Liberator Year in Sex Review 2019
Sex makes the world go around and in 2019, there was plenty of it to be had around the globe. From public displays of “affection” to award-winning (and then not winning) sex toys to scandals that are hard to believe, this year of chock full of sexy tidbits.
Here’s our break down on the Year in Sex Review for 2019.
Shiney Hiney’s
Instagram is filled with inspiration. But nothing was more inspiring this year than seeing loads of glitter butts. A staple for crafters and festival-goers, glitter-covered asses were IT thing in 2019.
Twerk It
LIZZO – need we say more! Not only did the bold singer BRING IT in 2019, but she added extra somethin’ with her flute playing, ass-twerking entertainment. Hats off to this shameless, body-loving entertainer. We look forward to seeing more of her in 2020.
Mistaken Identity
As the saying goes, “you can make a sex toy out of virtually anything.” So, it’s kind of fun knowing that this dog toy has multiple uses. Pampered-pooch purveyor BarkBox recently unveiled some new playthings for its canine clientele, and one of them is getting some serious side-eye. A plush, cylindrical chew toy called “Big Honkin’ Pigs in a Blanket” — depicting a pig’s snout on one end and a cute little butt with curly tail on the other — has people comparing (and probably using) this fluffed up version of a Fleshlight male stroker.
Flipping the Bird
Hot Octopuss has taken activism to a whole new level in 2019 by combining a campaign aimed at tackling sexual stigma with a five-speed finger vibrator called the DiGiT. The campaign called “Show Stigma The Finger,” features women giving the middle finger to stigmas and prejudices they face on a daily basis which includes racism, body shaming, ageism, ableism, and homophobia. A company spokesperson said; “we believe sex toys are another way in which we can begin to chip away at societal barriers standing in the way of healthy and happy sex lives.” Hot Octopuss and artist Aleksandra Karpowicz collaborated on the campaign in the hopes of giving women a voice in fighting sexual stigma.
You can show your support in 2020 using the hashtag #ShowStigmaTheFinger on your social media accounts. For more information on the campaign visit
showstigmathefinger.com.
Celebrity Endorsements
In 2019, the line has finally blurred between the sex toys industry and the mainstream pop culture. And what better way of marketing sex toys than through celebrity influencers. 2019 was the year where sex toys were featured prominently on reality television. And with that comes endorsements from stars like “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta” star, Karlie Reed. She inked a $300,000 deal with Doc Johnson for molds of her ass and vagina.
Selling casts of her ass and vagina
Not to be left out in the cold was another “Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood” star Safaree who revealed his package with his life-size “Anaconda” sex toy.
2019 also marked a year where new retailers like Neiman Marcus (LELO) and Urban Outfitters began selling sexual wellness lifestyle products. We have the feeling that 2020 will have sex toys in the impulse buying isle at Walmart (wishful thinking).
Ode to the Vagina
If you want to see penises on display, there is a whole museum in Iceland dedicated to them. But if you have a hankering for the vagina, the Vagina Museum officially opened its doors in the London Borough of Camden in November 2019. The Vagina Museum is the world’s first brick and mortar museum dedicated to vaginas, vulvas, and gynecological anatomy. As well as our Muff Busters exhibition, you’ll be able to buy a souvenir like no other at their gift shop and attend empowering and educational events.
Star Attraction
Pleasure product manufacturer b-Vibe had a strong showing at the “Mrs. Fletcher” premiere in Los Angeles. The pop-up event was promoting the new HBO series and dedicated to exploring sexual liberation. The sex-ed panel discussed ‘The Duality of Sex Positivity,’ ‘The Game of Desire’ and ‘The Social Sex Revolution,’” the company said. The centerpiece of b-Vibe’s event was “Anal Playing Around” facilitated by the company’s founder Alicia Sinclair. #yougogirl
“Hey, You Got Arby’s On Me”
The famous quote from the Cohen Brother’s movie Fargo has a totally new meaning. A Missouri church leader tried to lure young beefcakes with “the meats” [allegedly] on the gay hookup app, Grindr. Using the handle “D.I.L.F”, the 57-year-old Arby’s purveyor tried to bed hot college-age guys by offering to pay for gas, clothes and roast beef sandwiches in return for sexual favors.
