Samsung allegedly removed a women’s sexual health stall from a women in tech event

Yesterday, Samsung hosted an event in San Francisco on the “Growth and Innovation in the Wearable Device Market.” Co-hosted with SF Women in Tech, the convention confirmed off a few of the largest new improvements in tech — however apparently drew the road when it got here to women’s sexual health. 

Liz Klinger, the co-founder and CEO of Lioness, a women-led firm designing tech-driven intercourse toys whose mission is to destigmatize pleasure, was requested to take away her stall from the event, although she was allegedly beforehand authorized to attend. 

I’m on the @Samsung event with #womenintechSF for @LionessHealth and was simply requested to take down my desk. Was authorized beforehand, one individual was not pleased with it as a result of it’s women’s *sexual* health.

This shouldn’t be okay.@cindygallop @womenofsextech #femtech #sextech

— Liz Klinger (@ThisIsKlinger) August 23, 2019

Klinger mentioned she was initially invited to current her firm’s first product, the Lioness Vibrator that takes readings from the sensors and turns orgasms into artwork. However, shortly after Klinger had completed establishing her stall, she was requested to take away her merchandise from the present. “It sounded like at least one person at Samsung, who was higher up at the event, was not ok with my stall,” Klinger advised TNW. 

“I kept asking to talk to the person who didn’t want Lioness to be there and no one would tell me who it was for about four hours, which took up most of the event. It felt like something was being hidden and it didn’t feel right,” Klinger added.

After 4 hours, Klinger mentioned she lastly spoke to Samsung representatives that organized the event: “They said that Lioness shouldn’t be there because it “wasn’t women’s health,” Klinger mentioned. “I told them about our biofeedback and data aspect and how we’re covering different research and presenting at healthcare and research conferences, they told me it wasn’t a wearable’ so the product still shouldn’t be there.”

Yeah, that was the beginning. I acquired stonewalled for four hours on who’s even asking for our product to get taken down.

By the tip of the night time, advised by @samsung_dev @samsung employees at #womenintechSF, “You don’t even belong here, it’s not a wearable and not women’s health.” https://t.co/1yyR0yjiTQ

— Liz Klinger (@ThisIsKlinger) August 23, 2019

It’s disheartening that Klinger’s product was allegedly removed from show “especially at an event where the focus was so strongly around women in technology and women’s health.” Klinger believes it’s as a result of her product represents women’s sexual health, which continues to be very a lot a taboo in our society, regardless of analysis proving that intercourse toys can assist women coping with menopausal signs and enhance psychological health. 

This alleged incident is a sore reminder that women’s sexual health firms face quite a few hurdles, from low funding to reaching their viewers. What occurred with…