Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronics Show sparked a wave of controversy last year after targeting sex tech’s place in the show. But after CES gave sex toys the all-clear, the instigator was welcomed back. Now it’s proudly showcasing its capabilities with the Osé, a genital stimulator that doesn’t rely on vibrations to get the job done.
The toy comes from Lora DiCarlo, a 2017 start-up founded by Osé creator Lora Haddock DiCarlo. Built specifically for users with vaginas, the Osé provides guided stimulation of the vaginal G-spot and clitoris to “replicate the sensation of the mouth and tongue over the glans clitoris,” the company says on its website. Users can even put their thumb over the clitoral stimulator to “form a seal that makes it feel like the device has latched onto you,” the Verge’s Ashley Carman notes. The vibrator also offers a customizable “come-hither” touch.
In 2019, the Osé received a CES Innovation Award for noteworthy robotics and drones, but the Consumer Technology Association later pulled the award citing rules on products considered “immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image,” according to the New York Times. The CES reinstated the honor in May 2019, but not before Lora DiCarlo sparked an ongoing conversation about sex tech’s role in the larger tech world.
“Following last year’s incident having the Innovation Award rescinded and reinstated for Osé, we became change agents, initiating a critical public conversation about gender equity and creating a safer and more inclusive environment for all CES attendees,” DiCarlo said in a press release obtained by the Daily Dot. “This year, we are at CES to continue to reshape how people think about sex tech.”
The Osé is remarkable for its feminist and gender-inclusive overtones. It also sets a new standard for sex toys by ditching vibrations and instead simulating real-life motions during sex. It’s an approach seen in other burgeoning sex tech, from virtual reality porn to teledildonic sex, which builds off erotic experiences and sensations over sheer engineering.
The controversy around Osé may be its greatest strength. The toys earned $3 million in presales since late November 2019, with 46% of customers either “non-gendered” or “female-identified” shoppers, the press release notes. At CES, Lora DiCarlo also introduced the Baci and Onda toys, which respectively replicate Osé’s clitoral and g-spot stimulation.
It’s unclear, however, if the Osé is a good fit for gender identities other than cis women and nonbinary people assigned female at birth. While the Osé is built “for all people with vaginas” because it’s “designed to be fully customizable so that it fits your unique anatomy,” Lora DiCarlo did not provide information in its press release about the toy’s reception with trans men, trans women who have undergone vaginoplasty, or people on estrogen without vaginas.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lora DiCarlo for comment.
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H/T the Verge
