{"id":41674,"date":"2019-08-20T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T10:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=41674"},"modified":"2020-02-14T09:08:20","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T14:08:20","slug":"sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not that crowded so you, like every other unsuspecting passenger, find an empty seat on the New York City<\/a> subway. You take out your Malcolm Gladwell, or plug in your wireless earbuds, or maybe you\u2019re one of those rare breeds to sit, ankle on knee, and unfold a local newspaper<\/a>. The train rumbles along and out of casual boredom your eyes wander upward, where you see in all caps, \u201cERECTILE DYSFUNCTION\u201d set against a glaring red billboard. Even the elderly man next to you with the thick-rimmed glasses can read the huge block letters and that of Roman, the advertiser\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, Roman and HIMS, two companies that cater to men\u2019s health, have run advertising campaigns with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to destigmatize issues related to men\u2019s sexual and physical wellness. The CEOs of both companies have described<\/a> working with MTA\u2019s advertising agencies as a process of \u201cunderstanding\u201d and \u201cprofessionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same can\u2019t be said for the MTA\u2019s recent advertising collaboration with Dame Products, a sex tech startup by women, for women. In January, the MTA denied its campaign<\/a> for vibrators on the basis of \u201cupdated guidelines\u201d banning \u201csexually oriented companies.\u201d This comes after Dame\u2019s co-founders, Alexandra Fine and Janet Lieberman, spent 7 months working with Outfront, the agency that revises advertising proposals for the MTA.<\/p>\n

In June, Dame Products sued<\/a> the MTA, accusing the agency of harboring a \u201cVictorian view of female sexuality,\u201d and noting that other subway ads — like the HIMS ones that feature phallic cactuses<\/a>, both flaccid and erect — graphically cater toward male pleasure. The MTA has countered that its advertising policy clearly prohibits sex toys. The suit is pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started this company, I never thought I would be filing lawsuits,\u201d Fine says, during a recent interview. But she hopes the process \u201copens up conversations about the larger societal tropes at play here,\u201d including the prioritization of male-focused products.<\/p>\n

\"Women
Women entrepreneurs in sex tech are trying to profit while increasing awareness for female sexual wellness. (Credit: Pixabay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Sex Tech Explained: The Birds and The Bees and The Vibrators <\/b><\/h5>\n

Dame Products is just one of hundreds of businesses part of a group, Women in Sex Tech<\/a>, trying to increase awareness for female sexual wellness.<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>This designer also wants to improve sexual wellness for women<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

Sex tech, one of the more recent \u201ctech\u201d industry annexes, consists of the usual suspects in the sex toy market as well as any product that, generally speaking, enhances the human sexual experience. There\u2019s no doubt that sex sells — the porn industry generates anywhere from $6 to $97 billion in revenue a year<\/a> — but it\u2019s difficult to find reliable figures for the sex tech market. Some researchers have estimated<\/a> that the industry is growing at more than 30 percent a year, potentially outperforming high-growth tech sectors like drone manufacturing. One forecast<\/a> predicts that the global sex toys market will reach $30 billion by 2020, and a JWT Intelligence Report<\/a> even dubbed the sex tech rise as \u201cvagina-nomics\u201d since there have never been more products on the market geared toward sexual health.<\/p>\n

Back in 2016, Future of Sex<\/a> podcast host Bryony Cole predicted the biggest trend in sex tech to be female founders, and she wasn\u2019t wrong. Women-led sex tech companies seem to be leading the market in innovation — to name a few, Dame launched Fin, the first-ever sex toy on Kickstarter, which is an easy-to-use vibrator worn between the fingers to naturally amp up sensations. Lioness, a San Francisco-based sex tech company, has developed a smart vibrator that tracks and suggests improvements for your orgasms. And Lora DiCarlo, a recent CES honoree, has developed a hands-free massager that uses micro-robotics to \u201chit all the right spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe innovations that are coming out are definitely different from before, when the majority [of sex toys] were simply vibrators or dildos,\u201d Cole says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more focus on sex education, and we\u2019re seeing innovations around painful sex or health conditions which are interesting alternatives to pharmaceuticals.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Cole, there were roughly 30 women in sex tech when she entered the industry in 2016. Currently, there are over 200 women who have founded their own companies. Under the umbrella of sexual wellness branding, sex tech has steadily gained steam alongside femtech, female health, and other related industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ongoing stigma is, how do we make sex palatable?\u201d Cole adds. \u201cIt\u2019s taking it out of the creepy back corners and putting it into the wellness box, or the feminine hygiene box.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some companies are trying to get off with clever marketing, others have opted for a more direct approach to building a sex tech brand that isn\u2019t afraid of showing its true colors — and baring some skin.<\/p>\n

