SAN FRANCISCO — Luxury pleasure product manufacturer Crave has released a video chronicling the history of women's pleasure and it is even more badass than expected.
Starting off with an adjustment of its own accord, the video wastes no time setting the tone. "This is about the history of women's pleasure," reads the initial title card, "and how it's been suppressed for centuries."
The video, which has been in development for several months, was initially intended as a tribute to Women's History Month in March but, according to co-founder Ti Chang, "The more we dug, the more we learned that the history of women’s pleasure is mostly a story about how society has sought to negate women’s pleasure and control women's bodies for centuries."
She continued, "Taking a look at the latest headlines, it’s pretty clear that this little video we sought out to make turned out to be more relevant and important than we ever thought it would be."
The video comes just a week after fellow novelties company Dame Products released a joint open letter in the New York Times alongside six other female-fronted companies calling on corporate America to stand in opposition against recent abortion bans.
Reps from Crave commented, "We have a vision for the world where everybody is empowered to own their pleasure. And that vision cannot possibly come to pass in a world where half the population has its bodily autonomy challenged and threatened. Having real conversations about female pleasure might seem like a lofty goal in an environment as wrought as the one we find ourselves in today. We think it’s essential, and that is why we made this video."
The video suggests that the history of women's "pleasure" is indeed bleak. From centuries-old witch trials to antiquated yet still-prevalent female genital mutilation practices rooted in the idea of "hysteria", the video chronicles the many ways in which female pleasure has been stifled as a means of control.
Crave hits it home with a final roundup of modern commentators, which includes Republican Rep. Todd Akin's infamous proclamation that "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down" in regard to "legitimate rape," before offering a final call to action:
"While the tactics are different, it's clear that not much has changed. This is more than just a history lesson, this is a rallying cry. Your pleasure doesn't belong to anyone but you — own it."
To view the video, click here.
For more from Crave, follow them on Twitter using the hashtag #OwnYourPleasure.