Mother “Nature” F*cker
Our 2019 year in sex review would not be complete without some story of the weird. And when it comes to sex– this tale could not be any more strange. Manchester, U.K. resident Michael Golsorkhi was allegedly drunk and high when he “tried to have sex with a pile of leaves” in a UK hotel parking lot. The Premier Inn workers noticed the 26-year-old “acting suspiciously” in the hotel lot even before he got frisky with the fallen fall foliage. Workers at the hotel soon discovered him “thrusting” into a mound of autumn leaves with his pants around his ankles and his ass in full view of family diners at a nearby restaurant. “At one stage I shouted to him, ‘What are you doing, you dirty bastard?’ and he then leaped up, pulled his trousers up and sat in the bushes,” the witness statement continued.
A Holey- Experience
Butt-Con was the tuchus trade show of 2019 and it let nothing rump-related fall through the cracks. Miki Agrawal, the former CEO of Thinx, put together the event. The NYC event was sponsored by bidet company “Tushy” and included special events such as Twerking 101 lessons, booty facials, cheeky workouts and was flush with product promotions from the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow. Branded as A Holey Experience for the Like-Behinded, which included a belfie station made in the image of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” music video set.
Get on and Get Off
With all the outrage on this year’s Peloton commercial, imagine if this product had been featured. CamSoda has extended a special offer to “Peloton wife” Monica Ruiz, who starred in the now-notorious holiday commercial, to be the face of the O-Seat. Peloton is about to get a whole lot more exciting all thanks to the O-seat—an innovative seat cover from porn company CamSoda. The cheeky cushion has a pouch that accommodates a sex toy, allowing riders to pedal their way to pleasure. It comes in three colors, retails for $29.99 and can be attached to most bicycles, including stationary models, road racers and mountain bikes. Although a vibrator is not included, CamSoda recommends the Lovense Lush, a sex toy that can be operated remotely. Its users will have the option of handing the controls over to another person — or, if they’re feeling extra saucy, they can link it to their CamSoda account, where people can pay for the right to control the cyclist’s climax.
“O-Seat rewards riders for reaching their peak performance,” says CamSoda vice president Daryn Parker in a press release. When users “pedal harder and faster, not only will they sweat more and burn more calories, they will also receive sexual stimulation.”
If you build it, they will come!
Rule 34 is based on the premise that “if it exists, there’s porn for it.” There should also be a rule that applies to sex toys. New York City-based design studio Wolfgang & Hite has already hopped on the idea of creating sex toy utopias with their skyscraper-shaped dildos and sculptural butt plugs and clitoral stimulators. Dubbed “XXX-HY,” the collection includes pink silicone versions of numerous buildings in the Hudson Yards development, including Thomas Heatherwick’s Vessel and The Shed, a cultural building by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R). The erotic toys were initially designed as a critique of New York’s high-end real estate projects—Hudson Yards. Each toy has a base and, altogether, they form a pink-colored model of the Hudson Yards swath. Wolfgang & Hite aims to develop sex toys for other cities around the world down the line.
Hearing Aids
Slip-on your headphones and get ready for a hot and heavy session 2019 style. Audio porn, a buzzy new genre of X-rated erotic recordings, made headlines this year because it’s the latest tool for intimate exploration. Sexy startups like Quinn, Dipsea, and Ferly are leaping off the popularity of podcasts and making major investments in listening pleasure. You can think of them as the Spotify of smut. Quinn, a Brooklyn-based company that launched in the spring of 2019 with a reported $1 million backing from Silicon Valley, aims to produce sexy sounds for a range of predilections. The content has a woke bent: Some traditional kinks, like incest and nonconsent, are banned because they’re problematic. Others, like spanking and voyeurism, are fair game. And then there are the audio-specific kinks — sexy voicemails, erotic ASMR and moan tracks. There’s even a tag for British accents.
Riding the O-Train
You don’t have to hop on a train to go downtown. In fact, a Manhattan couple got so turned on by the sights, sounds and smells of NYC’s subway, they could not wait to get home to get it on. According to police reports, the couple began their foreplay at one station and had the grand central finale during rush hour.
A graphic, 38-second video, shot from inside a train at the bustling Midtown station, opens with the rail-riding Romeo locked in a passionate embrace with his lover on the grimy 4/5/6 train platform. An apparently stunned silence fills the car, broken only by a prerecorded “Stand clear of the closing doors” announcement, as the man appears to perform oral sex on his partner, sprawled out on a pile of their crumpled clothing with a rolling suitcase by her head.
