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Etsy ban, Polaris raise, big jobs in sextech and global conferences to attend

Author

Bryony Cole
July 04, 2024

👋 HEY ALL!

While I'm on break, I'm excited to share the long list of job opportunities in the space this week... how could I not?!

This industry often feels like a marathon runner stuck in quicksand. Etsy banning sextech later this month is a bummer, but can we be buoyed by the fact both SXSW and WebSummit are helping to mainstream industry conversations by putting them on tech stages? Or that Polaris Group received half a mill for their anal health prototype this week?

Where you look matters. And right now, there are numerous market gaps waiting to be filled. Professionals and experts at the top of their game from other fields are seeing the possibilities, and if you're reading this, you do too.

So soak up the events and ways to get involved below.

And if you're consumed with #startupstress or just the turmoil of the current state of the world, no one knows it better than our industry. Take those breaks when you can, I was touched by Georgie Jarmolkiewicz's post from Sextech School this week. It does exemplify why I find the industry is so special. Stay human!

Read on for:

🔥 this week in sextech

💼 job openings

🎪 community events

📚 opportunities to contribute

💸 investments

— Bryony

🔥 THIS WEEK IN SEXTECH

📰 Etsy Bans Most Sex Toys and Explicit Content Starting July 29

Later this month, online retailer Etsy will prohibit sales of most sex toys, content that depicts sex acts and genitalia, starting July 29.

This move is an addition to the continued crackdown on online sexual content — and the people who post and sell it — that's reached a crescendo in recent years. Such content is banned from most major social media platforms (except X), for example, while credit card companies and finance apps often ban people in sex industries. Legislatively, more and more states are enacting age-verification laws around adult content (that likely don't work).

Etsy to ban sale of most sex toys, explicit content, and more

Policy changes go into effect next month.

💼 HOT JOBS

🇦🇺 Relationships and Sexuality Educator, Sexual Health Victoria [Apply]

🇦🇺 Digital Media Producer, Swinburne University of Technology [Apply]

🇺🇸 TikTok Content Creator, Hey Jane [$350-$500, 8 videos, monthly]

🇺🇸 Senior Product Manager - Sexual Health, Medline Industries, LP [Apply]

🇺🇸 Director of Operations, maude [Apply]

🇺🇸 Product Manager, Mira [Apply]

🇺🇸 Development Manager, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change [Apply]

🇮🇳 Marketplace Manager, That Sassy Thing [Apply]

🇩🇪 Growth Lead / Growth Business Development Manager, Lovehoney Group [Apply]

🇩🇪 Junior Category Manager, Lovehoney Group [Apply]

🇳🇴 Front End Developer, Ohdoki [Apply]

🎪 EVENTS

💻 July 4, Virtual, 'Info Sessions: What is Sextech School?' Sextech School [RSVP]

🇬🇧 July 11, London UK, FemTech & SexTech: A New Age, Media Foundry Limited [RSVP]

🇺🇸 July 12 Houston TX, Women's Reproductive Health Storytelling, The Own Every Piece Community [RSVP]

🇩🇪 July 22-25, Berlin, Germany at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Berlin Alexanderplatz, IASR’s 50th Annual Meeting, IASR [RSVP]

🇨🇦 August 24, University of Quebec in Montreal, LSR 9th Academic Congress [Tickets]

💻 September 14-15 Online, Sexuality Business Summit, Sexual Health Alliance [RSVP]

🇦🇺 October 14-20, Love, Sex and Intimacy in the age of AI, SXSW Sydney - talk [Tickets] (yep, I'm speaking at this! 🎉)

🇫🇷 Oct 18-19, Normandy, France, Sextech for Good Conference [Tickets]

📚 OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTRIBUTE

Call For Presentations (CFP) "Beyond the Interface: Critical Perspectives of Sex Work and Sextech.

Deadline extended this week to submit your extract for this conference 👇

Critical Trafficking and Sex Work Studies | Centre for Feminist Research

Members of this research cluster engage in research that: examines sex workers’ experiences of labour, management, migration, advocacy, regulation and criminalization, stigma, and discrimination; problematizes the conflation of sex work, labour exploitation, trafficking, and migration; and supports, consults or is co-produced with sex workers and other people harmed by campaigns against sex trafficking. It is […]

💸 INVESTMENTS

Polari Group confirm $539K pre-seed for anal health

Polari Group raise $539K from VC Chasing Rainbows, Ada Ventures' angel programme, angel network Ventures Together and family office Little Green Bamboo Capital.

The EF-backed startup building a novel device for the anal sex market

London-based Polari Group has raised a pre-seed round ahead of a planned product release in September 2025

That’s a wrap for this week.

— Bryony

ps. Future of Sex Industry Hub is seeking early adopters to give it a test run and ensure it's primed for launch. If you're an industry professional or interested in connecting with industry leaders, discovering new opportunities, attending exclusive events, this should speak to you.

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