The sexual wellness market in India is projected to experience significant growth in the coming years, yet sex remains taboo in this country of 1.3 billion people. Legal and cultural barriers prevent open discussions around sex. Talking about sex raises eyebrows, and is likely to get you labeled as disgusting or uncultured. That’s why, when Besharam set up shop in India a decade ago, people found it unfathomable that our business could succeed.
Here are some of the biggest challenges we have had to face over the years, along with a look at how things have been changing — and what might lie ahead.
Law on Obscenity
While India does not have an explicit ban on the sale of sex toys, there are laws that ban the distribution, marketing and sales of products that are considered “obscene.” Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code states, “A published image is deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest, or if its effect may tend to deprave and corrupt a person.” This is tricky to decode, since attitudes have evolved over the years. In the 1990s, even kissing in public drew attention. Now, folks of all generations indulge in PDAs, causing little stir. The same is true of movies and streaming shows. We once shied away, scandalized, if a scene involved romance or suggested lovemaking. These days, viewing such material rarely makes us feel uncomfortable.
Import and Licensing
Since sex toys are still relatively new in India, laws around their import, licensing and distribution are vague or come with restrictions. Adult businesses must often come up with creative strategies in order to clear customs. The absence of clear laws can also cause concern, confusion or discouragement among our partners, vendors, buyers, marketers and agents.
Just a few years ago, customs officials in Mumbai seized a shipment of sex toys worth $120,000 from us, confiscating Besharam products without any legal grounds but their own authority. In India, the personal opinions of authorities claiming that sex toys “corrupt” society often hold more weight than the written law. We had to go to court, and finding lawyers willing to fight the case was another uphill climb due to the legal ambiguity. To tackle this problem, we’ve hired attorneys and brokers to educate officials on the legality of importing sex toys for personal use in private spaces. However, this guidance may not always be enough to override the officials’ religious and cultural beliefs.
Cultural Challenges
As if the nearly insurmountable legal challenges aren’t enough, the centuries-old social stigmas and traditional taboos of Indian culture can be even harder to navigate.
Sex is not a topic for casual conversation in conservative India. For a long time, even buying condoms at a local pharmacy was a stressful experience that could invite judgment from other shoppers. To make matters worse, the lack of formal sex education has made sex seem like a mysterious, arcane topic that should never be discussed, let alone linked to pleasure.
Conservative religious and political groups advocate for banning products related to sex, believing they contradict traditional values. Many years ago, an extremist religious organization even targeted Valentine’s Day celebrations, claiming that such Western imports threaten Indian values. These groups frequently invoke the obscenity law to bolster their view that sex, discussions about sexual wellness, and any related products pose a danger to religious modesty and Indian youth.
Slow Transformation
We launched Besharam at a time when people in India were beginning to use social media platforms to discuss sex. They were voicing their concerns, discussing their needs, expressing their identities and seeing themselves in influencers who were engaging in sex-positive conversations and addressing questions that had previously been considered inappropriate or uncomfortable.
Additionally, Bollywood and other entertainment began showcasing women experiencing orgasms, as well as open discussions about masturbation and pleasure. This proved to be a source of validation for many Indians, and got people thinking about how they might enhance their sex lives. These changes have aided us in navigating some of the cultural challenges, as people are no longer so tight-lipped about sex.
At the same time, women began stepping up to play key roles in launching a new Indian pleasure industry. Today, 80% of sexual wellness brands in India are owned or led by women, including Shweta Sangtani with Sangya Project, Aishwarya Dua with The Sassiest, Leeza Mangaldas with Leezus, Saache Malhotra with That Sassy Thing and Pallavi Barnwal with GetIntimacy. In 2019, 31% of our buyers were women; by 2024, that figure was 52%. Currently, 65% of our team are women, and more than half of our customers are women.
The fact that customers in India no longer have to venture down some shady alley to purchase sexual products, but can obtain them legally, is still mind-blowing for many folks. But now, quick commerce — a mode of retail that allows hyper-fast deliveries — has further transformed how Indians perceive sexual wellness products. A year ago, you wouldn’t have imagined seeing a massager or a vibrator on a fast-delivery platform, but today, you can order one and have it arrive in 10 minutes or less. Talk about instant gratification! What other country can say that they can get their sex toys in under 10 minutes? This also normalizes sex toys by placing them alongside everyday products, helping to shift the narrative and bring discussions about sex into the average Indian living room.
The Great Indian Sexual Revolution
With increased conversations, the availability of reliable, expert-led information, and accessibility — made possible by the involvement of both new and traditional players investing in sexual wellness over the last few years — we’ve witnessed what we call the Great Indian Sexual Revolution. This is a movement of social euphoria surrounding pleasure, sexual health and sexual wellness, as an increasing number of people are stepping up to voice their opinions and advocate for their preferences, rights and choices. This filters down to conversations among friends around the coffee table, colleagues during lunch breaks, partners in relationships, and parents with their older children.
There may still be a way to go before such attitudes translate into revising archaic laws and easing the legal challenges the pleasure sector faces in India and many other countries, but progress so far has been promising. As this revolution further develops, we can hopefully look forward to surmounting the remaining obstacles, so that more adult businesses can operate and grow successfully in India.
Raj Armani is the COO and co-founder of online retailer IMbesharam.
