The secret censorship holding back the sex toy industry
Earlier this month, thousands of vendors exhibited at the tech trade show CES. But notably absent was the sex toy startup Lora DiCarlo, whose invitation to exhibit at the show was rescinded after CES changed its mind about awarding an Innovation Award to the company’s Osé vibrator.
For some, the decision to revoke the award was a sign of pervasive sexism and a discomfort with female pleasure, particularly given CES’s long-standing tolerance of sex robots, VR porn, and, until recently, booth babes. But vibrator company OhMiBod has been a longtime CES exhibitor, and even won a CES Award in 2016. Alexandra Fine, co-founder of sex toy company Dame Products, was a speaker on the CNET stage this very year.
