"When you think of items that boost women's empowerment and self-esteem, you might not immediately think of a vibrator—but the Lioness Vibrator is looking to change that."

"Woman does Lord's work, makes smart vibrator... [It's] like a Fitbit for your cooch."

To be honest, at first, I (Liz) was helping myself. I came from a more conservative, Midwestern upbringing where sex just wasn't talked about. The lack of information and stigma made me curious to learn more.

As I started to talk to friends and do things like sell intimacy products to women from many walks of life, I realized that I was far from being the only one who felt uncertain and had questions about sex. But because of the taboo, there are very few opportunities where people feel comfortable asking questions about their own sexual preferences.

A lot has changed since the 1980s, but research on female sexuality hasn’t advanced much since then. It’s not for a lack of interest—global taboos, personal discomfort, and lack of funding have held us back, and it doesn’t look like things are going to get much better on their own.

That’s why the kind of work that we’re doing at Lioness is especially important right now. We’ve created a platform for self-experimentation to help women (and all folks) learn about their own, unique bodies, and to learn more about our sexual pleasure as a whole.

We know. Numbers, data, and charts sound like the least sexy way to explore your sexuality, ever. But we’ve found that removing some of the “sexiness” from sex can help people learn about, understand, and communicate their own sexuality.

Cornell University Sex Researcher Sarah Merrill explains the science behind it—Interoception: "having the physiological feedback to pair with psychological sensations may help to increase mind-body awareness, sexually and holistically.”