507: LGBTQ Taboo with Melanie Cristol

Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) chat with Melanie Cristol (@melaniecristol), the founder of Lorals (@mylorals), a queer women owned company that creates single use latex panties designed to maximize pleasure for the wearer during sexual intimacy.

In this episode, we dive into the taboo of trying to market anything related to sex or sexuality and how often queer creators and companies face censorship. Melanie talks about the difficulties she faced when getting funding for Lorals due to the product being marketed for pleasure of people with vulvas and for use during oral sex. There is a huge stigma around talking about pleasure and sex, especially female pleasure. It is much easier to get funding for a condom company or advertise erectile dysfunction medication, because our society views those as appropriate sexual activities, but thinks oral sex is taboo. We discuss how just using the word lesbian or LGBTQ in a post will often cause it to be censored on social media and the impact this has on queer businesses. We also talk about the wild workarounds we have used to try to get by the censors.

Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).