From chastity fetishes to power play, erotic control — once considered an esoteric niche within the world of BDSM — is now entering the mainstream. Google searches for “chastity cages,” “chastity fetish” and “orgasm denial” have exploded over the past year, with interest especially high for beginner-friendly models.
Let’s examine the rising trend of erotic control, the new opportunities it presents for brands and retailers, and how the pleasure sector can step up by providing customers with not just a product, but an experience.
The ‘rebranding’ of erotic control is part of an overall trend toward destigmatization and reinforces a cultural shift in how consumers approach intimacy today.
An Idea Whose Time Has Come
The “rebranding” of erotic control is part of an overall trend toward destigmatization, as normalization of kink-positive content on social media platforms and among Gen Z reflects and reinforces a cultural shift in how consumers approach intimacy today. However, the growing popularity of erotic control is also attributable to its unique and timely appeal.
On its surface, erotic control is a means of building sexual tension. For many people, however, it resonates beyond physical sensation. In a world where many things feel beyond our control, erotic control offers a safe and empowering space to explore sexual autonomy and pleasure, immersing practitioners in power dynamics, anticipation and sexual tension. Additionally, the art of restraint appeals to many people who feel overstimulated and burnt out — an increasingly common state nowadays.
For women in particular, especially in this current political climate, leaning into a chastity fetish with a cis male partner or exploring female-led relationships can also be a way to explore power imbalances consensually and reclaim a sense of control.
Finally, erotic control aligns with the wellness trend of connected, slow and intentional sex and intimacy. While climax plays a key role in sexual wellness, focusing solely on climax can bring negative pressure to partnered play, leading to performance anxiety and difficulty staying present. Erotic control kinks can help reduce that pressure and turn attention to an often-overlooked erogenous zone: the mind. Instead of rushing to the finish, partners can enjoy the sensual buildup and teasing, which adds mindfulness to their sexual activity. This approach is especially appealing to Gen Z and millennial consumers, who view sex not just as physical gratification but as part of a holistic self-care routine.
Opportunities for Retailers and Brands
This trend presents an opportunity to leverage products that can be integrated into long-term wear and chastity keyholder programs, and to offer options that let consumers experiment with erotic control role-play moments, guided denial games and curated erotic control sex toy and accessory bundles — think an “intro to power play” kit — promoted via engaging landing pages.
With a little creativity, even sex toys that aren’t designed specifically for chastity or orgasm denial can be marketed as such. Bluetooth, app-controlled sex toys allow consumers to play around with dominant/submissive dynamics and to experience delayed gratification as a partner controls their pleasure. For instance, a pair of vibrating panties or a wearable vibrator, controlled by a partner, could be integrated into power play. Even non-teledildonic toys that have a variety of intensity settings and buildup patterns can support this kink.
Telling a Story
To help shoppers connect with these possibilities, retailers and brands need to demonstrate how specific sex toys can be incorporated into different scenarios, whether it’s a game of denial and reward, control-based role-play or other dominant/submissive dynamics.
Even when consumers want to experiment, it can be intimidating to step into a world that they don’t understand. This is why guiding your customers and providing them with the right language and concepts is helpful. Educational resources and well-organized landing pages can guide people through these kinks, introducing more vanilla couples to this world in an accessible way. Sharing actionable tips and techniques while promoting products will motivate people not just to click “buy,” but to engage in BDSM practices safely and consensually.
While this content can be created internally, it’s also a great opportunity to collaborate with trusted experts in the kink community who can share valuable insights through guest blogs or social media partnerships.
Already popular among cis men and the cuckold community, chastity is getting a makeover across all sexual orientations and genders as a shared experience in dominance, submission and trust. Now that chastity cages are no longer perceived merely as niche fetish objects and symbols of hardcore submission, but as tools to deepen intimate power dynamics, marketing erotic control means emphasizing the power of restraint — and reminding consumers that withholding pleasure can often increase it.
Naima Karp is a content writer and PR intern with over a decade of experience crafting lifestyle, sexual health and wellness content for various platforms.
