Porn has long had a rep for excluding the wants of women. As with other areas of entertainment dominated by men at the top, such as film and gaming, the porn industry’s emphasis has traditionally been on male pleasure and that all-important ‘money shot’. Couple that with the common misconception that most women simply aren’t that interested in watching porn, and it’s clear why the female audience doesn’t get much of a look in.

More recently, there’s been some efforts to shift the porn world’s male-centric POV. While Pornhub’s Visionaries Director’s Club – which supports young and often marginalised creative talent including women – is still a small part of its overall offering, the fact that one of the world’s biggest porn sites is starting to invest in this area speaks volumes.

View this post on Instagram

In our “Fixer Upper” series the story is told as if a mic was dropped into the middle of a couple’s living room (and bedroom…and laundry room). You basically eavesdrop in as they live their life, and we think it’s pretty ???????? #storytellingtechniques #takemethere

A post shared by DIPSEA (@dipseastories) on Jul 28, 2019 at 3:45pm PDT

There’s another ray of hope in the form of the burgeoning ‘femtech’ sector, which is addressing issues around previously taboo subjects such as sex, periods and birth control. From tech brand Elvie’s suite of successful smart products for mums (hello, cordless breast pump) to New York gynecologist-cum-wellness centre Tia, the common denominator of most of these innovations is that they have been created by women, for women.

The latest female-founded player on the scene is Dipsea, an audio app and content studio that specialises in one thing: getting women off. Launched in 2018, the subscription-based app currently features over 100 erotic stories that straddle everything from getting ready for a date to enhancing intimacy with a partner, with more being added every week.