Sex Tech News: NYC Subways Allow Sex Toy Ads (Sort of), Eco-friendly Pleasure & Crowd Orgasms

Jenna Owsianik
6 Min Read

Plus Kinkly announces its annual Sex Blogging Superheroes list.

Dame Ad in Subway with Future of Sex color background
After a three-year legal battle, sex toy company Dame is now allowed to advertise on NYC subways—innuendo only. (Image source: Dame)

“You can advertise sex toys on the subway, provided you don’t show any sex toys or really say what you’re advertising, under a lawsuit settlement reached by ‘sexual wellness’ marketer Dame with the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

“Dame ads began running on subway cars Monday under a deal that ended a federal lawsuit filed in 2019 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by Dame against the MTA, which along with Outfront, the company that manages New York City transit advertising, rejected an earlier campaign showing actual sex toys.)” (via Jack/NeffAdAge)

“Dame made headlines in 2019 with its federal complaint, which alleged that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was biased in rejecting the ads, which featured photos of sex toys alongside text reading, ‘91% of men get where they’re going while 60% of women…don’t,’ and, ‘Thank you from the bottom of my vulva.’

“The MTA, which serves some 5.5 million people per day, had previously allowed ads from other companies featuring cactuses as metaphors for erect penises, and others bearing the acronym ‘DTF,’ commonly known as an abbreviation for ‘down to fuck.’” (via Emily Shugerman/The Daily Beast)

RELATED READ: ‘Approved, Not Approved’ Protests Blatant Sexism Against Women’s Sex Tech Advertising

Lovense Gush hands-free-stroker

“Called a ‘glans massager,’ the new stroker is designed to deliver pleasant vibrations to the tip of the penis, also known as the glans. Designed for solo play, close-range, and long-distance control, Lovense Gush also offers an optional band that increases targeted stimulation, intensity, and tightness.

“The Gush penis vibrator is one of two new products the sex tech company recently launched, the is other the Hyphy dual-ended vibrator that went on sale in October. Both Bluetooth sex toys integrate with interactive online sex games 3DXChat [NSFW] and Wild Life Demo from Nutaku [NSFW]. (via Lovense)

“There are a handful of companies working essentially to integrate computers and brains as one, or at least working to allow a computer to transmit emotions, thoughts, knowledge and perhaps even sensation directly to the brain. Per [Future of Sex publisher Ross] Dawson, these include Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which Musk claims could ‘enable pleasure through the release of brain hormones such as oxytocin and dopamine, that are also associated with orgasms.’

“So, hypothetically, we could all have our brains linked up to computers that are programmed to give us all an orgasm at the exact same time.” (via Magdalene Taylor/MEL)

“Putting a finger on what is considered ‘eco-friendly’ varies in as many ways as there are sex toys. For many consumers and retailers, it can be the images of green plants on a package — which may suggest the product is green when, in reality, it may not be. It may take a while to decipher the symbols on the back of the package to figure out if the product is biodegradable, if the ingredients are water-soluble, or if the package itself is biodegradable.

“Gabriela Rocha, Stuffgoodies CEO, summed it up this way: ‘A sex toy can be ‘eco-friendly’ if it’s reusable, made of certain materials … and also guarantees body safety when used.’ Besides products that are made from recycled materials, Rocha also endorses the use of various other durable materials, including steel and silicone.” (via Ariana Rodriguez and Kim Airs/XBIZ)

Kinkly's Sex Blogging Superheroes of 2021
We’re delighted to see FutureofSexn.et included once again in Kinkly’s latest list of the top 100 sex blogs on the Internet.

“Kinkly has run this list every year since 2013, and it holds a special place in our hearts because we know that sex-positive content doesn’t get the accolades it deserves.

“Sex Blogging Superheroes was designed to celebrate sex bloggers and what they bring to the world as well as use our platform to show people that no matter who you are or what you’re into, there’s probably a resource out there for you.

“Every year, hundreds of thousands of people visit Kinkly.com’s Sex Blogger Directory to connect with the best sex blogs on the internet. Our Sex Blogging Superheroes list is our way of highlighting some of the best and most popular blogs in our Directory, as well as ensuring that it remains a high-quality resource for curious readers and industry insiders looking for bloggers to partner with. In the meantime, we at Kinkly just wanted to extend congratulations to everyone on the list. (via Kinkly)

TAGGED:
Share This Article
Follow:
Jenna Owsianik is a Canadian journalist and sex tech expert. From 2014 to 2022 she was Editor-in-Chief of FutureofSex.net, the world’s leading publication on how technology is changing human sexuality, today and tomorrow. Her expertise covers state-of-the-art sex technologies and the major fields driving innovations in intimacy: robotics, virtual reality, remote sex (teledildonics), immersive adult entertainment, human augmentation, virtual sex, and sexual health. A trained journalist with a Masters of Journalism from The University of British Columbia, Jenna’s reporting has appeared on Futurism.com, Al Jazeera English, CTV British Columbia online, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS 60 Minutes, Global News, and CKNW Radio in Canada and the United States. As a sex tech industry consultant, she is especially passionate about helping companies deliver accessible services and products to people with disabilities and other underserved communities. Jenna also runs the sites SexforEveryBody.com, a sex-positive, body-positive online magazine that promotes inclusive sex education; and DisabledSexGuide.com, an adult resource on sex, disability, and erotica. In 2013, Jenna won two Canadian Online Publishing Awards for her work on The Pain Project, a multimedia site on global access to palliative care. She won second place at the 2011 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism’s Public Health category for her participation in the documentary Freedom From Pain. Jenna has an Honors BA in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research as well as a French minor from The University of Western Ontario. She spent a year studying at L’Université Lumière Lyon 2 in Lyon, France.