Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

Sex toys, smart vibrators, apps: sex tech at CES 2020 finally gets its time, but don’t mention pleasure – it’s all about ‘well-being’

Sex tech is testing the waters at CES this year with a range of toys, sex aids and apps on show. Many entrepreneurs in the industry started out in conventional consumer electronics, medicine or cosmetics and say pleasure and health go hand in hand

Sex toys are for relaxation. For education. For healing after childbirth. For long-term or long-distance relationships. For women’s emancipation. And also … for pleasure.

But manufacturers aiming for respectability tend to save this final point for last.

“Sex toys have an extremely negative connotation,” says Jerome Bensimon, president of Satisfyer. “So we’ve rebranded ourselves as a ‘sexual well-being company’.”

The company has gained attention for its pressure-wave technology used for clitoral stimulation, and has plans to launch a smart phone app for controlling sex toys, in particular by using voice commands.

At its booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, vibrators and Ben Wa balls sit alongside mini vibrators shaped like ice cream cones.

After some ups and downs, “sex tech” is testing the waters at CES this year. As recently as last year the display likely would have been banned.

At last year’s show, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which runs the expo, stripped the Ose massager of an award for innovation, saying it was disqualified for being “immoral”, “obscene” and “profane”. After an uproar, the CTA reversed itself and returned the prize to Lora DiCarlo, the company which manufactures the Ose.

Sex toys “are consumer electronics just like any other, but are not treated like that”, says Janet Lieberman-Lu, co-founder of Dame Products, which manufactures small devices for clitoral stimulation.

Given their widespread use, “sex toys are by definition mainstream … They’re more adopted than a lot of products at CES,” she adds.

Lieberman-Lu’s company has taken New York City’s public transport system to court, complaining that it allows advertisements for erectile dysfunction medications and ads that contain humorous references to sex – but not for sex devices.

“When you say that male sexual function is healthy and necessary but vibrators for women are obscene, you’re saying that men are supposed to be able to have sex and women aren’t supposed to be able to enjoy it,” Lieberman-Lu says. “That’s what leads to rape culture.”

Entrepreneurs in this industry, many of whom started out in conventional consumer electronics, medicine or cosmetics, say pleasure and health go hand in hand. Given that school textbooks only recently began including information on the shape and size of the clitoris, they say they are on a mission to educate the public.

It is often “much easier to talk about health than pure pleasure, which can involve fear of rejection”, says Soumyadip Rakshit, CEO of Mystery Vibe, which develops vibrators that deal with both erectile difficulties in men and post-partum vaginal scarring in women.

To open up, he says, people often need a catalyst.

“Everyone is keen to talk about it but no one wants to be the first,” he says. “If someone does that for them, a company, an article, a doctor … it makes that so much easier.”

Elsewhere on the showroom floor, Gerard Escaler, chief marketing officer at Lovense, explains how a male “masturbator” works.

The tubular objects have internal sleeves and are pink when intended for straight users and translucent for gay users.

The Hong Kong-based company offers several internet apps for use in long-distance relations – with a partner or with online erotic performers like “cam girls” who sell access to live web video.

Lovense is also developing a virtual reality game for the male sex toy with female characters. Visitors have to imagine the contents, however, since the imagery, even if artificial, is not allowed during the consumer expo.

But the “sexual well-being” industry, which could swell to nearly US$40 billion by 2024, according to a forecast from market research firm Arizton, may have good reason to maintain an air of mystery and controversy.

Without the storm it created last year, the US$300 Ose vibrator might not have taken off quite the way it did, says Lora Haddock DiCarlo, founder of the eponymous company which produces it.

“When we did our presale with Ose, after its long-awaited release at the end of November, we hit our yearly sales goal in five hours,” she says, as she rides aboard a transparent mobile showroom plying the streets of Las Vegas during the show.

The roving booth, like a fishbowl on wheels, displays the catchphrase: “The pleasure is all yours.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
×