While market research reports vary on the value of the global sexual wellness industry – one states it to have been $11.79 billion (£9.25bn) in 2023 while another is as high as $83.6 billion (£65.6bn) – they all appear to agree that the industry is growing exponentially. “Discussions around pleasure are no longer whispered in hushed tones; they’re happening openly –on social media, in advertising, in films and even around the dinner table,” says Elisabeth Neumann, a sexologist and user research manager at the British sexual-wellbeing company Lovehoney. On screen, you only need to look at the TV adaptation of Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, released on Apple TV earlier this year, to see that depictions of nudity, sex and pleasure are changing. “Women are reclaiming their narratives, and society is catching up, realising that prioritising women’s pleasure benefits everyone, not just women.”

One of the most prominent examples of the booming rise in sexual wellness comes in the form of celebrity endorsements. Last year, Gwyneth Paltrow launched Goop Sex, an extension of her wellness brand Goop, providing sexual wellness advice and products. This included a dedicated Instagram account that described itself as a “space for the pursuit of pleasure”. In a newsletter announcing its launch, Paltrow also wrote that “true fulfilment” in life “comes from really knowing yourself and feeling comfortable enough to show up in the world and in your relationships as your whole self”, which she noted is linked to “how we feel about our sexuality”.

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