The live-streamed discussion “Shaping Today’s SexTech: Science and Social Issues,” which was hosted by sociologist Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals, featured speakers Ola Miedzynska of sxtech.eu, Anna Lee of Lioness.io, Raven V. Fabar of EngErotics.com, and Loes Jaber of Nuditae.com.

Filmmaker and Sssh.com founder Angie Rowntree produced the panel as part of her ongoing Mindbrowse video series that examines important topics in adult entertainment.

I encourage you to watch the replay if you are seeking insider insights or advice on how to get started in the sextech industry. Since the panelists are from various time zones, it was a treat having them together and listening to their exchange.

As a final question, Dr. Chauntelle asked each speaker to give a short takeaway. I’ve shared the responses below.

Raven V. Faber, Founder and CEO of EngErotics.com (United States)
“My big takeaway is that it’s of the utmost importance, in my opinion, to build a company with a mission and intention and purpose and drive. It matters more now than ever to do that. My company is the manifestation of who I am and what matters to me deeply, and I would encourage early founders and founders-to-be to consider doing the same.”

Ola Miedzynska, Founder and CEO of sxtech.eu (Germany)
“That it is a really great thing to be in the girl club and that the girl club is a very strong community. I would advise every future founder of sex tech industry to find community, as a first, and to never be alone, to always share and to share as much as you can. Pitch the product that you don’t have to get as much feedback in the early stage, so you’re going to save a lot of time later—but stay with the girl club.”

Anna Lee, Co-founder and Head of Engineering, Lioness.io (United States)
“Mine is to join sex tech. We need more people in here. There’s a billion and three ways people experience sex, pleasure, and what sex means to them. So we need those people that represent all the billion and three ways that people do that. We just need more and more people in the space.”

Loes Jaber, Founder and CEO of Nuditae.com (Netherlands)
“Actually, I’m with Ola, it’s the girl club. It’s us working together and talking, inviting other people to the journey, and lifting each other up. Not competing with one another, but helping each other build a safer sex tech space for everyone.”

In total, the sexual wellness company gave financial support to 14 retailers in Canada and the United Stated to throw fundraisers and events during Pride months.

Six of the winners were Canadian stores. Although most of the celebrations are now over, the sex-positive and queer-friendly establishments offer their products and services year-round. Many also offer educational workshops.

The names of the winning sex shops in Canada are below, along with a description of their events to give you a sense of their “personalities”

• Venus Envy Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario)

This sex shop in Ottawa was forced to close its brick-and-mortar store due to a fire. The We-Vibe funding will allow them to temporarily open a Pride Pop-Up Shop to resume in-person operations in August, Ottawa’s Pride month. The sex shop will also offer seminars called “Sex Toys for Queers,” “Strap-On Tools,” ‘Trans Sex 101″‘ and “Queering.”

• Good for Her (Toronto, Ontario)

The Toronto sex shop Good For Her teamed up with Andrew Gurza of Bump’n for a workshop on pleasure for people with disabilities on June 14, 2022. Gurza talked about accessibility and ableism in queer communities and presented the hands-free huggable sex pillow, the Bump’n Joystick.

• Come As You Are (Toronto, Ontario)

The co-op Come As You used its funding to expand its long-running chest binder recycling program to both trans-feminine and non-binary people. The queer-friendly store is the only sex shop in Canada I know of that offers a mail-in sex toy recycling program.

• The Feltt (Toronto, Ontario)

The Feltt created an immersive pleasure room in collaboration with queer party promoter FIT Primpin. It featured queer and BIPOC art as well as a booth on harm reduction and safe play.

• Sexxy Kitty (Lethbridge, Alberta)

Alberta sex shop Sexxy Kitty held a donated clothing event to create a safe space for people to find gender-affirming attire. They partnered with 2SLGBTQIA non-profit OUTreach Southern Alberta Society.

• Smitten (Brandon, Manitoba)

The sex shop co-hosted a free family BBQ with the Brandon Pride Committee, which included youth activities and performances from local queer and Indigenous entertainers.

You can read the full list of winners at XBIZ and read more about the Pride Fund on its website.

Although you can put glass pleasure products in your home recycling box, municipal recyclers in Canada don’t process silicone or ABS plastic, says Jack Lamon, worker-owner at co-op sex shop Come As You Are. It is a better-known queer-friendly sex shop in Canada.

