The Pleasure Gap
Sexual wellness is a hot topic this summer as folks continue to re-engage in society after the recent worldwide shutdown. With so many people stuck at home due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, typical dating (and hookups) slowed to a near halt, fewer people were getting together, important events were cancelled or postponed leaving many industries scrambling to stay afloat. But one industry that did not see much, if any, downside continues to be the world of Sex Tech. ForbesWomen writer Gabby Shaknai recently sat down with Dame CEO Alexandra Fine on the importance of sexual wellness and education, and how we still have a long way to go to close the pleasure gap.
“There’s still this strange ambivalence when it comes to sexuality. (Almost) all people come from sex, and it can be a source of such divine pleasure and connection—yet it’s something our society struggles to discuss. My passion for improving our culture’s relationship to and experience of sex led me to earn my Masters in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in sex therapy from Columbia University,” stated Alexandra Fine, CEO of Dame Products, a brand focused on engineering products for sexual wellness by building a welcoming community, designing innovative tools, and bringing life-changing education to the bedroom.
Fine continues, “The pleasure gap is the disparity in pleasure heterosexual cis women experience in comparison to their cis male partners. Thankfully, the fact that a majority of people with vulvas need clitoral stimulation for pleasurable sex is now more widely understood than it was a decade ago, meaning that our message is getting through. This awareness is opening up doors for more people with vulvas to explore sex with clitoral touch as a focal point—with or without penetration. We started Dame Products with a mission to close the pleasure gap, and continually work to create tools and resources to help people honor their sexual pleasure and wellness.”
With big dollars at stake and millions seeking options online, the sexual wellness industry is more sexual wellness companies being led by women making products specifically for women, that pleasure gap seems to be narrowing.