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It's breaking taboos: Sex tech is coming of age
Sex tech is more than just an industry dedicated to augmenting sexual pleasure. In doing so, it’s breaking taboos and barriers. Author Tom Wells charts how sex tech is forcing the tech world to embrace a more inclusive future…
It’s not that long ago that masturbation was a highly taboo topic. Somehow, through a combination of open discussion, medical literature, popular culture and perhaps just common sense it has been accepted as healthy and natural.
Sex tech is currently undergoing the same process. For female sex toys the process has been much quicker. For men, there is still a lot of work to do. Yet acceptance among the tech industry has been even slower still. But the tide is turning and as sex tech finally begins to come of age, it is breaking down decades-old barriers with it.
The CES debacle and what it meant for sex tech
The Consumer Electronics Show is the zenith of the tech calendar. Over the course of this January weekend, the planet’s most inventive Glitterati descend on Las Vegas to discover what products are going to take the world by storm in the coming year. This makes CES an excellent barometer for an invention’s level of acceptance in the mainstream. And in the case of sex tech, it’s been a bumpy ride to say the least.
In 2019, for the first time, a sex tech product won an award CES. However, very shortly after the award was rescinded with CES saying the product is obscene. Pretty bizarre for a supposedly progressive tech conference.
DiCarlo responded stating “I was appalled, because we don’t think sexual health is obscene—it’s sacred,” “Sexual health is human health.” DiCarlo’s stand coupled with the public backlash forced CES to accept that the public are ready for sex tech and it should no longer be “outlawed”. The award was sheepishly reinstated and the tech world was forced to take note.
So in 2020, CES changed its attitude and invited more sex tech startups than ever before to exhibit their sex tech products. And this time as CES awarded for the best sex tech on the market, they stood by their decisions.