The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has a long history of sexism, but this was supposed to be the year they turned things around. Instead, a sex toy controversy wound up making matters worse.

First a little history. Last year there were many complaints that they had too few women speakers. They did a little better, and four of the nine keynoters this year were women. They had also promised a code of conduct for last year, something that many tech related conferences have because of the serious issue of sexual harassment at these events. They failed last year, but did put out a code of conduct this year, and it dances around the issue and simply mentions the conference should be harassment-free. That does not really cut it.

Then they include this: “CTA reserves the right to make determinations on appropriate participant attire. Participants in attire that is deemed objectionable by show management will be asked to alter their attire or may be removed from the show premises immediately. Attire that is overtly sexual, imitates armed forces or law enforcement, or appears to threaten the safety of participants is also prohibited.” So they spend much more time warning primarily women that they had better dress appropriately, however CES might define that. Sexual harassment issue solved- they just decreed that women shouldn’t be slutty. Great job guys.

Years ago, CES had an adult section that was easy to avoid if you wanted to. Then the adult products split off, and are now featured at the Las Vegas Adult Entertainment Expo later in January. They still showcase a few select adult items. Sex toy maker OhMiBod has been exhibiting for years. Two years ago a company called B.Sensory showed an e-book-connected vibrator called the Little Bird.

This year the sex toy to get attention was from startup Lora Di Carlo. They got good press, but CES got horrible press. Some of the headlines: “Sex toy debacle reveals shameful double standard at CES,” “Sex Sells (Unless You’re a Woman at CES),” and “Is CES Afraid Of Sex or Women or Both?” CES was pretty much universally condemned. So, what happened?

Lora DiCarlo received an innovation award in CES’ robotics and drone category for its hands-free “Osé” vibrator. It incorporates a ”micro-robotic technology that mimics all of the sensations of a human mouth, tongue, and fingers”, and was developed “in partnership with a top university robotics engineering laboratory” in Oregon. Seems pretty innovative to me.

Then CES took the award away, and banned them from exhibiting at the show. At first, CES claimed that it was because “Entries deemed by CTA in their sole discretion to be immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image will be disqualified. CTA reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any entry at any time which, in CTA’s opinion, endangers the safety or well being of any person, or fails to comply with these Official Rules. ” They couldn’t make that determination before giving out the award? Are women’s orgasms so dangerous they put the 188,000 attendees in danger? Are they as dangerous as the provocative women’s attire that they also banned? Nor could they explain why this female run company made a device that was so much more obscene than the actual porn at CES from exhibitor Naughty America (which makes very nice porn).

After getting negative feedback on that excuse, the convention’s leaders then changed their story and claimed that the sex toy had not been eligible for an award in the first place because they did not have a product category for it. How about health and wellness, the category they use for OhMiBod? Or how about whatever category they use for porn? Or maybe just stick with the original robotics category since they worked with a University robotics lab?

In the response from CEO Lora Haddock: “It’s also important to note that a literal sex doll for men launched on the floor at CES in 2018 and a VR porn company exhibits there every year, allowing men to watch pornography in public as consumers walk by. Clearly CTA has no issue allowing explicit male sexuality and pleasure to be ostentatiously on display. Other sex toys have exhibited at CES and some have even won awards, but apparently there is something different, something threatening about Osé, a product created by women to empower women.”

Winning one of these awards can be make or break for a startup. The only thing better would be to get massive amounts of publicity over a controversy that is someone else’s fault. Hopefully, with all this publicity they will be able to raise the capital to go into production on what I hear from CES is a very innovative product.

So, that is what you were not able to see at CES. How about what you could see?

Sex toy maker OhMiBod has been exhibiting at CES for many years with their innovative interactive products. They are known for making vibrators that can vibrate in sync with music. They also allow you to control vibrators via an app on your smartphone or tablet. One of the important aspects of their smart devices is their emphasis on security. Their latest is an Apple Watch controllable vibe called blueMotion. It can also sync up with the heart beat of the person wearing the watch.

If you don’t have an Apple Watch, they also have a version that works with Alexa. This is the second Alexa controllable product we are aware of. We wrote on the subject in our article Our New Submissive. Their Alexa skill is currently in beta and they expect to release it this Spring. I was watching a demo video of it on my laptop, and I swear this really happened, when the man in the video said “Alexa, ask my vibrator to stop” my nearby Echo responded with “I can read selections from the Bible for you.” I guess Alexa is just as conflicted about sex as the folks at CES.

The good folks at Naughty America were there showing off their new augmented reality app. It adds a volumetric video based character (as opposed to computer generated) to your environment. In the demo, it is a pole dancer who, not surprisingly, dances on a pole placed anywhere you want in your room. Once she is placed, you can walk around the room or move closer or further away and she will stay in place in the environment as you view it through your smartphone. The Naughty America AR app is free with your subscription to their large selection of streaming porn, which runs around $30 a month.

There were VR products, but we are doing a separate article on VR technology and adult entertainment, so we’ll save it for that. There were 8K televisions, but since we still barely have 4K content, it will be years before these become practical and drop well below the current $5000 price tag. I guess we’ll have to wait awhile for super realistic porn.

There was not much at the show having to do with sex, although they I did find a listing for an unofficial CES Swinger’s meetup. That might have been interesting. As one man commented on a video made on the floor at CES, “I wish there were more women here.” I wonder if the same comment could be made at the meetup.