So these two common materials found in popular sex toys often end up in landfills.

Fortunately, sex toy recycling programs exist that will dispose of your old products, but there aren’t many options.

In Canada, Come As You Are offers a mail-in sex toy recycling program. They urge customers NOT to drop off used products in person.

Instead, you can buy a Sex Toy Recycling Shipping Label for $6 at the online store and then send in “your broken, neglected, or unwanted sex toy for recycling.”

Once received, Lamon says everything is sterilized and sorted by material.

“Vibrators are broken down into their base components so we can recycle the electronics. We grind the silicone (we’re hoarding it for a future in-house project), and we pay to recycle the ABS locally with a commercial recycler.”

Related Read: Lovehoney Recruits Canadians for Orgasm Advisory Board

The co-op  does not accept all previously loved sex toys

“Dolls are just too big for our process. We can recycle any silicone under twelve inches.” Lamon added.

Sex toy recycling programs are also available in Australia, the United States, and Europe.

For more information on the state of sex toy recycling in the United States and the United Kindom, I recommend reading Mark Hay’s January 2022 feature on Mashable: “Sex toy recycling is an absolute mess”

“Maggie’s, Canada’s oldest sex worker organization based in Toronto, has become the first of its kind to unionize in the country under the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

“While the union only represents Maggie’s staff, Keller and other sex workers across Canada told VICE World News they hope the move sparks a nationwide trend. Ideally, sex workers say, unions make it possible for workers to collectively force employers to give them paid time off, paternity leave, and meaningful ways to address violations and abuses incurred on the job.” (via Anya Zoledziowski/Vice)

• B.C. named Canada’s kinkiest province by LoveHoney, while Quebec called least kinky

“Ever wondered how kinky your city really is? Lovehoney, one of the world’s leading online retailers of adult novelty products, launched an interactive sex map of Canada uncovering the steamiest secrets of over 1,933 towns from coast to coast, based on sexual desires, fantasies, and favourite toys. Most surprising of all, the ‘Kinkiest City in Canada’ can be revealed as Lions Bay, British Columbia—a quaint residential town that grabs the #1 spot in multiple categories including bondage and butt plugs. (via Lovehoney’s Sex Map of Canada)

• Toronto sex educator Luna Matatas wore ‘Peg The Patriarchy’ long before Cara Delevingne

“Matatas, a Canadian artist who hosts the anal sex-themed ‘The Plug Podcast’ trademarked the phrase back in 2015. Since then, she’s put it on coffee mugs, t-shirts, and a sex toy storage case. ‘Peg The Patriarchy’ has taken off enough that Matatas’s assistant regularly surveys sites like Etsy to fight infringements.

“Seeing the phrase at the Met Gala red carpet was a whole new level, especially as it made headlines and went viral. Arguably, the outfit was in service of more than just publicity for the model and entrepreneur: as Vice’s Samantha Cole points out, Delevingne is co-owner of the sex toy company Lora DiCarlo.”

 

 

 

 

 

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• How sex toy habits changed in the pandemic (especially demand for quiet ones)

“Companies around the world have reported dramatic spikes in sex toy sales since almost the beginning of the pandemic; according to The New York Times, Wow Tech Group, the parent company of We-Vibe and Womanizer, saw a 200-per-cent increase in online sales between April, 2019, and April, 2020.

“Similarly, the Los Angeles Times reported Lelo, the Stockholm-based luxury sex toy brand, saw a 60-per-cent rise in internet sales in March, 2020. And a 2021 study published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health notes that sales of sex dolls, lingerie and sex toys increased during COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia, Britain, Denmark, Colombia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, France, India, North America and Ireland, possibly due to the same panic buying impulse that prompted toilet paper hoarding.

“It’s not just that people are buying more sex toys – they’re after particular ones. Online sex toy seller Lovehoney says Canadians were particularly interested in quiet sex toys, which led to a 25-per-cent jump in sales of products such as the Whisper Quiet Classic Vibrator.” (via Stacey Lee Kong/The Globe and Mail)

• Thousands of Western University students walk out to support survivors of sexual violence

“Student anger was palpable at the demonstration that pulled roughly 10,000 students and staff away from classes to the hill at the centre of campus. It capped a distressing first week of classes at Western, where a first-year student was killed and an investigation continues into rumours of a string of sexual assaults and allegations that young women were drugged during Orientation Week celebrations.