\"Cindy
Cindy Gallop, sex tech entrepreneur and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn. (Credit: Kevin Abosch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cindy Gallop<\/a>, arguably the first sex tech pioneer in the game, founded a website called MakeLoveNotPorn<\/a> in 2009 following a viral TED talk<\/a> in which she discusses \u201cporn world\u201d versus \u201creal world\u201d sex. An entirely user-generated video sharing platform, the aptly dubbed MakeLoveNotPorn stars submit videos of themselves having real-world sex (or other intimate moments) with their partners, and its users pay to rent and stream those videos. In the past six years, the company has had over 750,000 global users, 200 MakeLoveNotPorn stars, 1,500 videos, and pulled in over $1.3 million dollars in revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are building a whole new category on the internet that has never before existed: social sex,\u201d Gallop says. \u201cOur competition isn\u2019t porn — it\u2019s Facebook and YouTube.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gallop\u2019s company curates videos that span across a wide sexual nature from dirty talk to forest sex and strictly ensures each is consensual and legal. The vast majority of MakeLoveNotPorn stars have never filmed themselves doing anything sexual before, but the awkwardness and the accidents are all part of the allure, as Gallop explains. Whereas porn could be construed as performative — \u201cnothing must go wrong\u201d — MakeLoveNotPorn captures sex in all its \u201cglorious, silly, beautiful, messy, reassuring humanness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe celebrate real-world everything: real-world bodies, real-world hair, real-world penis size, real-world breast size,\u201d Gallop says. \u201cNothing makes you feel better about your own body than watching people who are nobody\u2019s aspirational body type getting turned on by each other and having a bloody amazing time in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Particularly relevant in the era of #metoo, Gallop also wants her company to educate through demonstration. \u201cNobody knows what consent actually looks like in bed,\u201d Gallop says. She believes a woman-designed platform is best positioned to do that as \u201cthe young white male founders of the giant tech companies that dominate our lives today are not the primary targets of harassment, abuse, sexual assault, violence, and rape.”<\/p>\n

It All Started With A Fallacious Diagnosis<\/b><\/h5>\n

Even the Greeks got female anatomy wrong. In the 5th century BC, Hippocrates first coined the term \u201chysteria\u201d \u2014 from \u201chystera,\u201d or uterus \u2014 and attributed its onset to abnormal movements of the womb in a woman\u2019s body. Basically, women were thought to go crazy because their uterus wandered throughout their body \u201cblocking passages, obstructing breathing, and causing disease.\u201d You can thank Plato\u2019s dramatic writing, \u201cTimaeus<\/a>,\u201d for that elaboration.<\/p>\n

Since then, the herstory of female pleasure can be traced from kooky inventions to kinky treatments, as described in unashamed detail in Rachel P. Maines\u2019 book, \u201cThe Technology of Orgasm: Hysteria, the Vibrator, and Women\u2019s Sexual Satisfaction.\u201d For centuries, doctors treated female \u201chysteria\u201d with pelvic massages and, eventually, vibrating devices that gave women \u201cparoxysms of relief,\u201d better known today as an orgasm. Starting in the 1920s, vibrators and other sex toys popped up in very early porn movies and continued to gain popularity well into the Great Depression (there are, after all, only so many activities you can do for free) and the war (where have all the men gone?).<\/p>\n

