Osé did not fit into the robotics and drones category
The groans of pleasure category is the most important category of them all.
5
The award givers have every right to their biases... as the Motion Picture Academy does, to movies on the left.
2
Okay - cool. But would you defend a device that enhanced the male sexual experience? I’m think no - it would be considered to be gross and an example of negative male sexual energy. I’ve loved this newspaper for the past 50 years - but I’m starting to get a bit sick of the anti- straight male bias that is coupled with an ‘anything goes’ female or gay point of view.
20
Men feel threatened by this product and others like it, and by women who don't need them. That's really all this is about.
54
It's lewd, lascivious, salacious, & outrageous!
Do you do international shipping for this product??
58
Is anyone naming names, titles, contact data of specific CES personnel who made this decision, that they might be thanked personally for this freebie publicity?
12
I'll buy one for my wife, too.
17
Someone at CES was rubbed the wrong way by this invention clearly.
43
Yet another outrage against female sexuality. Medication for male sexual performance is covered by medical insurance, but medication or aids to restore or enhance female genital health is not. The irony of a whole room dedicated to to pornography really grates.
65
This article makes me remember the first time I found my wife's G spot after years of wanting to. Back then, it was a relatively new thing, but there should be nothing to be ashamed of, and it is part of normal relations between men and women.
20
Well, the last sentence is the clincher: "...(rented) an entire room to show VR porn".
American men have become such sexual hysterics.
Pence won't dine with a woman.
Republicans are determined to strip women, not only of abortion rights but also access to birth control.
Migrant women, held prisoner, are unable to get an abortion without major legal fights.
Incels are demanding their very own sex slaves.
When did American men become so creepy?
I'm 70 so this isn't new - but that makes the question: Why are men in this country STILL so ignorant and bizarre?
Look, "corporate America": Get your weird nose out of women's ladyparts and just concentrate on equal pay. It's 2019 and we are all aware that if you want to make unbelievable profits, then all you have to do is rip off every woman working for you by about 20%. That's the only "freebie" that you get.
Now, go watch your porn and leave creating a new world to us.
I have NO DOUBT that we will do a far better job.
137
Next up, a cushion for when you're knocked off the bed.
32
I want my wife to have one.
15
CES got it wrong and should fix their process -- if they are serious about diversity. Either get rid of virtual reality porn or reinstate the award for this product. They should also come clear on what actually caused them to rescind the award. All the reasons listed sound pretty lame.
40
Gratuitously boneheaded action by CES that got it wrong so many ways. They possibly were trying to prevent a backlash from the big tech companies who have enough problems now with their industrialized invasion of privacy. And recall that Apple recently caused Tumblr to ban all NSFW content and thereby alienate a large part of that platform's most dedicated users. Sex confuses Silicon Valley.
10
Wow, the gender/sex based discrimination goes on and on...
9
So in what CTA category is virtual reality porn classified?
It's a pertinent question this article left unanswered.
51
Whoever made the decision to rescind the award was either too dumb to foresee the inevitable bad publicity, or felt that suppressing female sexuality would be worth it. Who was it? Is he still employed? If so, why? Three good questions for a followup article.
33
The designer of the device should have named it after herself. That way, women could say, “Not tonight, dear, I have a Haddock.”
69
So mankind makes the vast majority of pornography that is misogynistic yet when a hands-free (no man required) female sex toy is produced, the patriarchal world loses its mind?
Wake up boys, women are your equals whether you agree to not. Why shouldn't women be able to enjoy fun sex toys? Men comfortable in their sexuality should be interested in supporting more orgasms for women, particularly if too many men fail to literally help women achieve the "Bog O" by themselves.
27
An Ose or a meaningless and dangerous one night stand with a partner who could give you an STD or worse.
They deserve a humanitarian award.
268
Osé is outrageously indecent. Where can I get one?
29
Hey, this America. It's okay to be armed to the teeth, but not OK for women to enjoy sex. It is what it's always been since the first "Pilgrim" stepped ashore...
69
I wonder if it would be acceptable product if it were rebranded for gay men.
8
Don't you wish you could have been in the room while they tried to come up with an explanation for banning this product while allowing VR porn??
27
Lock her up!
5
So, the NYT gives robust unpaid advertising to a robotic sex device manufacturer under the guise of protecting women's health. Hmmm.
3
@BudStl
"under the guise of protecting women's health"??
