Goldstein asked. “We are taught to view such products as dirty, naughty, shameful and outside the boundaries of normality, and that’s wrong. A vibrator is no different than a vitamin, in that it does something positive for your body.”

Woolworths was terse in its response to a media request for comment.

“This is a product that is more appropriate for pharmacies than supermarkets,” the company noted in a statement.

Durex’s response was diplomatic.

“Products that assist Australians to have great sex should be made easily available to consumers through a variety of channels,” a company spokesperson told the Herald.