A few weeks ago, I was invited to participate in Model View Culture’s Sex and Technology issue. Having a foot firmly planted in both worlds, I had so many experiences to share. I previously wrote about slut shaming adult companies. I decided expand that thought, and wrote about misconceptions about the adult industry and the implications of running industries on morals instead of ethics.

There are many damaging restrictions adult startups face that ultimately make it incredibly difficult to run a business in the industry ethically and with transparency. Often, these restrictions are based on moral objections to the space we occupy. In the end, everyone pays, but most especially the customers.

On morals vs ethics:

People often conflate ethics and morals, using the two interchangeably, when at times they’re almost the opposite of each other. Where ethics are objective and impartial, morals are subjective and intuitive. For those reasons they can be inconsistent because we don’t always critically and rationally examine our morals or the beliefs we base them on.

Running an adult startup is a difficult task, but in many ways, sex toys was much more difficult. Where with the adult entertainment side of the the industry, prohibited activity on the TOS for mainstream companies was clearly against porn, the lines are blurred with sex toys. Sex toys are not pornographic, but depending on the mainstream company and its understanding of human sexuality, health, and wellness, they can get lumped in with porn. Again, this brings us back to the problem of running companies on morals instead of ethics.

If you have a moment, please read SexTech Startups in a Hostile Business World, as well as the other fantastic articles in this issue.