I APPLAUD the NYT for this article. Women's sexual lives and pleasure are larvely ignored by society. Meanwhile we sit through endless Cialis and Viagra commercials
Bravo NYT!
54
This can hardly be blamed on misogyny unless men's masturbating aids were accepted by CES while this was rejected.
5
@Jeremy Bounce Rumblethud Did you not read to the end?
22
Read "The Evolution of Beauty". Quite illuminating about sex, females and orgasm. And birds.
7
So...no Osé, but VR porn is fine. That sounds about right...
13
Can’t wait til these go on the market. Will never have to deal with not-so-attractive middle-aged men who think they should be dating a 20 year old model ever again.
42
It was copyright infringement on Amazon's signature trademark or CTA just has a dirty mind, or the men of power at CES are threatened that their own equipment isn't really good enough.
10
Yes, the sinister power of the patriarchy, or perhaps the fearful insecurity of weak males (it's hard to reconcile sinister power with fearful insecurity and weak males, but still), or the devilish determination to deprive women of pleasure, is at work here.
Actually, we don't care at all. Have at it, ladies.
I simply note that for years, *male* self-pleasure was and still is widely ridiculed. The idea, it seems, was that no self-respecting man would ever choose to pleasure himself, certainly not if he had a real woman close by. If if not, he ought to be about finding one. Those devices that purported to substitute for a live woman were always buried, seemingly out of mortification, in the small print in men's magazines.
It's not always about women.
3
"Any publicity is good publicity" - you can bet this product takes off - as it should. Lucky for the inventor that the event revoked its award because it involved female sexual pleasure, not male pleasure. Hope she starts an industry....
15
Great article, and shame on the consumer electronics people. Sounds like a great invention. Props to Ms. Haddock and Mr. Parmigiani, and their collaborators.
11
I had a friend 40 years ago who had a stamp made up that said "This discriminates against women." He was a true prophet.
5
"....a representative cited a clause in the awards’ terms and conditions that disqualified products deemed “immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image.”
Usual blatant hypocrisy. If this standard were applied to commercial television, 75% of the ads would be yanked.
11
Yep! I'll buy one!
4
And we're supposed to worry about those poor men being given a bad rap by society and feel sorry that their power is eroding. Huh.
5
By CES revoking the award for Lora Haddock's hands free toy they just gave her the biggest free advertisement for Osé could ever dream of.
All the publicity and talk about CES´s blunder has created much more attention to her invention than the award. There are hundreds of awards given out, but nothing can match the free advertising award Lora was just handled for her Osé.
CES suffers from double standards especially since their exhibition is held in Sin City Las Vegas.
13
Good old American puritanism creates sexual problems across the board exhibited by both men and women.
Oprah should invite/endorse DiCarlo.
9
is it on the market yet?!!
10
“Immoral, obscene, indecent, profane etc."! CES sounds more like a fundamentalist religious organization than an organization serving consumers.
21
A satisfactory sex life is a need, not a want. People live longer and happier when fulfilled, however they do it.
It is too bad that they awarded the prize and then took it back. I imagine the selection committee having no idea it was a sex toy designed for just female pleasure. I also imagine that female pleasure as a concept never crossed their minds.
10
“In an email explaining the convention’s change of heart, which Ms. Haddock shared with The New York Times, a representative cited a clause in the awards’ terms and conditions that disqualified products deemed “immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image.””
This anonymous representative is the real culprit. Until we know who this person is and what his or her agenda is we only have half the truth and any speculation otherwise is just more personal agenda posing as fact.
6
While I don't find this obscene at all and really none of anyone's business but the user, I suspect this is a generational thing.
People in their 20's and 30's are comfortable having sex with a machine and a sense of entitlement about their own pleasure.
They're ready for the future.
4
CES's defense seems to be one of "no this doesn't belong regardless of the fact that we have plenty of male sexual things in our show NOW PLEASE LEAVE US ALONE"
10
It does not mean risué in Italian. You are using one French word to describe another. Osé (which like risqué is French-of course) means « daring » from the verb « oser » (to dare). Significantly, in French neither word is necessarily about sex. In any case, I don’t see what the name of the product has to do with anything. That is simply marketing. It is clear that the good ol’ boys and tech bros are still firmly in power. For anybody that equality has been reached on any front, this should be a wake up call.
9
My wife will want one, and I want one for her as well. What a nation of prudes we are. My family in Denmark think we are mostly just nuts! I think they are right.