“’I would go as far as saying sexual violence is an epidemic on campuses,’ said Sara Ahmed, president of a sexual assault research group and a member of King’s University College student council. ‘Taking advantage of freshman women in particular is tradition on campuses during this time . . . Let’s teach everyone how not to rape, instead of teaching girls how not to get raped.’”

Image source: Neil Jennings/Flickr

“According to Lovehoney’s Canadian insights, the pandemic has slightly changed the trending product categories in the North,” the e-commerce retailer said in a release.

The distance during lockdowns had consumers more interested in dildo moulding kits rather than the previous top seller, sex kits.

“Canadians were increasingly curious about creating their own personalized vibrating dildo with the Clone-A-Willy Kit (CAD $59.95). With everything you’ll need to take a cast of your or your lover’s penis, these work great as a sexy gift for long-distance lovers.”

On August 12, the UK-based sexual wellness company announced its merger with WOW Tech Group, a deal The Wall Street Journal valued at $1.2 billion.

“The merger includes Ottawa-born brand, We-Vibe, which has become one of the world’s best-selling couples vibrators. We-Vibe was acquired in 2018 to become part of the WOW Tech Group and positioned with a strong portfolio of the industry’s be known consumer brands Fifty Shades of Grey, Happy Rabbit, Womanizer, and Arcwave.

“Lovehoney.ca offers customers free discreet delivery with orders over CAD $59.99 from their Greater Toronto Area warehouse, 24hr customer care and straightforward returns. Customers will also be able to access expert advice on all things sexual and an impressive 365-day return policy – a first for the Canadian adult industry.” (via Lovehoney)

• Canada Asks Citizens, Stakeholders for Input on New Online Content Regulation

“The Canadian government is inviting ‘stakeholders and Canadians’ to submit comments regarding a current proposal to regulate online content, which was prompted by the recent parliamentary hearings targeting Pornhub and its parent company, MindGeek.

“The call for comments — which includes an invitation to both international ‘stakeholders” (including religiously motivated anti-porn activist organizations like NCOSE and Exodus Cry) and all Canadian citizens — starts with a statement that although ‘social media platforms and other online communications services play a vital and important role in Canada’s society and economy,’ they can also “be abused and used to incite hate, promote violence and extremism or for other illegal activity.’” (via Gustavo Turner/XBIZ)

• The 6th International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots: Virtual Conference – Aug 18 to 20, 2021

The online conference is hosted in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) Registration: ($29 CAD): lovewithrobots.com

“New technologies are changing human sexuality and intimate relationships, both in life and in research. The 6th edition of this academic conference brings together international scholars, industry, stakeholders, and those who are curious about love and sex with robots. This year’s keynote lineup is stellar with Dr. Justin Garcia, Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute, Dr. Lara Karaian, Associate Professor, Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Carleton University, Dr. Markie L.C. Twist, award-winning sexuality educator, sexologist, relationship therapist and Davecat, Robosexual, iDollator and advocate for artificial humans. Along with many esteemed academic speakers, we also have industry leaders such as Matt McMullen from RealBotix, Bjorn from Lux Botics, Alexis Smith from Cybrothol and Mike Wilson from Holodexxx.” (via Future of Sex)

• Pandemic-related stress stoked Canadians’ sexual desire, until it didn’t, researchers find

“In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians’ desire for sex went up, but the amount of sex they were actually having did not, according to a new study from researchers at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Lori Brotto, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at UBC and the executive director of the Women’s Health Research Institute, led the study. In a news release from UBC, she explained that this correlation between stress and sexual desire is somewhat counterintuitive.

“Generally, sexual desire decreases with stress,” Brotto said in the release. “But, at the very start of the pandemic, when lockdown measures were at their strictest, the kind of stress people experienced was immediate. And that acute stress kicked off a fight-or-flight response, which we know can create anxious arousal that can be misinterpreted by the body as sexual arousal.’”(via Ian Holliday/CTV News)

Image sources: Lovehoney, Love and Sex With Robots