Designing for Sexual Wellness
Anna Eaglin
Abstract
School of Informatics and Computing
Sexual health encompasses physical, mental and social
well-being in relation to sexuality. In this paper, we
argue that designing for sexual health is an important
aspect of the Wellness Informatics agenda, and that
research on sex toys, which is under developed in HCI,
has the potential to contribute to this agenda
substantively. We summarize our user research and
present a set of design principles to further the agenda
of designing for sexual wellness.
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana 47406 USA
[email protected]
Shaowen Bardzell
School of Informatics and Computing
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana 47406 USA
[email protected]
Keywords
Sexual health, sex toys, Wellness Informatics, HCI and
wellness, design.
ACM Classification Keywords
H5.m. Information interfaces and presentation:
Miscellaneous.
General Terms
Design, theory
Introduction
Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).
CHI 2011, May 7–12, 2011, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
ACM 978-1-4503-0268-5/11/05.
People are constantly making healthy changes in their
lives. They promise themselves they will eat less, quit
smoking, exercise, take their vitamins, etc. Health is a
"…state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity" [6]. These proactive things that people do to
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keep their health at satisfactory levels, or prevent
disease and illness, is categorized as wellness [8].
One aspect of wellness that is consistently overlooked
is human sexuality. As our field continues to expand
towards subjective experiences of human-computer
interaction, embodied interaction, and leisure
technologies, it is important for us to start taking the
body itself—biologically and culturally—more seriously.
As a start, we argue that we must see the body not
merely as the locus of cognition and action, but as both
a medium and a directing force of human subjectivity
[13]. Sexual health is defined as the "… state of
physical, mental and social well-being in relation to
sexuality. It requires a positive and respectful approach
to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the
possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual
experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and
violence" [15]. Sexual health does not only include
aspects of physicality, such as the presence of
sexuality-transmitted diseases, it also encompasses
issues of satisfaction and pleasure.
We thus situate our work in the intersection of Wellness
Informatics [8] and Human-Computer Sexual
Interaction. There have been numerous calls for a more
sustained look at sexuality research in HCI [1, 4, 5, 6].
Designing for sexual wellness will not only support
intimacy among partners, it will also contribute to the
wellness of our beings.
Sex Toys and Wellness
Wellness is the actions people take to avoid needing
medical care. Often, these decisions to alter behaviors
are not based on direct consultation with medical
experts, but rather based on discussions with those in
social circles, such as family and friends [8]. Prescribed
by sex therapists for a number of years, there is a link
between the use of sex toys and the engagement in
actions that benefit sexual wellness.
“Sex toys” is an umbrella term that incorporates those
objects that are designed to stimulate the body to
induce sexual pleasure. This definition also includes
objects, such as the Hitachi Magic Wand, that were not
designed specifically for sexual activity, but have been
appropriated for this use. Different from the cheap
adult novelties of the past, sex toys are now moving to
“…new designs [that] are digitally enabled, aesthetically
sophisticated, high-quality consumer electronics” [2].
This intersection of the digital and the aesthetic make
sex toys worthy of a more critical look by the HCI
community.
Sex toys were initially invented to help doctors bring
hysterical patients to paroxysm, or orgasm. After
appearing in stag films in the 1920s, sex toys went
deeply underground and did not emerge until the 1960s
when they were openly sold as sex aids that were
strongly associated with pornography [11]. Although
more sex-positive outlets have helped lower the social
taboo associated with sex toys, they remain the
“elephant in the room.”
According to two recent studies published by the Kinsey
Institute, men and women who reported using vibrators
(i.e., a specific type of sex toy that emits vibration in
order to stimulate) were also more likely to engage in
sexual health promoting behaviors such as a
gynecological visit or a testicular self-exam. Although
the researchers indicate that perhaps there is a third
factor involved (such as the fact that people who are
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more proactive about their sexual health tend to be
more sexually open), there is still an association
between sex toys and sexual wellness. Men and women
who reported using vibrators also had higher scores on
sexual function domains (such as desire, arousal,
erectile dysfunction, pain, lubrication, orgasm, etc.).
This suggests that those who use vibrators experience
more positive sexual function [9, 12]. As mentioned
before, high sexual satisfaction is a component of
positive sexual health.
history and context of sex toy use, likes and dislikes,
societal issues, and spaces for change. We advertised
and distributed the survey via popular social
networking websites such as Facebook and had a total
of 104 participants who responded to the survey. Of
the 104 people who completed the survey, 63%
identified themselves as female, and 36% identified
themselves as male. 61% had used a sex toy at least
once, while 38% had never used a sex toy before.
Findings and Analysis
User Research
In order to get a good understanding of how sex toys
are currently situated and how they are related to
sexual wellness, we conducted two expert interviews
and a survey. The first interviewee is a sex therapist
and CEO and founder of an online sex toy company.
The second interviewee is a research scientist at the
Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana
University and a sexual health educator with the Kinsey
Institute. These two were chosen because of their
expertise in sexuality research in general and sex toys
in particular, especially the evolution of sex toys design
as well as how they perceive based on their research
the ways consumers interact and use these toys. The
interviews were conducted in person and/or via Skype
and lasted around 30 minutes. The topics covered
issues such as frequently encountered questions,
research gaps, market trends, exemplars, materials
and form, and current designs and flaws.