14
Favorite quote: "“We have apologized to CEO Lora Haddock for our mistake, as the Lori DiCarlo product does not fit into any of our existing product categories and should not have been accepted for the Innovation Awards Program."
So much for innovation!
13
The makers of this toy clearly have won the argument.
3
Some people just don't recognize a marketing windfall when they see it. This product will get a lot of free advertising because of the notoriety the CES has inadvertently showered on it. Take the money and run.
4
Why are there so many Italians involved in this, even when they are not really Italians?
3
The fact that this is an "issue" demonstrates the immaturity if American society.
8
In '09 I had prostate surgery which resulted in ed. My wife started using vibrators - two of them at once. One that she uses inside and the other for outside stimulation. The orgasms she has are very intense, far more intense than before I had surgery. I kid with her all the time how she far prefers the pleasure from these than she ever did from me. She laughs, but agrees. Now I see a name for the type of orgasms: blended orgasm. I can honestly vouch for the extreme pleasure she gets from this method and I will be looking for the product when it goes on sale.
221
@Larry To Larry: This is such an honest and refreshing response. You are a remarkable man...perhaps, unfortunately in the minority. Perhaps you could give advice to the many benighted men who think that their pleasure is the only one that counts? Women would be grateful, I am sure.
77
Good for you!! You sound like a great husband.
54
@Larry. What a generous, kind, and loving husband you are! ED or not, your wife is a fortunate woman, and I’m sure she knows it.
64
I went into my relationship with my husband-to-be a sex positive 32 year old with a few vibrators and no apologies. I had forgotten by then that the apologies were needed.
He told me at some early point that his uncomfortable feeling was that he "should be enough", which made me laugh (in a kind, feminine way). His journey of understanding from then to now, 12 years later, has included that I'm responsible for and in charge of my pleasure. I have opinions.
That's the journey our whole society needs to take. Stop infantilizing women. We are whole people, not wards of men, and our needs are important.
632
Thanks for sharing your story! Love this: "We are whole people, not wards of men, and our needs are important."
137
@danielle Fair enough. Tell me, though, how do you react when you are "not enough" for him? Do you allow your husband to have what he wants too? Or are "needs" important only to women?
13
@Maria
And yet, I would feel weird if my male partner used a machine instead of me.
It isn't sexist in my world, but I see how it could be in others.
10
I spent more than a decade in the consumer electronics industry and attended CES many times. "Immoral, obscene, indecent, profane and mysoginistic could easily describe many of the men I encountered from manufacturin executives to retail salespeople. I believe it was and continures to be a boys club. I'm glad this story has a happy ending in spite of the CES setback.
607
Shame on CES!!!! This device would be great, especially for women with hand and arm disabilities, such as myself, an above the elbow amputee. This is not just an attack on women, but especially women with disabilities. Now is the time for an alternate CES. Let's get it established.
698
In an age where ED meds are openly advertised and prescribed, why would a device to promote female sexual satisfaction be dubbed obscene?" Double standard, much?
1224
Your knowledge of sex mechanics is lacking. ED meds require a prescription. KY jelly, the analogous product for women, is over-the-counter and is also ubiquitous. There is no double standard here?
Neither KY nor ED has anything to do with arousal, nor enjoyment, nor climax. They are both only for getting the equipment ready for the other.
11
@Rosemary
Well, my tadalafil is just as important to my wife as it is to me. It is important for US. When did the US in a relationship become out of style? Many seem to view all aspects of life as being for ME now.
7
@Rosemary
Agreed.
Why can't women be open about their sexual appetites? Men have for generations as seen/heard on TV, the radio and around the corporate water cooler.
21
The publicity surrounding this will sell way more devices, so who cares about awards? Though personally, rather than “devices”, I prefer to use the one thing that has all but disappeared from people these days....Vivid Imagination.
1
I suspect there is an element of paranoia in the opposition to these products. Perhaps they are seen as a potent addition to the threat of male obsolescence. (To the extent that there is such a threat, Braggart #1 is the main poster boy.)
The real issue, of course, is not obsolescence. It's disqualification of defective male behavior, in which case a mechanical alternative is perfectly reasonable and advisable.
12
It was bad enough for men when technology came up with devices to replace them in the workplace :-)
6
I give these women an award for technology and innovation and uplifting many who may now have much happier attitudes after owning one of these miracles. Three cheers!
Where may I buy one?
