On Cunnilingus and Commercialism

What would make you perform cunnilingus more? This crowd-sourcing campaign that’s been making the viral rounds on social media for the past week thinks latex underwear designed for oral sex is the only thing (literally) separating your tongue from your partner’s mind-altering orgasms.

As of today, the company has surpassed its goal on Indiegogo, raising nearly $24,000. After conducting a survey of 150 people, they found 80 percent of women have turned down oral sex when they want it, because they were concerned about smells or discharge. So, how do they work? Made from non-porous latex, these single-use, thin and stretchy underwear are worn as you’re receiving oral sex or rimming, and allow you to feel pleasure while creating a barrier to scents and fluids. In addition to this, they are also perfumed with vanilla.While this may be a genuine concern for many people with vaginas, I disagree with the creators who believe these products will help close the orgasm gap and empower women to start enjoying oral sex. They just reinforce harmful stereotypes and entertain stigma surrounding vaginal pleasure and health.

Why are we still making products that cater to men’s disgust when we could be educating and empowering people instead?

Despite it being 2018, the vagina is still pretty misunderstood, obscured by a shroud of ignorance, misinformation and plain old sexism. Many still see the vagina and the fluids it produces as disgusting, even though the vagina is actually amazing—it keeps itself clean in many ways. Glands in the vagina produce fluid, that fluid then flows out daily to get rid of dead cells or any other potentially harmful materials. The amount and hue varies depending on the time of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Discharge is perfectly normal and a sign of a healthy vagina. The folds of the vagina also help protect against infection, the skin has glands that produce fluid called sebum. It’s possible it can build up, but this isn’t an indication of poor hygiene. It’s just another example of how vaginas are self-sustaining.

The focus of this product isn’t women at all, it’s men. In Lorals’ video campaign, we see a woman suddenly remembering moments from her day such as skipping a shower and doing a workout on her lunch break. The message that women aren’t having oral sex because they feel “unfresh” and that vanilla-scented underwear will help solve this is rooted in misogyny. The brand may use language that focuses on women’s worries and encourages them to say yes, but if you look closer the focus is actually men’s comfort and pleasure. Marketed as a product that will make your partner smell “better,” and by better, I mean unnatural, this product only reinforces the ridiculous notion that vaginas are supposed to look and smell a certain way. A vagina naturally has it own kind of scent, you don’t need to make it smell like roses. Penises are rarely held to this kind of standard.

Another issue this product introduces is the idea that women want oral sex even if they say no. It veers dangerously close to encouraging predatory behavior. This product would have a better chance filling a gap in the market if Lorals perhaps created an STI barrier. Despite the CEO expressing that the company wants to eventually release an STI-blocking version of Lorals, it clearly states on its Indiegogo page that the product does not take the place of dental dams and they’re not FDA-approved. It’s clear to see that, in its current iteration at least, the focus of Lorals underwear is cosmetics and smell.

This isn’t the first ‘sexual health’ product to stem from a lack of understanding surrounding vaginas. In recent years, we have seen a lipstick that glues your vulva shut during menstruation, pills you can put inside you to make your discharge glittery as well as makeup for your vagina. With the majority of those with vaginas experiencing genital body shaming often from a young age, there is no doubt that insecurities like the ones Lorals claims to address actually exist. Considering the long history of attitudes that alienate so many, why are we still making products that cater to men’s disgust when we could be educating and empowering people instead?