Women's sex toy company sues MTA for rejecting its ads
'All New Yorkers - and all women - deserve better'
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Your support makes all the difference.A New York-based company that sells women’s sex toys is suing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) after the agency rejected subway advertisements for the products.
In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, sex toy company Dame says the MTA is guilty of “sexism” - as the agency creates space for advertisements for erectile dysfunction medication, condoms, and female libido medication but denied Dame’s ads on the basis of it being a “sexually oriented business”.
According to the female-focused start-up, despite having “previously welcomed advertisements that celebrate human sexuality and openly discuss sexual health and function—not to mention advertisements that use sexual imagery or explicit text to sell consumer goods—the MTA excluded Dame from this vibrant public discourse and denied Dame coveted advertising space.”
The lawsuit comes after Dame states it had originally contacted the MTA in July 2018 about running ads and was given preliminary approval.
However, after spending “approximately $150,000 of its scant resources to incorporate the MTA’s feedback,” the ads were ultimately rejected in December 2018.
According to the MTA’s Advertising Policy FAQs, which was updated 15 November 2018, the agency prohibits advertisements for sex toys and “sex toys or devices for any gender fall within this category”.
According to Dame, which was founded by women to “close the pleasure gap,” the rejection proves the MTA’s “decision to privilege male interests in its advertising choices and its fundamental misunderstanding of Dame’s products”.
In addition to seeking damages, the complaint also seeks an injunction requiring the MTA to approve and display Dame’s advertisements.
Dame has also asked that those who “believe that all sexualities and genders deserve equal access to public forums” share screenshots of its ads with the hashtag #DerailSexism.
This is not the first time the MTA has been accused of gender discrimination. In 2915, menstruation underwear company Thinx called out the agency after it was told its ads were “inappropriate”.
Sex toy company Unbound also encountered rejection by the MTA over its use of “phallic symbols”, despite the same or similar imagery used to sell and promote male libido medication.
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