26
Nice work by Evie Smith. Getting kicked out of CES was a much better story, and sold a lot more $250 robotic pleasure devices, than CES itself ever would have. The sex industry, like the music industry, always sells more stuff when someone tries to ban it. And then if you can add a female victim narrative -- a $250 device that gives you orgasms WHILE you strike a blow against toxic masculinity in Silicon Valley. That's a pretty awesome sales pitch.
41
I can't refrain from speculating what our American way of life would be, had we been more influenced by the Spaniards and French who settled in the "New World" before the Puritanical English came to set up their Bay Colony theocracy. Maybe we wouldn't have our so-called "Protestant ethic," but maybe we wouldn't be so dour. I can't imagine this discussion thread occurring in most parts of Europe.
66
What a marvelous surprise gift to donate to one of those family Christmas events where every member draws a random package to open on front of everyone.
“Oh how thoughtful! You shouldn’t have been so generous!”
41
@John Talk about a show stopper!
3
@John
It's a personal gift not a random package to open in front of everyone.
Unless you family gives sex toys out as random gift at Christmas.
3
@John - are you hoping there is one under the tree for you?
1
If there is nothing obscene about the product, why name it Osé, which means risqué in Italian?
8
@Thomas Risqué is, to my ear, spicy, exciting, suggestive. In answer to your question.
68
It’s also “José” without the “J”. Two perfectly independent vowels, on each side of a consonant with an angular shape composed of three perfect strokes.
9
Thomas, I cannot equate 'obscene' with 'risque'. No comparison.
9
“CES said that it is committed to diversity, and pointed to its announcement this year that it will invest $10 million in venture firms and funds focused on women, people of color and other underrepresented start-ups and entrepreneurs.”
That’s completely unnecessary. No one is being discriminated against. CES shouldn’t allow the left to bully them into throwing $10 million at a stupid endeavor just to satisfy the pro-diversity crowd.
11
@Mark
In 2017, 97.8% of all venture capital dollars went to all male firms. Not discrimination, Mark, just business as usual.
20
@Robin
That's because male tech firms, on average, produce the best and most profitable products.
2
@Mark Poor, bullied CES. In reality, CES wants to co-opt diversity by throwing money around vs. changing how it operates. So in reality, instead of them being bullied into giving money to something "stupid," they are playing capture and kill to deflect an actual conversation about what does and does not get equal treatment in their world.
11
So wrong to take an award back, period. To take back from a team of innovative women (and a man), really bad. To have no key note speaker woman again, bad. So prejudiced against women. Forget the 10 million, stop the prejudice.
121
@Electroman72
Yes, thank you, Electroman. And note the unreflective misogynist attitudes reflected in the three comments that precede yours. A "stupid endeavor" to give women pleasure, Mark, as if this has anything to do with politics or so-called diversity?
Most of the comments here, including yours, Electroman, are enlightened. But some of them reflect hatred for women, and show us what we are up against after all these years. I also reject the analogy proposed by someone else between ED medication and KY jelly, as if KY jelly has much to do with female pleasure. I find much of this commentary frightening in its hostility towards women. But thank you, Electroman.
11
The almighty dollar will no doubt loosen up these closed narrow minds when this product is making millions later this year.
100
All I know is, I'm buying one for my wife when it becomes available.
172
@confounded,
You’re a good husband/wife
8
@confounded: Your a nice husband. But, many husbands like you, & many women who would buy them for themselves, can’t afford them. So like many things, it’s just for the wealthy. IF you must decide between food for the kiddos, & this, no matter how much you want it, the food comes first. Maybe in a few years a cut rate edition will come out? Before I die please?
5
I’m sure all the men who want to decide whether women can have the choice to control their own bodies will be thrilled.
99
@Bob TOG
Can "corporations" be "incels", too?
We know they can be "human" because Mitt told us so, so why can't they be incels, too?
10
The stance taken by CES would be prudish yet justifiable if it didn’t allow sexual products of any kind to participate in the show.
The problem is that there are still plenty of men out there who simply don’t see female pleasure as an entitlement. Nor do they understand or want to try to understand female anatomy, which is regarded as too hard, too elusive and part of the incomprehensible mysteries of women.
Of course, a man could do what this machine does and in that sense it is not very innovative. But, my guess is that they’d rather roll over and go to sleep.
115
@Kay In addition, there's the very idea that a woman might be getting what she wants/needs without a man. That's traditionally been a tough one for these types of men.
37
@Kay - Exactly! They're threatened by it.
