Where the Boys Aren’t: Sextech, Star Power, and the Sound of Male Silence

While female celebrities boldly champion pleasure, male counterparts are nowhere to be found

Celebrity responses to the booming sextech industry reveal more than personal preferences—they highlight a cultural split that’s as gendered as a pink-and-blue toy aisle. While a growing number of female-identified stars embrace vibrators as wellness tools and proudly display their names on pleasure products, their counterparts remain conspicuously absent.

It used to be that no one with a reputation to protect would admit to using sex toys, but times have changed. In the early 1980s, adult entertainers began to endorse products. Some even licensed molds of their body parts to manufacturers. However these days mainstream celebrity women commonly endorse sex toys to empower pleasure, though it’s unlikely they’ll go as far as body molds.

Whether celebrity endorsements make a difference to consumers or not–and many think they do–it’s clear the sextech industry is booming with no bust in sight.

A few milestones in the shape of things to come

According to Page Six, SheKnows, and MySexToyGuide, a growing number of female stars are happy to endorse sex toys. Some even create and market pleasure products of their own. Here’s a timeline and partial list of US and UK celebrities who are outspoken about their enjoyment of sex toys and who have chosen to add luster, luxury, and sexual empowerment to sex tech products and brands:

2005: Eva Longoria tells Self that she didn’t enjoy sex until she learned to masturbate and bought her first vibrator in 2002.
2009: Lady Gaga talks about the happiness she experiences with her vibrator in The Sun.
2011: Maggie Gyllenhall admits to amassing an “incredible collection” of vibrators after starring in Hysteria.
2012: Alicia Silverstone endorsed a vibrator called The Leaf in OpenSky.
In 2017, Jane Fonda flashed a large purple vibrator on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and spoke candidly about her vibrator use.
In 2020, Gwyneth Paltrow sold the first vibrator designed for her GOOP lifestyle brand and Dakota Johnson invested in, and became co-creative director for Maude.
In 2021, Miley Cyrus showed off her boudoir decor with a rainbow of vibrators. Cardi B granted a cameo closeup to a Vush Majesty 2 vibrator in her music video for “Up.”
In 2022, Madonna displayed a vibrating necklace dangling between her breasts and Demi Lovato teamed with Bellisa to create the Demi Wand, a compact vibrator.
In 2023 Christine Aquilera co-founded Playground to produce vegan, plant-based lubricants and personal care products, also serving as the chief wellness advisor. Charlie Brooks, of the British show, “Eastenders,” announced she was starting her own sex tech company, Crazy Curiosity Ltd.
In 2024, Katy Perry displayed a Lovehoney vibrator in her music video for “Woman’s World” and Halle Berry developed an intimacy gel in collaboration with Joylux.

Others such as Cara Delevingne, who co-owns and advises toy company Lora DiCarlo; Amber Rose, who collaborated with Lelo; and Lily Allen, a British singer-songwriter, helped design a vibrator for Womanizer; are also part of this trend to normalize and validate toys for sexual pleasure.

It’s not just happening in the US and UK, female celebrities in India and elsewhere are also creating products, brands, and websites to promote sexual wellness and pleasure.

In stark contrast

But though adult products are apparently more accepted than ever there remain those for whom a public association with an adult product seems worse than being caught in flagrante by pesky paparazzi.

One of the most notable incidents concerns a legal conflict between one of the most famous rock drummers in the world, Ringo Starr, and a sex toy company called Screaming O. The company applied for a US trademark for its Ring O vibrating penis ring in 2018. Starr filed a lawsuit in 2019 and a settlement was reached in 2020.

According to Farout Magazine, Starr’s legal paperwork stated: “Since Opposer’s (Ringo) name is tied to a wide variety of products, consumers will likely believe that Opposer’s newest venture is sex toys—and this is an association that Opposer does not want.”

A settlement was reached in 2020. DailyMail reported: “According to the dismissal settlement, Starr has consented to the use of the name Ring O ‘only in connection with adult aids and desensitising sprays, and so long as there is a separation between the word ‘RING’ and the letter ‘O’’.

There is some irony in noting that Screaming O had been selling the same penis ring, with that exact name since 2008.

Wouldn’t it be nice if—

Given that many male identified persons—particularly heterosexual, CIS-gendered men in the US and elsewhere—are still not comfortable with buying and using sex toys, Starr’s reaction to the Ring O is understandable, though it represents a missed opportunity for something that is sorely needed: sex toy endorsement by an internationally influential male celebrity.

Starr is not alone. Heterosexual discomfort has been noted in several studies. For example, researchers from the University of Copenhagen recently assessed sex toy use in Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, and the UK, and found that “Those identifying as heterosexual reported owning fewer sex toys than those identifying as homosexual, bisexual, or asexual.”

The researchers offered a reason for this difference as “Furthermore, the widespread heteronormative perspective on sexuality, which binds individuals to stereotypical gender roles and behaviors, may not include the use of sex toys or only certain kinds of normative appropriate sex toys.”

Meanwhile, those not constrained by heteronormative perspectives surely must be having more fun. As early as 2011, researchers at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University studied sex toy use in almost 26,000 gay and bisexual men and discovered:

A majority (78.5%) of gay and bisexually identified men reported having used at least one type of sex toy, including dildos (62.1%), non-vibrating cock rings (51.9%), vibrators (49.6%), butt plugs (34.0%), masturbation sleeves (27.9%), and anal beads or balls (19.3%)…These data suggest that sex toy use is common among gay and bisexual men during both solo and partnered sexual activities and considered by these men as enhancing the quality of their sexual experiences.

If pleasure is political—and let’s face it, it always is—then the absence of male celebrity voices in sex tech is more than a missed marketing opportunity. It’s a failure to evolve.

While female-identified persons in the spotlight reshape the narrative around autonomy and joy, too many men still act as if vibrators might bite.

But perhaps the silence isn’t just about discomfort; maybe it’s about the fear of being associated with tools that prioritize nuanced, non-phallic pleasure. If the next frontier of masculinity includes empathy, vulnerability, and a good buzz, then it’s time for some brave, big-name men to pick up the toy and the mic.

Image source: A.R. Marsh using Ideogram.ai.