'Let's stop beating around the bush' - our new mantra when it comes to talking about female sexual pleasure and the war cry of Cult Beauty's latest campaign #Vulvalution.
The online shop fuelling our beauty obsession, Cult Beauty is the latest brand to step up and shout about women's sexual health, and more controversially (read: totally necessarily), female sexual pleasure.
Following in the footsteps of Emma Watson's Fur Oil revelation of 2017 and Chrissy Teigen's refreshingly honest sex stories, Cult Beauty's new section dedicated to female pleasure and wellness is here to normalise everything from vaginas and vulvas, to vibrators and pelvic floor trainers.
Whether it's speaking openly and unashamedly about masturbation, genuinely useful Youtube videos showing us how to use our new vibrator the right way, addressing the 'orgasm gap', or how to spot the signs of ovarian cancer, this game-changing online shop challenges the archaic notion that women don't like sex, and that if they do, then frankly, they're harlots at best.
'The last two years have been a time of great social upheaval and awakening,' says Cult Beauty Co-Founder Alexia Inge. 'Women are shedding the constrictive chrysalis of social stigma, shame and embarrassment; they are starting to own their sexual health and fulfilment and search for solutions and guidance that don’t come from the NHS, porn sites or sex shops.'
As Miranda Priestly would put it, 'Women enjoying sex? Groundbreaking.'
Teaming up with charity The Lady Garden, Cult Beauty's tour de force of sexual empowerment encourages women to be as 'bossy' about their health as they are in bed. With gynaecological cancers still so underrepresented in the media that they're often referred to as 'The Silent Killers', there's never been a more important time to get educated about investigating your bits.
As Inge puts it, 'This is about more than products. We’re starting a conversation to help women close the ‘orgasm gap’, but also normalise commonplace issues so embarrassment doesn’t inhibit a better quality of life. We want to help The Lady Garden banish ‘The Silent Killer’ cancers by being loud about the symptoms.'
The question is, how did we get to 2019 and still have so far to go? If you've ever tried dropping a casual 'vagina' into conversation, the look you get in response says everything. Despite a vibrator market expected to be worth $29 billion by 2020, the fact that more women in the UK own vibrators than dishwashers and half the population being the proud owner of a vagina, the UK's stance on female pleasure remains firmly on the 'hush hush' side of life.
Tackling the silence head on is Cosmopolitan's Senior Sex & Relationships Writer, Paisley Gilmour whose candid conversations around sex are changing the way young people view sexual pleasure. 'I think Cult Beauty’s launch of a sexual pleasure and wellness category online is a huge deal as it will help to normalise the conversation around women and people with vaginas using sex toys', says Gilmour.
'We know sexual pleasure and fulfilment is vital to our health and mental wellbeing, and seeing sex toys right there next to beauty products proves it’s just as an important act of self-care as a skincare routine. It’s an excellent way to tackle the shame many women and people with vaginas feel about pursuing their sexual desires.'
But, whilst we applaud Cult Beauty's vulva-loving mission, there's still work to do.
'The choice of female-owned brands like DAME and Smile Makers, whose commitment to using tech and body-safe materials to produce premium products is really impressive,' continues Gilmour. 'However, it’s very disappointing to see what have been traditionally known as “feminine hygiene” products promoted on the site. Many gynaecological experts have spoken out about how unnecessary and potentially harmful these can be. Not only is the vagina self-cleaning, but promoting products that “deodorise” or neutralise vaginal smells preys on people’s insecurities and shame. And a vulval exfoliant? Even the sound of it makes me snap my legs shut.'
It's one thing to celebrate the power of female sexuality and self care, but another to market this as yet another product we supposedly 'need'.
Cult Beauty may have made one giant step forward for normalising female pleasure, but there's still a long way to go until the true #Vulvalution takes over.
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