8
@MrsWhit
My understanding is that the more a woman gets it (arousal), the more she wants it, so I don't really see that as a problem for most men.
6
Thank you NTY for publishing this article. Public pressure and awareness is how we make progress.
165
I am quite certain Haddock is correct that CES is discriminating against women's products. However, having the award withdrawn has likely provided priceless advertising and awareness, and hopefully, given Haddock the last laugh.
136
I’m going to buy one, when it’s available, just to support this kind of technology—that which is good for women. More power to the designers and the company.
78
Hmm...very interesting how VR porn and sex robots are OK, but a device for women, dreamed up by a woman is "obscene." That's so typical of a world where men are frightened of women for so many reasons and in so many ways. What the CES decision tells us is that it's all right to replace women in so many ways yet horrible, terrible and "obscene" for women to not need men. Oh, man up CES! Everyone should have the right to replace a partner with a self-gratification device that actually achieves its intended purpose.
677
@TS In my 52 years of living and working with men, I've found the vast majority of them to be pretty decent human beings. Some of them I've loved, admired and genuinely liked. I never felt that they feared me -just as I didn't fear them. Granted, I've known a few men that were mean spirited jerks, but, then again, I've known a few women like that, too. If you don't want to be judged by your sex, then don't do it to men, either. Just sayin'
50
@J from O
You've taken my comment quite a bit out of context. My statement is not meant to say we should replace men, but to point out the irony that, according to CES, sex robots meant to replace women are all right but a device meant for a woman to achieve pleasure on her own is not. Don't you find that a bit ironic, too. Just sayin'....
30
@J from O
just sayin what?
4
Ha! Americans are such terrible prudes!
215
@cart007 Yeah, most Americans are; I know, I am one.
What's the point of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness if we get none of those three?
19
@cart007 this isn't a case of prudishness. It's blatant misogyny. They had sexual items at the show. But the ones left in were geared towards MEN. We can't scare the men with female sexual pleasure. That would be going too far.
10
They weren't attempting to show the device in a Muslim country, so what might or might not happen really isn't irrelevant.
7
This is where we are today in 2019 in America. In the previous decade it seemed that we were not a racist nation anymore as we elected a black president. False alert. We are still racist. We are still racist and women are not considered fully equal citizens. Our culture is drowning in toxic masculinity and inequalities.
292
@Philippe Orlando
I agree and I think despite all our talk about “mimorities”, we treat women and Native Americans worse than any other groups combined.
8
So I guess all those misogynists at “CES” believe that fantastic women technological innovators like Ms. Haddock should be “obscene but not heard.”
334
@Susan Thanks for the chuckle! I needed that.
8
It would be interestin ng to know how it got the award in the first place, and what politics then took place to cause the retraction. good article. but the story is still opaque
139
Someone at CES should lose their job for revoking Ose’s award.
An opportunity for inspired leadership was turned into a cowardly act of backwardness, demonstrating limited vision and the opposite of innovative spirit.
The shame and hypocrisy - all yours, CES.
273
@Suzanne Interestingly, I'm sure someone's job was iffy FOR having given the award. This was them making an important someone happy.
4
Did the maker market the product as a “toy”, or did CES officials decide it so? With all the wise effort that has gone into the product’s creation, itks ridiculous not to see it as a health product. The pelvic region is benefited by this incredible product. Thanks to the team that engineered it. CES is a body of idiots.
107
I think you’re missing the point
I don’t want to see sex toys for men or women in a legitimate newspaper
The nyt isn’t liberal economically but is very liberal when it comes to social values. I don’t think y’all get that. Many folks are uncomfortable with sex and matters pertaining to it.
Again if this was a sex doll for men I would complain and ask why is this news for the nyt
Gender has nothing to do with it.
Absurd
21
Of COURSE it’s about gender. If CES didn’t allow sex toys/sexual health devices as a rule, fine. This story would not be news, except maybe over here in Europe, where we shake our heads at Americans‘ prudishness.
But they specifically tried to exclude sex toys made for women, for women’s pleasure, while allowing men‘s sex toys and porn (which is usually made with a male audience in mind and produces accordingly). And they’re not even owning up to it. That makes it about gender.
In my opinion, all female innovators should pull their products, sex-related or not, and shame their male colleagues into following suit.
152
@Julia
"If CES didn’t allow sex toys/sexual health devices as a rule, fine"
From the article: "we don't allow sexual wellness products at CES".
