In honor of Women's History Month, we're featuring female pioneers in pleasure & sex education! All of these women have changed the course of history through research, education, or innovation and we're here to celebrate their achievements. Without their historic contributions, we wouldn't be able to provide our customers with the same tools and information that we have today.

Betty Dodson

In the 1970s, Dodson started holding Bodysex workshops, designed to help women connect with their bodies, heal shame, and learn self-pleasure techniques. In these workshops, she would have women undress and masturbate together to promote the idea of body diversity and to destigmatize sexual shame.

The Original Hitachi Magic Wand was an important tool during Dodson's workshops, which is still one of today's most-loved vibes, decades later. She even dubbed it "the Cadillac of vibrator," taking this household massager to a whole new level of popularization among women.

Dodson also took part in research that involved being hooked up to an EEG machine while masturbating. Recording of this experiment showed that her brain waves went into alpha during masturbation, which is linked to relaxation. At the point of orgasm, her brain activity showed a shift to theta brain waves, which are associated with deep relaxation, inward focus, and hypnosis. This research supported her concept of masturbation as a form of "pleasurable mediation."

Betty Dodson died on October 31, 2020, at the age of 91 but her legacy lives on through new-wave sex-positive feminism and Magic Wand lovers around the globe!

Susan Colvin

Susan Colvin is the founder and CEO of CalExotics, one of the leading toy brands in the industry. She was an early trailblazer for women in an industry made up of mostly male business leaders. In fact, CalExotics is the first sex toy company founded and operated by a woman!

Susan introduced the industry to the idea of more “feminine” designs and CalExotics became the first company to produce pink toys, which quickly became the most popular color among women.

"Back then,” Colvin says, “Vibrators were made of hard plastic, had loud, unruly motors, and boasted very few selling features. Dildos were ivory or black, and packaging was very basic…Everything was cheap-looking and made by men for men."

She envisioned CalExotics to create more inspiring toys that considered the needs and desires of women and couples as well as men. Today, CalExotics has something truly for everyone. Their wide range of products consider all genders and ways to play! Whether you’re looking for a cutesy body-safe silicone dildo, diving into anal training, or looking for a strap-on harness that defies gender expectations, CalExotics has something to help.

CalExotics was also the first sex toy company to have a development team of all women, which has without a doubt changed the course of sex toy design. Their company has brought to life lots of innovations such as waterproof toys, “butterfly” style vibrators, and remote-controlled egg vibes.

Through CalExotics, Susan Colvin was able to pave the way for a big change in how toys were made and what they looked like. Her vision has helped countless women find toys that were less-intimidating, more intuitive, and better quality than their predecessors.

Want to learn more?

Check back next week for another feature for Women's History Month!