The real heyday of sex toys was in the 1970s, when hippie culture and the sexual revolution birthed a plethora of sex shops. Most companies selling sex toys catered to and were owned by men, who modeled products after penises to imitate penetration rather than create stimulation. By the 1990s, Reuben Sturman<\/a> — known as \u201cThe Walt Disney of Porn –\u201d controlled and distributed the majority of sex toys in America, though there were a few female entrepreneurs under the radar. Dell Williams<\/a>, the first woman to own a sex toy company that specifically catered to women, quietly ran her business, Eve\u2019s Garden, in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>This stock photo company teamed up with Sheryl Sandberg to close the gender gap in media<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

\"A
A study conducted by O.school shows just how large the orgasm gap is. Women sex tech entrepreneurs are trying to change that. (Credit: O.school Facebook page)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, many more are following in Williams\u2019 footsteps and marketing sex toys for women that focus on female<\/i> pleasure. According to a study<\/a> of over 52,000 adults, straight men orgasm 95 percent of the time they have sex while straight women orgasm only 65 percent of the time. This is commonly known as the \u201corgasm gap,\u201d and it\u2019s a phenomenon that women in sex tech are trying to close.<\/p>\n

Melanie Cristol, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, is the founder of Lorals(a shortened name for \u201cLove Oral Always\u201d), which sells products designed to improve the experience of oral sex for women. Some research has found that oral sex is three times more likely to lead to orgasm compared to vaginal intercourse. Of the products listed in her inventory, the most notable are single-use latex panties, which aim to maximize the sensations of oral sex without the discomfort of a partner with a scruffy beard, the soilage of a partner on her period, or other inconveniences.<\/p>\n

Cristol says, \u201cI love that by creating this product, we’re helping people with vaginas be able to experience so much more pleasure during intimacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

This female-centric philosophy doesn\u2019t just apply to oral sex but all forms of sensual behavior related to women\u2019s sexual pleasure. Though 70 percent of sex product companies are run by men<\/a>, the disruptive sex tech space seems largely female.<\/p>\n

In the heart of Silicon Valley, Lioness founders Liz Klinger and Anna Lee have developed a smart vibrator that consumers have called<\/a> \u201ca FitBit for your sex life.\u201d Priced over $200, the vibrator uses special sensors to track pelvic floor muscle movements and \u201cautomate\u201d the physiological process of having an orgasm. It even has slightly unorthodox benefits such as helping one user<\/a> understand the relationship between her concussion and her orgasm, and allowing a pop star<\/a> to literally create music from her orgasm\u2019s unique vibration patterns.<\/p>\n

The company, which has roughly 18,000 followers on Instagram, has enjoyed plentiful media coverage from Glamour and The Oprah Magazine. It also plans to expand into other wellness-oriented areas — \u201cspecifically, the pleasure and health of post-menopausal or post-pregnancy women,\u201d Lee says. \u201cWe\u2019d like to work with the medical community to publish more research because data on female sexual health is so lacking as of now.\u201d<\/p>\n

What also makes Lioness\u2019 product different: it\u2019s designed by women, for women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met a founder of a now non-existent vibrator company and asked him, \u2018How do you know what feels good for a woman?\u2019\u201d Lee recounts. \u201cAnd he was like, \u2018Oh, there\u2019s this industry standard where you put the vibrator on your nose [to test] feeling\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The so-called nose test notwithstanding, female founders in sex tech are still figuring out how to succeed in what was historically a man\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a First Time For Everything<\/b><\/h5>\n

So, how exactly does one enter the sex tech industry? Some founders I spoke to have backgrounds in sex education, and others in law or engineering, but all share a passion for studying the female body.<\/p>\n

Lora Haddock, founder and CEO of Lora DiCarlo, a sex-positive women-run startup, is no exception. After all, she first got into the risque business after a particularly sensual experience.<\/p>\n

