Angela Lieben, Liberator's tester-in-chief, tells me that the company began 13 years ago. It now describes itself modestly as "the greatest invention for sex since the bed." Basically, if you've ever Googled "cushion under butt missionary," you'll come across Liberator. Founder Louis Freedman created the wipe-clean foam Wedge/Ramp Combo to save women from having to shove a pillow under their asses for that crucial degree of elevation.Read More: The Sex Shop Where Every Toy is Hand-Stitched Out of Felt
The Liberator wedge in 'Master of None.' Screenshot via 'Master of None'
This collection is the furthest thing from inflatable pink plastic dildo chairs; it is design-led and self-consciously intellectual. One chair—the Adela, named for a mythical Mexican female revolutionary—reimagines sex furniture through the concept of feminist history.What that means in practical terms is a chair that allows the woman to ride the man, with handy foot supports. "The chair stands for the revolutionary woman who is by no means submissive to men," Amaya explains. "It represents [the] modern woman, who makes decisions and lives to the fullest their new roles in society."The chair stands for the revolutionary woman who is by no means submissive to men.
Looking at Bertie's sex chair now, it's strange to think how long it has taken for the market to start producing sex furniture to meet consumers' needs. Amaya agrees. "How strange is it that—even in the middle of the 21st century—there's still such a limited offering for interesting erotic furniture? After all, eroticism is the characterising domain for human beings."The Adela, inspired by a Mexican feminist revolutionary. Photo coutesy of Xanath Lammoglia and Andres Amaya For those who like the idea of shower sex, but tend to find the reality a bit of a slippery let-down, Amaya and Lammoglia also designed the Wet Connection, an "erotic game" in the form of a shower stall with glory holes and strategic cut-outs. Where did Amaya and Lammoglia get their inspiration? "We start from an idea based on erotic experiences, and sketch out different options. After that, a series of scaled tridimensional models are built in clay," Amaya says. "Once one of them is selected after lots of feedback from colleagues and friends, we build a prototype that is tried by several people." If you are in the market for a handmade feminist sex chair, you can pick up a limited edition Adela for $3,200. If that seems ridiculously expensive for a piece of furniture, you can pick up a Kama Sutra-inspired sex chair for half the cost—$1,299. Turns out sex furniture isn't that cheap. But you would at least be channelling Prince Bertie; the sex furniture pioneer's favoured chair was the centrepiece of the Hindu-themed room at Le Chabanais, known to be his favourite room at the legendary brothel. This isn't a chair for bachelors to use. This is about more than sex. I interviewed AJ Vitaro, founder of a company called Zen By Design, who manufactures sex chairs inspired by the ancient Hindu relationship manual. "I wanted people to honour their relationships," he says. "I'd observed lots of relationships over the years, and I saw how little people appreciated the moment when they were having sex. So I… created a piece of furniture that would bring Kama Sutra mindfulness into their sphere of attention [during sex]." While incorporating mindfulness into your sex life is well and good, most sex furniture is more functional in its use. Lieben tells me that Liberator manufacture sex furniture for people who weigh over 300 pounds and might struggle to have sex on conventional furniture. Their Wedge/Ramp combo is popular with older couples, who use it to maintain intimacy well into their 70s and 80s. For Vitaro, the growth of the sex furniture industry is all about intimacy. "This isn't a chair for bachelors to use," he says. "This is about more than sex. [The chair] isn't a sex aid; it's a relationship aid. I wanted to create something to make a relationship evolve, to fill a void that was in the world." Read More: Sex Hacks for People Who Can't Get Enough of Life Hacks Even if you find sex furniture a little toe-curlingly awkward—the sort of stuff you see in bad pornos, alongside fur rugs and glass coffee tables—there's no doubt the industry is going to keep growing. "I think what's happening with the industry is that people are becoming more open-minded," Lieben says. "Drugstores like Walgreens stock our products now, like the flip ramps and the Wedge/Ramp combo. We get lots of older couples coming in, for example—my mother has purchased items from our range. The USA is becoming more open to adventure in the bedroom."