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Four months ago, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) revoked a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) award that was to be presented to Lora DiCarlo for the company's "blended orgasm" micro-robotic sex toy. Now, the CTA has reversed course:
The group behind the Consumer Electronics Show is returning an award it revoked from a women's sex toy company earlier this year, which ignited a controversy around the industry's inclusion of women and acceptance of sex tech. But for now, the show's operator isn't announcing broader changes that would actually allow sex toys to be exhibited and win awards in the future.
A CES Innovation Award was initially presented to Lora DiCarlo for its Osé Robotic Massager ahead of the conference in January, honoring the device in the show's robotics and drones category. But the show's operator later revoked the award, saying that sex toys weren't allowed. Lora DiCarlo's ability to even exhibit at the show was revoked as well.
Now, the show's operator, the Consumer Technology Association, is returning the Innovation Award to Lora DiCarlo. The CTA says it "did not handle this award properly," leading to some "important conversations" about the show's policies around sex tech.
Also at BBC.
Previously: CES Announces $10 Million Diversity Fund, Revokes Award From Female-Founded Sex Tech Company
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Thursday May 09 2019, @10:21AM (3 children)
I expect this trade show doesn't really have any principles, they only sail with the wind. If they think their attendees are a bunch of prudes and misogynists, they will create and enforce rules against porn, sex, abortion-- whatever their attendees want, even as they hypocritically encourage the use of "booth babes". This time it seems they misjudged the opinions of their public, and are flipping to align themselves with what they now believe the public wants, while of course reserving the option to flip again.
To me, trade shows have a relevance and hype problem. I went to an automotive trade show some years ago, and was extremely annoyed. I won't be wasting any more of my time at any such show in the future. Manufacturers pulled the "booth babe" stunt. There were very few representatives who knew a damned thing about the cars and companies they'd been sent to represent. But they sure were young and hot looking. Eh, i suppose it's reflective of the typical automobile manufacturer website-- nearly 100% marketing hype and close to 0% facts and data about their cars. Maybe they should make it an official column in what few tables of data they do provide: "hood is strong enough to support the weight of a young woman in a bikini". At any rate, the empty hype is so pervasive that there are hardly any assertions to be suspicious of.
I recall an article a few months ago about a famous security expert having decided to no longer attend a big trade show. He was tired of all the hype and security theater. I said then that he ought to keep going and stop being a crotchety senior, under the thought that it is better to stay engaged, that the engaged person has a better shot at influencing things than the person who has disengaged, deciding to let everything go to hell. But now, well, maybe a different format is needed?
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(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @12:51PM
No, don't you get it yet?! Everybody who doesn't have regular menstruation who does anything remotely technical for a living is a dirty Russian Trumping alt-right misogynerd, and they're all collectively and severally accountable for 53% of white women voting for Trump, Kavanaugh, all those missing white women, and especially for college campus rapes committed by the football team! What a bunch of incels, unlike the football team, who regularly pop cherries and thus are not incels and are instead fine upstanding young men who have every right to stuff those misogynerds into lockers!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @02:49PM
It isn't the place of non-people to direct culture, they should sit back and reflect it.
(Score: 2, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday May 09 2019, @04:28PM
Did you look at Article? It says they "cut out the hiring" of the beautiful Booth Babes. Too bad. That's too bad, because models & supermodels need to eat (not much). So, they need work. And we all love to look at them, right? Foolish move!!!
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @04:14PM (3 children)
The political pressure to award this device was immense.
A company headed by a woman came out with a device to specifically replace a man.
(Score: 5, Informative) by bob_super on Thursday May 09 2019, @04:56PM (2 children)
Yes, sex toys for women never existed before.
The pressure was because previous awards were given for other sex toys, so the ruling was completely arbitrary.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @05:17PM (1 child)
The shitstorm coverage after pulling it didn't stress that it was a sex toy, so much as a sex toy from a company owned by a woman, and oh how horrible that they are discriminating against a female entrepeneur who puts the power into the hands of women to satisfy themselves. The gender angle sold the story.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @06:12PM
> oh how horrible that they are discriminating against a female entrepeneur who puts the power into the hands of women to satisfy themselves.
Yeah, it is horrible.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday May 09 2019, @04:58PM (7 children)
The summary seems to imply that they haven't changed whatever their position is. Merely that they got embarrassed enough to scuttle for cover. I suspect that other such devices will find that they don't qualify for exhibition on some grounds or other that is difficult to challenge.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 09 2019, @05:15PM (6 children)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @05:20PM (1 child)
If they do create a sex toy category (which I doubt), they will have to consider toys that cater to all sexualities so as to be inclusive: normal toys, lesbian toys, gay man toys, etc.
Expect toys meant to jam up your ass to warrant manadatory consideration at least.
(Score: 1, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday May 09 2019, @10:30PM
That's OK. That's OK. Because it takes so many kinds to make our incredible World. The Heterosexual. The Homosexual. Bisexual. Pedophile(unfortunately). The animal lovers. And now we have, Robosexual. Did you hear, they have toys for men now. Besides the ones for the asshole. Which for a guy that has hemorroids, that's no fun. As you know, as you found out. They did the artificial vagina. Also known as, Pocket Pussy. And they even have the artificial woman -- life size and she has all the important parts. Can we say she? So amazing!!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday May 09 2019, @05:25PM (3 children)
"health" ... because in 2019, under president PussyGrabber, the US is still too stuck-up to acknowledge we like sex.
How's the "Innovation in dismemberment/gore/mutilation" award going ? They should already have that one, since it doesn't involve the wrong organs and bodily fluids.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 09 2019, @05:32PM
It could be that too few devices will be submitted to warrant a Sex Toys category, but surely it doesn't make sense to toss it into "Robotics and Drones". Putting it into "Health and Wellness" sounds fine.
Wait a second, this is CES. Aren't all these awards rigged anyway?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday May 09 2019, @10:13PM
You're a Trump Hater. And possibly you don't know, I met with the Video Game guys. With Melissa/Parents Television Council. And with the survivors of the horrific Parkland shooting -- in which so many beautiful young lives were senselessly stolen. And we talked about, are these violent video games desensitizing our community, our Country to violence. And, what about TV, what about movies -- same question with those. I also talked to the folks at our National Rifle Association about that one. It's something we're looking into very closely, believe me. And eventually we're going to get something done!!! youtu.be/0C_IBSuXIoo [youtu.be]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 14 2019, @05:32AM
It's not all of the US. Every toy produced by a male is a sex toy. All the toys I've seen produced by female lead companies are called pleasure toys...
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 09 2019, @08:11PM
So what are the chances that they'll revoke revoking the revocation? :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by JustNiz on Friday May 10 2019, @01:35AM
if it was a men's sex toy they wouldn't have returned the award?