That wasn't too hard, was it?
@Dc Nobody forced you to read the article, much less take the time to comment on it. There is a lot of stuff in the NYT that isn't hard news- articles on books, food and drink, etc. I personally am not bothered by an article on sexuality or gender.
11
From now on, maybe the CES should force exhibitors to sign an oath that their products -- such as TVs, phones, cameras -- will not be used for viewing sexual materials or connecting with hook-up candidates.
That will keep the CES at a purity level that would make Mike Pence proud -- and kill off the exhibition very quickly.
142
Yes, wonderful PR but stupid CTA and CES management.
This a good thing!
Sell more and lower the price!
45
When you design a great product, you win awards. When you scare the establishment, you change the world.
284
For thirty years, I've been trying to persuade the consumer organisations of Which? in the UK, Consumer Reports in the USA, and Choice in Australia to test methodically, review, report on, and recommend vibrators.
They refuse to do it. This despite the fact that most employees and senior staff are women, who from their bios regard themselves as mainstream feminists.
Cosmo, Huff Post, Vice etc report on the best rabbits et al, but the mainstream Anglophone press and consumer organisations generally will not do so.
In 2019, sex negativity towards women and girls still rules in every major organised religion including the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelicals, Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Hindus and Jews and Buddhists.
Moreover, sex negativity still rules the public expressions of most career feminists who are fearfully desperate not to want to seem too outre in case it affects their chances down the track of attaining high office.
86
@Colenso, some of us don't let it run us, and that's part of the hard work of making change. I can't create that kind of change after I'm dead and no long have the use of a brain and female anatomy, so I do it now. Subversive for six decades and counting.
22
Thank you for calling out sexism in CES. However, consistently publishing women’s health-related pieces in the Style section is its own kind of sexism. How does it fit into Style, other than the fact that it’s a product designed and marketed for women? Wouldn’t this fit better into Technology or Health?
Or are those sections only for important, right-on-topic articles such as the Instagram Egg, Jeff Bezos’s divorce, and office email etiquette re: all (technology)? Why not publish in both sections, like ‘Do You Take This Robot’ (cross-posted in tech and style)? How is this article’s focus any different than ‘Your Sweat Will See You Now’ (Health) except that the Ose device is for women’s sexual satisfaction?
While I realize this is a critical comment, this kind of article is important for people to see and read— too much so to be relegated to a section where it doesn’t fit, just because it touches on a topic some find indecent, immoral, etc.
556
Yes this comment was so needed - thank you, OP. News is supposed to be the watchdog of the people and it is crucial to stay neutral and catch ourselves when we tap into our unconscious biases. In instance, like what OP mentioned, NYT must consider why putting this article in the styles section taps into the unconscious bias we have of the female gender - that style is a more feminine subject and thus associated with the female gender. And must I note, being feminine is not a bad thing at all, but we should circulate stories like this in more mainstream ways so people who wouldn’t normally tap on the styles section would see and be informed of CES’s sexist and misogynistic practices.
111
I’m confused...I found this article in the Health section...
2
@TimesUp; Most editors are still men. Just a thought.
3
Thank you for this article! I am budgeting to buy for when an Ose' Sex Toy is available - it sounds divine!
75
I’m surprised the media hasn’t jumped all over this story. Surely they must be able to blame president Trump for this horrific event.
13
@Nick S Honestly, how? Other than being the kind of Bro culture, I don't see a connection to Trump? I'd say you're the one who is seeing the connection.
3
@Nick S
Nick, if one personality were to account for the mass rejection of males in favor of benign devices it would be him.
6
Sounds like women need their own convention, which in 2019 is a sorry state of affairs.
63
CES is led by prudish nincompoops. Way to exclude perhaps the most useful & relevant gadget that has emerged from your show in recent memory, boys. Let me guess...either Republicans or religious people complained.
Well, hope the CES geeks all have fun
chatting with their high tech toilets, ‘cause that’s not weird at all. I’m sure all of them will be designed to only blast ice cold water and air, lest the process be too enjoyable. Can’t have that!
41
I forwarded this article to the unattached female friends who might enjoy this kind of vibrator and virtually all of them were interested in the product. They also thought the CES people were probably men who had trouble accepting female sexuality that did not fit into their limited parameters (especially when a Kegel exerciser won an award three years ago).
Lora DiCarlo: please make the price (and rechargeable battery life) reasonable enough for women everywhere to enjoy it!
