Lora DiCarlo, the sex tech startup behind an awards controversy at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, announced it is ready to take preorders for its Osé sex toy.
The Bend, Oregon-based company aims to close the “orgasm gap,” but that’s not why it’s already famous. Last January, the Consumer Technology Association behind CES — the biggest tech trade show of the year — rescinded an innovation award for engineering that it had previously bestowed on the company.
The female-run startup touted the Osé’s first-of-its-kind, patent-pending, micro-robotic design that gives users blended orgasms — combining both clitoral and G-spot stimulation in a way that mimicks sex. But CTA leadership reversed a peer group’s decision to give the product an award, citing the association’s discretion to disqualify entries it deemed “immoral, obscene, indecent, profane, or not in keeping with CTA’s image.” The CTA also banned the company from exhibiting on the CES show floor.
Above: Sarah Brown (left) and Lora Haddock of Lora DiCarlo, maker of the Osé sex toy.
Lora DiCarlo CEO Lora Haddock fought back, saying the sex industry is going mainstream with “sex-positive” products and that the CTA showed gender bias in its decision, as a male-focused porn company was allowed to exhibit. In May, after a review of its policies, the CTA reinstated the innovation award for Lora DiCarlo and apologized. Thanks to the brouhaha, Haddock’s company was covered by everyone from NPR’s This American Life to the New York Times.
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Osé is priced at $290, and preorders open today for anyone on the brand’s email list (those who have previously signed up or who wish to sign up today). To sign up, visit this link. Preorders will open to the general public on December 2.
With its flexible body, Osé adapts to the unique anatomy of the user for a custom fit that reaches both pleasure points, the company said. Its G-spot Massager mimics the touch of a partner’s finger to stroke — using micro-robotics in a come-hither motion — and the Clitoral Stimulator replicates the sensation of the mouth and tongue over the glans clitoris while providing thrumming throughout the full body of the clitoris.
“It has been an incredible year,” said Haddock in a statement. “CES was a catapult that put us at the forefront of a larger conversation around censorship and gender equity. The through line of 2019 is that we have an amazing product for people with vaginas, and she is finally here. I am so proud to share Osé with the world and set new standards for what technology can do when paired with sexual health and wellness on a sex-positive platform. I want to thank everyone for your ongoing support and of course my amazing team. We did it!”
Above: Lora DiCarlo’s Osé.
Haddock has been invited to speak on stages around the world, including SXSW, TechCrunch Disrupt, Forbes International 30 Under 30, Women’s Summit, and many more.
Lora DiCarlo said its approach is gender-inclusive and its goal is to create products and educational resources that promote female and LGBTQ+ sexual empowerment. The company has partnered with Oregon State University’s College of Engineering to develop a range of sex-positive products.
