Good vibrations turn bad as robotic sex toy banned from hi-tech fest

An inventor is calling upon social media users to moan about her hands-free robotic vibrator being dropped from one of the world's biggest tech shows.

In an open letter to the board of the Consumer Electronics Show, currently on in Las Vegas, American inventor Lora DiCarlo asks supporters to tweet the CE of the Consumer Technology Association to demand real answers on why the vibrator was dropped from the show as well as its prestigious award revoked.

DiCarlo was orginally selected as a CES 2019 Innovation Awards honoree in the robotics and drone product category for the Osé personal massager.

"My team rejoiced and celebrated. A month later our excitement and preparations were cut short when we were unexpectedly informed that the administrators at CES and CTA were rescinding our award and subsequently that we would not be allowed to showcase Osé, or even exhibit at CES 2019," she said.

DiCarlo accused both organisations of gender-based discrimination.

"It's also important to note that a sex doll for men launched on the floor at CES in 2018 and a virtual reality porn company exhibits there every year, allowing men to watch pornography in public as consumers walk by.

"Clearly CTA has no issue allowing explicit male sexuality and pleasure to be ostentatiously on display. Other sex toys have exhibited at CES and some have even won awards, but apparently there is something different, something threatening, about Osé, a product created by women to empower women," she said.

DiCarlo said the "double standard" made it clear that women's sexuality was not worthy of innovation.

"It seems the CTA is just fine with 'female-oriented' products like breast pumps, Kegel exercisers, and even robotic vacuums - things that also benefit someone else - but something that squarely focuses on women's sexuality is off the table."

The CTA responded to DiCarlo in an email, stating that it reserved the right to disqualify any entry "deemed by CTA in their sole discretion to be immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with CTA’s image".