SAN FRANCISCO — Following an incident last week at a SF Women in Tech event co-hosted by Samsung in which Liz Klinger, co-founder and CEO of Lioness, was abruptly asked to remove her smart vibrator from the event's start-up pavilion, the tech giant has since issued a vague, boilerplate apology on the matter.
Samsung addressed its apology to VOX media outlet The Verge, as opposed to contacting Klinger herself.
The statement reads:
Samsung is proud to support both women in technology and the future of wearable innovation. This was an event organized by women for women, and (male) allies who are interested in developing wearable solutions for women. We regret an interaction that occurred with a presenting start-up and apologize to those involved. We have addressed this internally and will learn from this as we continue to sponsor female innovators.
The Lioness vibrator uses a variety of sensors and biofeedback to create a visual representation of arousal, allowing users to experiment with their pleasure and literally "see" their orgasms.
XBIZ reported earlier this week that after being invited and explicitly approved to take part in the femtech event, Klinger was asked to remove her product and was subsequently made to wait for hours before a Samsung rep addressed the decision with her.
After being told that her product is irrelevant to women's health on a whole, Klinger was dismissed without further explanation.
However, Klinger has since said that a direct apology from Samsung is "almost besides the point."
"If you translate the statement," she explained, "especially given the lack of any concrete steps or outreach at all, it says they don’t intend to change anything and this is just intended to dismiss what occurred, which is disappointing."
As sextech and sexual wellness brands continue to face stigmatization and struggle to enjoy the same access to marketing, banking, social media and other business tools as their mainstream counterparts, traditionally disruptive tech giants play a crucial role in leveling the field.
"Like many of the big tech companies and organizations," Klinger continued, "[Samsung] is a gatekeeper and has enormous power to shape the landscape of who is included in the broader conversations — or not."
Following the explosive controversy this past year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) involving the revocation of Lora DiCarlo's award for its Osé personal massager, organizers announced an official sanction on sextech brands at the upcoming 2020 show. The move marked a significant shift for the show and organizers, both of which have been critiqued for sexist practices.
Regarding follow up from Samsung, Klinger says she not asking for much. "What we’d hope for isn’t anything huge, just a basic commitment of greater inclusion and concrete steps to achieve it."
That much would seem in order.