Informed by the expert interviews, we also designed
and ran an online survey to understand consumers’
perceptions and experiences with sex toys. Due to the
sensitivity of the subject matter, the survey was
entirely anonymous, and explored issues such as
The two research activities collectively help us
understand, on a meta level, how and why people
choose to integrate sex toys into their lives as well as
usability and experiential issues surrounding the use of
sex toys. Though people use/or want to use sex toys to
contribute to their sexual wellness (e.g., sexual
satisfaction, achievement of orgasm, etc.), they are
often deterred or frustrated by perceived design flaws
and social taboos. The following are overarching
themes and insights we learn from the two studies.
Sexual Wellness - Intimate artifacts have many clinical
benefits, and sex therapists have been prescribing
them to their clients for many years. A number of
participants in the survey reported they use sex toys
because it is the only way they are able to achieve
orgasm, either alone or with a partner.
Social Taboo - Sex toys still have a very strong link to
pornography. This is troubling for many who are put off
by the graphic sexuality. Aligning sex toys with
something else, like education, makes them more
accessible to more people. One survey respondent
wrote, "I don't want anyone to find a sex toy in my
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room. I would be nervous what people would think of
me if I owned one."
Materials – There is not a lot of research regarding
germs and sex toys, or the best ways to clean them.
Cheaper materials such as jelly are very porous and
difficult to clean, but a higher quality silicone toy is
going to cost more.
Price – The price of a toy is very much related to its
materials. A higher quality toy will last longer and be
made of a better material, but a person new to sex toys
may not be willing to spend the money on something
they may not like.
Use – The question of how sex toys are used is hard to
answer. First-time users often do not know what they
want because they have no context to understand sex
toys, and a good sex toy is in the eye of the beholder.
Every body is different and wants different things. Even
a person's individual needs can shift based on context
(e.g. sex versus masturbation).
Manufacturer – Like many products, sex toys are massproduced, mostly in China. Companies tend to follow
trends to see what is selling and what is not.
Oftentimes sex toy companies will hire talented people
who excel at making products, but have no education
or background in sexuality.
Design Principles
Based on our user research and the subsequent data
analyses, we learned that although the wellness
benefits of sex toys have been studied and published in
research and medical communities, sex toys still have a
reputation that deters people from using them. This
high barrier of entry is reinforced by a disconnect
between manufacturers promoting sex toys that are
poorly made in terms of both the materials and
ergonomics and the needs of the consumers, especially
how they appropriate and experience these artifacts in
their (sex) lives. Accordingly, we propose the following
three principles as a step towards designing for sexual
wellness in HCI:
Overcoming Social Taboo Surrounding Sex Toys is the
First Step Towards Sexual Wellness
Many people who use and/or who are interested in
using sex toys do not like the negative social
connotation surrounding them. Separating sex toys
from graphic sexuality makes them more approachable
by mainstream society, and by aligning them with
sexual wellness will lower the barrier to entry for people
who want to consume them. This can be achieved by
incorporating formal elements that signify wellness to
the user.
The form of an object is the elements that are intrinsic
or internal to it. These are things such as shape, line,
color, texture, and layout or composition [3]. Formal
elements of wellness are present in the architecture of
spas, signs in organic grocery stores, the shape of
aromatherapy bottles [Figure 1], the labels of yoga
DVDs, to name a few. As Gaver et al. illustrated with
the Prayer Companion project, the materials and
aesthetics of a design must fit harmoniously with the
existing environment [7]. In order for consumers to
accept a sex toy as an object of wellness, it must
formally exhibit this.
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Addressing Core Usability Issues
Like all consumer electronics, many of the issues
people have with sex toys are in regards to usability.
Some problems reported were size (big or small), noise
(too loud), battery drain, not enough power, poor
quality, or difficulty in cleaning and maintaining.
Rechargeable, quieter sex toys, made with more
hygienic materials would need to be considered and
researched to address these concerns.
Conclusion and Future Work
Figure 1: The forms of aromatherapy bottles invoke a
sense of wellness (http://tinyurl.com/4ggjrfv).
Allowing for Multiple Contexts of Use and Spontaneous
Appropriation through Ambiguity in Form
Although the form of sex toys is related to sexual
wellness, it needs not dictate a single purpose of use.
And the toys do not need to all take the form of
genitals. It is not only that different people need
different things based on their situations, desires, and
experiences, but they also need different things in
different contexts. One sex toy cannot appeal to
everyone, but by incorporating a strategically
ambiguous form, users can appropriate it into their
sexuality in the way they see fit. As Gaver and Sengers
recommend, the space for interpretation is clearly
defined (sexuality and wellness) but actual use (such as
penetration, use with partner, etc.) should not be
inscribed on the user [14]. This appropriation will
empower the user in their pursuit of sexual wellness
[10].
The ideas of designing for sexuality and wellness are of
growing interest in HCI. As sex toys continue their
trajectory towards becoming more similar to consumer
electronics, these issues are going to become more
important to the HCI community. The three design
principles, based on our preliminary user research and
data analysis, point to a path for sexual wellness design
in HCI. They help conceptualizing and the design of
future digital sex toy with the aim of lowering the
barrier of entry for consumers and fostering sexual
wellness. In future work, we plan to validate and iterate
these design principles through concept generation and
critique to further advance the research and design
agenda of sexual wellness in our field.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our participants for taking part
in this study as well as Debby Herbenick, Sandor
Gardos, Jeff Bardzell, John Wayne Hill, Binaebi Akah,
Nina Alcorn, Erika Klosterhoff, Matt Edwards for their
inputs on this work.
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