Many of us in the queer women’s community have experienced sex toys at some point in our romantic adventures—I know I have. Last year, when my then-girlfriend and I finally mustered up the courage (and stifled the giggles) to search online for a toy of our own, the selection was not ideal, to say the least. We ended up purchasing a strap on that the website described as a “starter kit”—pretty much the least terrifying item we could find. No veins, no balls, and a bright purple hue in an attempt to stay as far away from the “flesh colored” dildos that would immediately scare off just about any lesbian.
Although the toy we got was just fine, I can’t say I was blown out of the water. Even if I wanted to try something different, there wasn’t much to choose from. This has been the experience for many queer women, including Alice Derock, founder of Wet For Her.
When Derock and her girlfriend went looking for a non-realistic strap on toy, they couldn’t find one. “Nothing was really oriented for us lesbian girls,” she says. “The only sex toys offered for women were strap-ons, and we thought maybe we could create something different that would enhance how we make love.”
After much brainstorming, they came up with the idea of a finger extender—basically a dildo you could slip onto your fingers. And so Toy TWO was born.
Capitalizing on this large gap in the sex toy industry, Derock founded Wet For Her to provide products for the underserved market of queer women looking for more than just a replacement penis (which TBH, we never asked for anyway). So what makes Wet For Her different?
“We are designers and manufacturers,” Derock says. “We design all our sex toys with women couples in mind. This gives them features you won’t find in other sex toy companies: shape, stiffness, smell, and compatibility with harnesses.”
Each product is tested by women couples before being released, ensuring items are delivering what women want to experience. For Derock, sex toys shouldn’t have to be realistic. With a new approach to design, the focus can be on the couple. “We are creating products that enhance couples’ pleasure,” she says.
As a lesbian working in a male-dominated industry, Derock has the opportunity to address some of the most proliferated misconceptions about the functionality of sex toys for women. “The main obstacle of working with men is they don’t get that we don’t need the BIGGEST or the LARGEST or the STRONGEST dildo. Lesbian couples are looking for something that respects their needs and style.”
The success of companies like Wet For Her play into the larger shift in perspective around sex toys. “Movies such as Below Your Mouth or Orange is the New Black with ‘real’ lesbian sex scenes have democratized sex products. It is not taboo anymore,” Derock says.
Derock herself has also experienced a personal change in outlook. “I have learned that you need to experience new ways of making love, to not fall into a routine.”
With Wet For Her toys like the Tomboy, Lipstick, and Butch, we certainly won’t be getting bored anytime soon!
