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Pickup trucks, considered by many a more macho means of getting around, are the focus of an increasingly popular new "accessory" that leaves no doubt about vehicular virility — or at least gender.

But it could leave some parents fumbling to explain to younger passengers what's dangling from the bumper hitch of that 4x4 in the next lane.

Phrased as delicately as possible, artificial plastic genitals — from graphically realistic to clear plastic ones that light up when you hit the brakes — are becoming the rage when it comes to dressing up that pickup truck or SUV.

Although they've been around for several years, TruckNutz have taken off recently, as more drivers are putting them on.

They join increasingly lurid bumper stickers offering a rolling testament to the decline in over-the-road civility.

Bumper stickers inviting women to display a particular body part or making not-so-subtle sexual or anatomical references, are becoming as popular as the window decal of a cartoon boy urinating on a variety of objects — which was itself once the cutting edge of highway risque.

And it's not just men thumbing their metaphorical noses at passing traffic. A variety of bumper stickers aimed at the female audience abound, like one that shouts, "If it has tires or testicles, it's going be trouble," being one of the more gentle offerings.

At least four companies offer plastic molded testicles in a rainbow of colors, in different sizes and degrees of realistic appearance.

And business is booming, said 74-year-old Wilson Kemp, who operates the one-man TruckNutz business out of his home in Florida.

Kemp said he ships between 20,000 and 25,000 pairs of the doodads a year at $15 to $40 apiece, depending on the model, and after five years, "I can count the complaints on one hand."

"Most people are not offended," Kemp says.

But an informal survey of Tucsonans on the street Downtown indicated otherwise.

"I had to do a double-take," said Lupita Taylor, recalling the first time she saw a rear bumper with added human parts.

"When I saw it I thought, 'Oh my God, is that what I thought it was?' I was shocked," she said.

She's not alone. "I think it's terrible, I think it's ridiculous," said Graeme Hunt. He said he's seen about a half-dozen vehicles sporting that little something extra between the wheels.

Dennis Crosby said his first thought, the first time he saw a truck decked out with them, was "you've got to be kidding."

That invisible bar that measures what's decent and acceptable is constantly being lowered, Crosby said. Things that initially shock you end up becoming part of society, he said.

He's glad his kids are old enough so he doesn't have to explain things like trucks with testicles. With kids, Crosby said, "you try to seize each moment and try to teach kids. How do you teach in that moment?"

Though graphic and shocking to some, the decorations are legal, and will likely stay that way for now.

A delegate to the Maryland General Assembly introduced a bill this year to outlaw them, but it didn't even get a committee hearing.

In Arizona, Rep. Marian McClure, R-Tucson, wonders what will come next.

"I used to be utterly amazed at things. Anymore, I just think the whole world is going crazy," said McClure, vice-chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee.

"I don't think it's in good taste," she said.

Jeff Greenberg, a University of Arizona social psychology professor, said some people use their vehicles to make a statement about who they are.

"Everyone wants to feel special, everyone wants to express their own views of things, and their view of themselves and convey a positive image of themselves," he said.

"The other part is just representing who you want to be," he said.

In this case, Greenberg said, the overtly sexual bumper stickers and male reproductive body parts on display mean the drivers likely want to show they are heterosexual males, a specific image.

"I don't think they're trying to offend, I think they're trying to represent something that they see as positive in themselves."

Celestino Fernandez is a sociology professor at the University of Arizona. He specializes in popular culture and has studied and written about automobile culture.

He says Americans have a "love affair" with our vehicles, which is obvious not only by the amount of time we spend in them, but by how we personalize and decorate them.

Fake testicles convey an image of alpha-male, an exaggerated sex drive, or a statement of masculinity, Fernandez said.

"We don't see gun racks anymore but if you go back 10 to 15 years, all these pickup trucks had gun racks hanging inside the back window. … The testicles are a new version of the gun rack."

But Lupita Taylor said academic explanations about how the automotive adornments are just an expression of the driver's individuality don't mean much when you're face-to-face with them on the street.

"I have an 8-year-old son. He would think it's funny. But as a parent it's one more thing I'd have to explain," she said.

"Why would you?" asked Valerie Hillmar, questioning why someone would put such salacious bumper stickers, let alone fake genitals, on a vehicle. "Are they so needy of attention? If they're secure in their masculinity, why would they do it?"

Others, however, say it doesn't have to be taken so seriously.

"It gets your attention and then you forget about it," said Susan Fulton. "If you react with shock — that's what they want."

When Jenny Leschak saw her first one on the streets about a week ago, she said she laughed.

And while she said she wouldn't prejudge anyone who decorated a vehicle with such accessories, she said it does make her wonder what they're trying to say.

As much as people are looking for a message in the ornaments, Mary Koss, a public-health professor, said they're also part of what we get for living in a place where we can express ourselves.

"Generally I think people use bumper stickers to express political opinion and not to make hate speech," Koss said, whose area of expertise is violence against women.

"You don't have to go further than the Internet to see things that offend you, but that's what America stands for … the right to express opinions."