‘Pleasure with a purpose’: datafication and a phallocentric logic to sexual pleasure in the Lioness vibrator

Abstract

The Lioness vibrator is a so-called ‘smart vibrator’, as the vibrator is equipped with biosensors that measure the contractions of the pelvic floor muscles and the intensity of the clitoral motor. The vibrator is sold with the explicit goal for users to learn more about their sexual pleasure. In this article, I will argue that the assumed neutral perspective of knowledge production through datafication can be understood as a phallocentric perspective on sexual pleasure. In the Lioness, this logic can be seen in the way its design privileges quantitative knowledge over qualitative knowledge and logos over pathos while centring penetration and clitoral stimulation. Furthermore, the focus of the Lioness on improving your orgasm turns sexual pleasure into a phallocentric goal-oriented activity. I will show how well-meaning companies using a feminist predicate are unintentionally still privileging phallocentric ways of thinking about sexual pleasure over alterative ways of thinking.