Measuring Your Orgasms and Being a Woman Engineer In Sex Tech with Anna Lee
In this episode, Hannah is joined by Anna Lee (aka Anna the Average), who is the co-founder and head of engineering at Lioness, the women-led sexual health startup. Anna discusses her journey as a Korean American women in the sex tech world, how she overcame the conservatism of her family to found her own sex tech company, and how working in sex tech helped her reclaim ownership of her own body after trauma. She and Hannah talk about why Anna is feeling positive that the landscape of the sex tech industry is becoming more diverse despite having to navigate a lot of stereotypes and uncomfortable situations. Finally, Anna shares more about her motivation behind creating the Lioness, why she believes being able to measure your orgasms allows people to better understand how their bodies work, and gives advice on introducing using toys in partnered sex as well how to get into the sex tech industry!
CW: mention of sexual assault
Read the episode transcript here!
What we chat about…
Anna’s journey to becoming a sex toy engineer
Did building the company help Anna address some of her sexual shame from growing up?
Everyone being on their own journey with their own sexuality
Anna’s first experiences of using sex toys
Anna’s impression of sex toy shopping growing up
Feeling like your body doesn’t work if you don’t like a specific popular sex toy
New suction toys
What does the sex tech industry look like to an insider? Is it still very cis male dominated?
Why Anna feels optimistic that the sex tech industry is becoming more diverse
What’s it like working in sex tech as an Asian American woman?
Stereotypes around Asian women’s sexuality
The changing conversations in the sex tech industry around being an Asian American woman
Why did Anna want to create a sex toy that measures orgasms?
How does the Lioness measure orgasms?
Does Anna want to get into research around what affects our orgasms (eg caffeine, stress, time of day?)
Opt-in research with Lioness
Lioness’s ethics and policies around data privacy
Why is the Lioness grey?
Why are so many sex toys pink and purple?
Making vibrators less intimidating for people
Using the Lioness as a measuring tool
Does the grey or purple Lioness sell more?
Advice for people who would like to introduce sex toys into partnered sex
Will Lioness be making a “male” version?
Data on people with penises using the current Lioness
Orgasms being the same contraction in people with penises and people with vulvas
Are you worried about putting pressure on people to feel like they should be improving their sex life?
How sustainable are sex toys?
I have an idea for a sex toy. Where would I even start with making it?
What are other paths to get into the sex toy industry?
USEFUL LINKS
RESEARCH LINKS
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MORE ABOUT ANNA LEE
Anna Lee is a technical co-founder of Lioness, the women-led sexual health startup that built the world’s first and only smart vibrator that improves understanding of sexual pleasure and body through biofeedback data. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum and has been covered in numerous publications like Fast Company, Glamour, and Popular Science, as well as Paper Magazine’s Asian Women Creators You Need to Know and Buzzfeed’s 14 Sex Tech Founders Who Are Changing The Way The World Thinks About Sex. Anna is a prominent creator on TikTok with nearly 400,000 followers.
Anna was previously a mechanical engineer at Amazon, launching the Amazon Dash Button’s original concept and the Kindle Voyage Page Press Technology. She has spoken at top universities like UC Berkeley and Chalmers University, SXSW, and CYFY India. Lioness was featured at CES 2020, a finalist at Last Gadget Standing, Engadget Best of CES 2020, and Refinery29 Best of CES SexTech. She is a big advocate in Lioness’ mission to expand understanding and research in sexual health, and destigmatize female sexuality.
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