128
@vacciniumovatum
"attached" women are interested, too
14
@vacciniumovatum: It doesn’t even need to be either pink, or blue. How about bright blue PURPLE! With sparkles.
3
The only thing obscene: the CTA’s response. Great reporting. Great device.
62
The absolute horror that sex still strikes in this country is mind blowing, we still cannot get over sexuality .
Everybody does it, or at least wants to, so there should be no issues, none of us would be here without it ...... lighten up, give people some room , this is one of the few things we have left in this world
63
@There
RELIGION.
It seems there is no section in this newspaper and no area in life in America that hasn’t been needlessly complicated, held back from evolving with science and the times, or outright restricted and banned by religion’s suffocating omnipressence. Absolutely there was an evangelical on the panel who cried foul. Where’s the back story? Who made the decision? Where’s the pushback? Why didn’t the reporter ask CES about the porn room? The Kegel exerciser? The sex robots?
I don’t know why commenters feign surprise and outrage while Mike Pence is in the White House, the only presidential advisory committee still functioning is a thuggish band of rabid white evangelical male preachers, Dominionists are putting into action widespread plans to convert America into a theocracy, and Mitch McConnell is stuffing courts up, down, and throughout the land with judges who will not only outlaw abortion and contraception, but also most certainly, demon tools of Jezebelian pleasure such as this device.
Wake up! Allowing religion to continue to play any role in public and, especially, political life is for the Stone Age and continues to keep us tied up in knots over stupidity like what this article describes. Focus all of our attention on neutralizing its power once and for all or we’re doomed to devolution, and truly boring paltry lives.
12
What this well designed and wanted product offers is empowerment and autonomy for women. As such, it threatens the patriarchal system and beliefs of not only the the tech industry but sadly our country at large. One needs only to look a little deeper to see what is really going on. Despite the many advances women have made, the patriarchy remains.
187
Not to worry. The CES ban will have the same effect as a book being "banned in Boston" and already has caused a raising of consciousness. Also Ose might consider borrowing the motto of the Kaiser Cement Company: "Find a need and fill it".
129
It appears to me that, Puritanical bias aside, the product deserved the award. In Europe, this would not even be an issue.
218
@Jim
Jim, you are so right. I have moral correctness fatigue living in this nation - and I really think I am sort of a prude. What gives? We could have so much more fun and openness and freedom if we adopted the European attitude to sex. Perhaps healthier discussions and relationships.
42
@Jim-and that's the thing. Puritanical bias against women and our sexual pleasure, with or without a male partner...! OMG, between IVF and sex toys, men might become...obsolete! Oh, dear...!
57
@Ellen Tabor Please be sure to share your views with all the men you encounter.
1
Lucky them to have lost the CES Innovation Award ! This will be worth millions to them in free publicity. If I had ever thought of something this clever for a client, I would be rich - Good luck to Ose !
296
Is she planning making one for men? We do have G-Spot like areas.
11
@Serg Read the room, dude. This isn't about you, or about men, other than as obstructive gatekeepers. For once in a blue moon, it's not about men's pleasure, *and that's the point* of the device, the controversy, and the article. Just sit down and listen for a change.
168
@Serg Are you planning the finance the R&D?
11
@TL
You think the company wouldn't be interested in expanding their market once they're established? They won't do that right away, but I would bet they'd try it before too long. They've applied for 8 patents, they might as well make as much money as possible off them.
14
This gadget was designed by "a team of engineers from Oregon State University" ... whose mascot, it pains me to relate, is the Beaver.
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@NeilsDad
This Husky engineer salutes my Beaver compatriots.
I could say this invention is just ducky, but...nah!
43
@NeilsDad "it pains me to relate" made me laugh out loud
37
@NeilsDad
lol
Three words: I want one.
717
@Barbara
I want to give one. To my sweetie. With whom, both of us in our 70's, a "toy" has already transformed our sex life. And given me (man), by far, the best sex of my long sexual life.
10
@Barbara Me too!
7
“We have apologized to CEO Lora Haddock for our mistake, as the Lori DiCarlo product does not fit into any of our existing product categories and should not have been accepted for the Innovation Awards Program.”
OK. I think I understand this. CES = Electronic. Humans = Biologic - electro/chemical.
Once robots merge with humans, cyborgs?, then Ms. DiCarlo will be eligible.
Got it.
And I thought AI was confusing.
31
Where do we buy this product?!