Double Decker
2019 was a banner year for sex in public. Across the pond, a UK couple got jiggy with it on a double-decker bus. The raunchy romp occurred on a bus riding through Prestwich, Manchester. A commuter noticed “movement” in his peripherals on the bus just above an ad for “Frozen 2.” Upon closer inspection, he saw the salacious strap-bangers “vigorously” making love on the upper deck of the bus — in full view of passersby. A video of their randy ride was posted on social media which caused the pair to shamed by finger-waggers tisk-tisking them.
Censorship and the Year in Sex 2019
The Year in Sex Review 2019 would not be complete without mentioning the overwhelming amount of censorship happening within our industry. From shadow banning images on Instagram to accounts being deleted to awards being revoked, 2019 was filled with moments that make use think—Geez, it’s nearly 2020. Are we still going to shame the company’s and people who promote sexual positivity and wellness?
Watching your P’s and Q’s
Believe it or not, social media is waging a sexually charged war on fruits and veggies. In July, Facebook and Instagram quietly Facebook and Instagram quietly updated the Facebook Community Standards language regarding permissible sexual expression on the social media platforms. Under the new terms — which were officially enacted in September — pairing an eggplant or peach emoji with any expression of what Out.com deems “being horny” now qualifies as “Sexual Solicitation.” This can get a user’s account flagged or removed, adult industry news site XBIZ reports.
The Double Standard
Advertising sex toys and sexual wellness products for public consumption is still a tricky thing in 2019. No so more than for sex toy maker, Dame Products. In 2018, the submitted an ad placement for their sex toys on the NYC subway. The ad was not sexually suggestive (in our opinion) but looked classy and inviting. The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) did greenlight their ads at first, only to backpedal at the last moment. Following the hubbub over yanking the ad, the MTA changed its advertising guidelines, making it virtually impossible to advertise sex toys from now on. Alex Fine, the founder of Dame products, didn’t want to take this lying down, so she initiated legal action against this decision and is now suing the MTA.
#hashtag Power
Instagram has the power to censor content arbitrarily. They often disable sex- and pleasure-positive accounts and justify their actions by claiming a violation of their terms. Earlier this year, Instagram shut down the popular @WeVibe handle, giving no warning, no description of the violation, or offering an opportunity to dispute the claim. The account remained disabled, and the brand had to develop a new account by rallying support from the industry and the broader community with its #UnmutePleasure campaign. “This is bigger than We-Vibe,” said Denny Alexander, head of communications. “Instagram’s censorship and shutting of sex-positive accounts are affecting our whole community.
Sorry Not Sorry
Lora DiCarlo, the owner, and CEO of Ose Robotic Massager had planned to present her product at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) earlier this year alongside a plaque for winning one of the show’s Innovation Awards. But neither of those things happened — the organizers behind CES revoked the award and the company’s ability to exhibit at the show, then gave a bunch of ridiculous reasons for why it happened.
But after ranking high enough and winning the designation, Lora DiCarlo was apparently told that its product didn’t comply with the rules. The show’s and award’s organizer, the Consumer Technology Association, allegedly cited rules saying products that are “immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image will be disqualified.” It then backtracked and said the product simply didn’t fit in the robotics and drones category. CES finally relented and gave her to award. Happy Endings for everyone!
Best in Sex 2019 and Beyond
We want to close out the Liberator Year in Sex Review 2019 with something that can change the way humans experience sex. Designers Hsin-Jou Huang, Szu-Ying Lai, and Chia-Ning Hsu help people with disabilities to fulfill their sexual needs with a three-part masturbation tool that includes a bodysuit, a mask, and remote control.
The sex aid kit, called Ripple, is designed for people with moderate to severe functional limitations, who require caregivers to assist them in day-to-day tasks.
It works to stimulate all the senses, including touch, sight, sound, and smell, through three different objects: a cushioned, inflatable bodysuit, a remote with a receiver, and an eye mask with earphones, which also releases pheromones. The designers hope the Ripple will not only help those in need but will also raise public awareness about the lack of sexual products available to people with disabilities.
Let us know if we missed anything in the Liberator Year in Sex Review 2019 in the comments section below!
About the Author . . .