Haddock says, \u201cWhat started the whole idea was a blended orgasm I had about five years ago.\u201d She explains that a blended orgasm is the stimulation of both the clitoris and the G-spot at the same time. \u201cWhen that happened, I nearly fell off the bed. I was like, \u2018Holy sh*t, how do I do that again?\u2019 I look at my partner and realize, \u2018Well, how do I do that again by myself<\/i>?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In the preliminary stages of her product research, Haddock needed data on female anatomy to sculpt a customizable product. As she found out, such data \u201cdidn\u2019t exist because we don\u2019t talk about women\u2019s sexuality unless it has to do with making babies.\u201d So Haddock started asking people, very bluntly, \u201cCan I talk about where your clitoris is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Haddock found people willing to learn more about their own bodies because \u201cwhen you start understanding your own physiology better you start understanding your own wants, your needs, what\u2019s pleasurable, what\u2019s not, and that\u2019s very empowering.\u201d<\/p>\n

After collecting over 200 surveys, Haddock contacted Dr. John Parmigiani, head of the Prototype Development Lab at Oregon State University, to recreate the perfect orgasm. With her background in engineering, Haddock crafted a document that listed 52 design requirements for the product she wanted.<\/p>\n

Haddock says of Dr. Parmigiani\u2019s response, \u201cHe just lit up. He told me, \u2018I don\u2019t know about the application, but the problem is really interesting.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Most products in sex tech, however, aren\u2019t so well-received, at least in the financial world. Across the board, sex tech companies, especially those founded by women, have a hard time (pun intended) being taken seriously.<\/p>\n

Banks frequently refuse <\/a>to give out loans to any company operating in the \u201cadult\u201d space, which is their legal right. And some venture capital firms have \u201cmorality clauses\u201d in their contracts that allow them to delicately decline any involvement with sex tech.<\/p>\n

In 2014, Gallop set out to raise $2 million to scale her company. \u201cI pitched my heart out for five years and failed to raise any funding,\u201d she says. \u201cOur original investor ended up putting up the $2 million himself. So in 10 years, I\u2019ve only ever been able to find one investor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klinger and Lee of Lioness similarly struggled. \u201cUsually you can tell within the first five minutes of an [investor] meeting, as soon as you bring out the vibrator, whether that person is somebody that you want to build a relationship with, versus some people who are going to be like, \u2018I’m not touching that,\u2019\u201d Lee says. \u201cOr they’re bringing all the other investors in to laugh at it.\u201d Lioness turned to Indiegogo to raise $130,000 in pre-sales and worked out of SkyDeck accelerator at UC Berkeley.<\/p>\n

\"Alex
Alex Fine (right) and Janet Lieberman (left), the dynamic duo behind sex tech startup Dame Products, are suing the MTA. For them, this is only the beginning. (Credit: Dame Products)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dame Products and Cristol\u2019s company Lorals, also went through crowdfunding, while others approached private investors.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, MakeLoveNotPorn founder Gallo, says her company\u2019s largest operational challenge is payment processing. Like banks, Paypal, Stripe, or other systems have policies that prohibit \u201cadult\u201d content. \u201cI literally need to beg them,\u201d Gallop says. \u201cEverything that any other business can put into motion and not give another moment\u2019s thought to, we can\u2019t. Every single thing is a huge battle. Every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decoding The Taboo of S-E-X Tech<\/b><\/h5>\n

It\u2019s only to be expected that social media apps like Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a> all share similar policies prohibiting advertisements of \u201cadult\u201d products, but it begs the question: what can sex tech companies do to increase exposure?<\/p>\n

For Haddock\u2019s Lora DiCarlo, it meant entering a orgasm-inducing robotic massager, the Ose, in the Robotics and Drone category of the CES Innovation Awards, a consumer technology competition, in 2019. To Haddock\u2019s surprise, her product won. One month later, however, she was informed that CES was rescinding the award on the basis that \u201centries deemed immoral, obscene, indecent, or profane, will be disqualified.\u201d<\/p>\n

