Femme Revolution: How Women Are Shaping the Future of Pleasure (XBIZ)

Read the full article by Colleen Godin at XBIZ.com

The curtain rises on another year of sex toys, the audience roars with a fervor unseen in any prior decade of dildos. Something has clearly changed within the lineup of famous faces on-stage, and it’s a glaringly obvious detail that’s led to the revolution of an industry that was once home to paramount staples of illusion, delusion and unsatisfied consumers.

Without further ado, it’s officially the Year of the Woman in pleasure innovation.

While it’s easy to create a fancy rhetoric around this year’s biggest advancement in sex toys, the facts are quite simple: more women came into leadership roles within the last handful of years than ever before, and things have forever changed in a way that’s better for everyone.

Female CEOs, sales reps, designers, marketers, and all-around misbehaving babes have stirred up the sex toy market with such head-strong action that the ripples are crashing onto the shore of the mainstream consumer market.

We’ve been predicting this would happen for years, and we’ve even been writing about it in some form every month. But now, come 2019, the storm has grown too big to ignore. Now it’s finally time to pay full tribute to the incredible women who’ve gotten up every time they’ve fallen; who’ve kept screaming “yes” to hundreds of “no’s;” who not only won’t give up, but can’t give up because their brave hearts simply won’t let them.

We invite you to take a look at what the past, present and promising future have to unveil as women — with an unprecedented aura of finality — truly take the helm of the pleasure products industry.

From the Ground Up

Which came first: the feminist sex toy, or the feminist sex-toy shop? Women’s influence in modern vibrator sales first appeared in a big way at the retail level in good ol’ brick-and-mortar shops.

When hardcover sex books, so-called back massagers, and strangely misogynistic dildos were all the market could offer to the average female consumer, a small group of adult shops emerged that laid the groundwork for today’s classy vibrator boutiques.

Crafting Her Pleasure

With a place to finally call home, the market soon grew with female designers and company owners who were eager to keep the retail ball rolling.

“CalExotics was the first novelty company to be founded by a woman — Susan Colvin,” recalls Nichole Grossman, director of marketing at CalExotics.

Silicon Sensations

Powerful feminine figures have since become a hot topic, especially in technology and design. It was long assumed that women weren’t capable of working in STEM capacities, though the pleasure industry boasts of some of the most prominent, tech-based designers on the planet.

Crossover Artists

When they aren’t wearing a designer vibrator elegantly draped down their necklines, women — both consumers and business types — are creating media buzz that kicks babely masturbation into a properly normal category.

Now and Then

Though the future glows bright with potential for female entrepreneurs, a peek into the past reveals a darker tale. Products were designed and marketed by men without much consideration about how women’s bodies sexually functioned.

“The adult industry was once very male-dominated, especially in the way of manufacturing,” says Stephanie Berman, founder of The Semenette. “It was not common to see women at the helm. And now, we are seeing more and more companies that are not only founded by women but their products are being created and engineered by women. It’s so refreshing and I think it has shifted how products are being received by consumers. Women want to feel acknowledged and understood, especially when it comes to something like pleasure products.”

Babes Make Businesses Grow

When women are handed the reigns, pleasure enterprises grow in a big way. New product inventions, forward-thinking marketing campaigns, and trending educational material have all exploded over the last handful of years — all of which were mostly non-existent in the very early years of the sex toy industry. And what’s more, the results are a reaction to a market that’s been largely ignored.

Changing Focus

For centuries, women have been asked to be changeable and malleable in every aspect of life. They’re asked to spring to action when needed, and then told to crawl back into the kitchen on a moment’s notice. This course of history has bred female leaders that can flawlessly move with the market, responding to rapidly advancing consumer needs.

The Birth of Real Sex Education

Sex education is a topic that deserves its own multi-million-word essay. It’s a theme that’s painful to unpack when you consider what Americans, especially women, have been denied in every generation — unbiased access to scientifically accurate and pleasure-acknowledging sexual health info. If we can’t get the facts in schools, and most parents are even more clueless than their kids, where can we learn about our bodies?

The pleasure industry’s female force has answered this question in spades.

For Her, By Her

Products founded on a “for us, by us” attitude have been true game-changers in the sex toy field. Thanks to social media, vibrator designer is now one of the most coveted careers in the nation, and women deserve full credit for evolving this formerly laughable gig into one of the most important women’s roles in the industry.

Women See the Details That Make the Difference

There’s a reason women have long been associated with master multi-tasking. Where many numerically-minded men miss important subtleties — like the desire to ejaculate from a silicone penis, or why typical shaving cream just doesn’t cut it for bikini line care — women bring an artistic-like touch that gives branding an oomph of sisterly honesty.

Pushing for Progress

Despite immense progress, the battle for women’s bodies — and wallets — isn’t over quite yet. Would-be female founders still experience setbacks in securing funding for sex toy brands and finding product placement in the mainstream.

In certain areas of the country, suburbanites aren’t experiencing the same sexual freedoms as the babes in the big cities.

Hopeful Harbingers

We’d be hard-pressed to find a single woman in history who’s given up before a battle was won. These proud pleasure pioneers are no exception, and there’s an air of positivity laced in every setback.

The Femme Future of Sex Toys

The femme take-over is dawning on the sex-tech world like a looming tsunami, and within the pleasure products sector, the majority of floor space is already female-dominated.

“I think we will continue to see more and more companies being run by women and products being created by women for women,” says Berman. “Technology only continues to become more advanced and women are leading the charge in the way of innovation. Consumers are becoming savvier and more assertive with what they expect from companies and manufacturers will continue to raise the bar to exceed those expectations and create loyalty to their brand.”

Money and sex are undeniably powerful cultural influencers, and when women are in control of the finances and the end goals, consumers will finally be served on every level of their specific sexual needs.