266
People, men, need to understand that improving a woman's libido and sexual function benefits the partner as well. How many marriages and relationships suffer from a decreasing female sex drive, particularly after menopause?! There is no Viagra for women. This is an incredible product that could enhance the sex function of couples and is not something to be ashamed of.
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@Healthy Nurse
Well said.
33
Very true, but as the inventor has pointed out, nothing wrong about a product designed solely to create pleasure for a single individual. Sexual satisfaction is just as important for single people as for couples!
118
All excellent point, but let's not forget that sexual pleasure is something that single individuals desire outside or alongside of being coupled up! As Lora Haddock and her team notes, individual desire -- especially perhaps that of femmes/women/non binary people -- is just as worry supporting as partnered pleasure.
54
Well, the 'blended orgasm' sounds very cool; though I'm curious if it can only be achieved by a non-human 'device'. I'm glad for 'sexual health' in all of us, and if we are without the significant other, then, this toy might help many women feel good about life and themselves (and just feel good).
Women need to have their needs fulfilled; we all do. I hope they can speak more clearly to men and that men can listen better. That's a necessity. I'm sure some couples are very connected and comfortable together, and sex is a part of that, or sex could interrupt that. We are complicated beings.
For men, I would counsel: love her well and tenderly and slowly and touch and kiss and repeat. Eventually, help her achieve orgasm. At a point, much of the time, that can be the focus: her. Then, the man (who seems to have a much easier time at orgasm, in general) can be the focus. Not in some strict, formula-way, but just with a knowledge that both people need satisfaction and overall sexual health (including orgasm).
Be real. Be understanding. Love each other.
75
It’s the same old story. Men’s sexual pleasure is a birthright. Women’s is obscene. The end.
755
Nothing is "indecent" about female pleasure. I think the question is "what's so fragile about male ego?"
830
@RCJCHC
Because of age and previous botched surgeries, I'm pretty much inactive, but a friend of mine, years ago, made this comment which is worth repeating:
Indecent? If it's all hard and it's all in, then it's in decent.
7
Thank you for calling out blatant sexism. The tech industry has got to grow up - it’s like a bunch of men who are too embarrassed to buy their female partner’s tampons and can’t bring themselves to say menstruation. But VR porn... no problem. Really, CES shouldn’t be patting themselves on the back for having 20% female judges this year - that’s pathetic.
535
Thank you NYTimes and Ms. Safronova for your reporting on this story. I wouldn't have been aware of it otherwise.
CES is known for 'booth babes,' an entire room devoted to dude-centric VR porn, and female sex robots catering to men designed to jabber compliments at them.
I wonder why, then, that administrators at CES and CTA would deem Ose and other women-oriented products as obscene?
Very mysterious indeed.
436
Things would be different if the product aided male orgasms.
219
@Diane
And your health insurance will cover it! ;-)
93
@Diane
Not only covered by insurance, but by Medicare.
74
@Michael c
The fact is, neither Medicare Part D nor most private insurance policies cover ED drugs. Tadalafil (brand name Cialis) is covered by special approval only for benign prostatic hyperplasia if the prescribing physician certifies that the drug is to relieve the problem of urinary retention caused by the enlarged prostate.
1
Read a recent NYT article on Lora Haddock and Osé. Then on this NYT article, actually see pictures of the product. Very cool and innovative product design. I now understand why her start-up won the CES Innovation Award. It may be revoked after three weeks, but in my mind, they are the true winner this year. I wish Ms. Haddock all the best at her product launch in Fall 2019 and I hope her start-up will be around a long time.
Thank you NYT for these upbeat reportings. I hope you will do many follow up articles on this.
311
My girl friend will love it, since I am in my early eighties and can no longer satisfy her as often as I would like or she wants and needs to be, and it will keep her from having all those affairs with younger men.
155
@michael roloff
There was an old comedy routine where a man in his 80's threatens to get himself a 20 year old partner. His wife replied that she will get herself a 20yr old boyfriend. The husband is somewhat disturbed by this,especially when his wife reminds him that 20 goes into 80 more times than 80 goes into 20.
I think it was a Burns and Allen piece.
72
You'll notice that he didn't specify his girl friend's age. What makes you think that they're not about the same age?
5
@michael roloff Foo to all the people assuming your girlfriend is a much younger woman.
There are lots of lusty ladies in their 60's and 70's. And lots of younger men to keep them smiling.
I speak from personal experience.
5