A brief look into CES\u2019 history with sex-related products will reveal a real-life sex robot<\/a> for men displayed at the awards show in 2018, as well as a virtual reality porn company<\/a> two years back that allowed men to watch porn in a \u201cseedy\u201d meeting room. Neither of these were censored.<\/p>\n

Haddock says, \u201cAt that point, we realized we didn\u2019t just have a great product, we had a great cause, and that cause was fighting for gender equity.\u201d<\/p>\n

An open letter by Lora DiCarlo criticizing the double standard coupled with fierce media coverage of the incident led CES to give the company its award back, but Haddock told them \u201cwe didn\u2019t want it unless they were willing to change their policies.\u201d Amid the PR firestorm, CES admitted<\/a>\u00a0mishandling the award and announced updates<\/a> to the show\u2019s guidelines in 2019 that expanded the health and wellness category and prohibited pornography altogether.<\/p>\n

Having raised over $3 million in funding and grants, Lora DiCarlo plans to release around 10 new products this coming year, and Haddock herself is cautiously optimistic.<\/p>\n

Haddock says of her small victories, \u201cThere\u2019s this growing crescendo of people speaking out for their rights, and it\u2019s going to keep growing until it gets so f*cking loud that you can\u2019t do anything but hear it and be forced to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>These men want to invest in female entrepreneurs<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

The article has been updated. An earlier version misstated that research on oral sex is from Lorals.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":43094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73,3],"tags":[19683,20084,21757],"class_list":["post-41674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-happening-now","category-entrepreneur-videos","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-female-empowerment","tag-sexual-wellness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn to take over the sex tech industry.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Story Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheStoryExchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-20T10:00:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-14T14:08:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"476\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"248\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristen Wong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheStoryXchange\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheStoryXchange\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristen Wong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It","description":"Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn to take over the sex tech industry.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It","og_description":"Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn.","og_url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/","og_site_name":"The Story Exchange","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheStoryExchange","article_published_time":"2019-08-20T10:00:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-02-14T14:08:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":476,"height":248,"url":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kristen Wong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It","twitter_description":"Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg","twitter_creator":"@TheStoryXchange","twitter_site":"@TheStoryXchange","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kristen Wong","Est. reading time":"15 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/"},"author":{"name":"Kristen Wong","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/person\/73c4ebcafff0baafec8a421e2f1b5a80"},"headline":"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It","datePublished":"2019-08-20T10:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-14T14:08:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/"},"wordCount":2963,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg","keywords":["Entrepreneurship","Female Empowerment","Sexual Wellness"],"articleSection":["Quick Takes","Video Profiles of Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/","url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/","name":"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-20T10:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-14T14:08:20+00:00","description":"Move over, banana. It\u2019s the peach\u2019s turn to take over the sex tech industry.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/14090303\/safe_image.jpg","width":476,"height":248},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sex-tech-revolution-finally-here-women-leading-it\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Sex Tech Revolution Is Finally Here. And Women Are Leading It"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/","name":"The Story Exchange","description":"Inspiration and information for women entrepreneurs","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#organization","name":"The Story Exchange","url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/24161459\/TSE-logo-web-e1525383604615.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/24161459\/TSE-logo-web-e1525383604615.png","width":500,"height":180,"caption":"The Story Exchange"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheStoryExchange","https:\/\/x.com\/TheStoryXchange","https:\/\/instagram.com\/thestoryexchange\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-story-exchange","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/StoryExchange"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/person\/73c4ebcafff0baafec8a421e2f1b5a80","name":"Kristen Wong","description":"Kristen Wong is studying English and Linguistics at Columbia University. She is involved with several media organizations on campus including film production, radio, and a late-night talk show, and she is very excited to be a part of The Story Exchange team. When she's not writing stories, Kristen can be found playing soccer at Riverside Park or doing the NYT crossword (she rarely finishes it, though). Please contact kristen@thestoryexchange.org with questions or pitches.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.thestoryexchange.org\/author\/kristen"],"url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/author\/kristen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41674"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43093,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41674\/revisions\/43093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}