Queer Women Deserve Sex Toys Made Specifically for Them

Initially the sex toy industry was viewed as a male dominated industry; where men would be dictating what female pleasure was for women. In the old days, I remember seeing packaging that would show women with their legs akimbo on a product aimed at women. I am convinced that a woman wouldn't have designed that.

There's also been a misconception that women want large phallic-shaped sex toys, that to women, bigger is better. But what might work for one woman doesn't mean it will work for all women. Female sexuality is much more complex than that.

We recently conducted a sex survey and 72 percent of women stated they need clitoral stimulation to achieve vaginal orgasm, with only 28 percent of women surveyed achieving orgasm through penetration. We also discovered that 78 percent of women preferred non-realistic sex toys in comparison to realistic ones. These results echo the discrepancy in what men believe women want in sex toys and what women actually want.

What has been interesting about the sex toy industry is how it has changed in the last 10 years. It has become more mainstream and this in turn, has encouraged more female entrepreneurs and female sex toy designers to join the industry. That's not to say, there haven't been women in the sex toy industry prior to this because there obviously has been and these women have been successful in this space, paving the way for the women that have followed.

We are seeing more female-friendly branding, products, and marketing. There are more discussions on female sexuality in the press, social media, podcasts and events. Sex toys are now available in mainstream stores and not just specialty stores. The opportunity to unite and educate is empowering. The openness of discussion has enabled women to progress not just within the sex toy industry, but beyond.

The queer female sex toy sector still has room for improvement. The misconception is that queer women don't have different needs; that our sexual needs can be satisfied in the same way as straight women. Don't get me wrong, sometimes the same sex toys do hit the right spot. But sometimes, they don't. We see lots of big-name sex toy retailers include a "lesbian" category with products, but not necessarily retailers targeting the queer female sexuality space (although there are some out there).

This was one of the reasons I started Wet For Her; I wanted to create a retail space specifically for queer women. A space that understood same-sex logistics and the needs of same-sex female couples. This inspired me to open an online store and to start designing sex toys specifically for queer women. Ten years on, Wet For Her has continued to prosper, which confirms to me that there was always a demand for this space and that perhaps it had previously not been acknowledged or simply ignored.

The exciting thing for our business is that it is expanding worldwide and are able to reach more queer women -- which was always our aim.

Alice Derock is founder of Wet For Her, the sex toy empire dedicated to queer women. Wet For Her's toys are specifically designed by queer women for queer women offering high-end products that are not only uniquely creative with a useful, elegant and chic French sense of style as well as a feminine edge, but also are 100% silicone and phthalate free. Through her work, Derock is focusing on empowerment and changing cultural attitudes towards sex toys. wetforher.com