5 Industries Making Bank By 'Selling Sex' to Women - Forbes

Sex sells. It’s a phrase as old as advertising, but until now it’s mostly been about male lust. Now we’re seeing a new trend: selling sex to women. Businesses big and small are realizing that women have sexual desires—and there’s money to be made off it.

A lot more clothing is about to come off in Magic Mike (Photo credit: discutivo)

Here are five areas where companies have been making bank while trying out a new idea of what women want.

Movies

Let’s be real: Magic Mike wouldn’t be doing so well if the public wasn’t so bored with yet-another cinematic or televised tale of female strippers and/or sex workers. From Game of Thrones to The Hot Chick, hot, naked women are the norm. Magic Mike flips the tables to allow female (and some male) viewers to droll over buff, mostly naked  men. Built on star Channing Tatum’s own stripping experience, the film has been advertised as voyeuristic eye candy for women.

While some reviewers have described the movie itself as a deeper tale of anti-capitalism than the ads suggest, the driving force of the marketing has been directed at the fairer sex; many who normally wouldn’t dream of going to a male burlesque show themselves. And it’s paying off. The movie earned $39.1 million it’s opening weekend, with 73% of the audience made up of female moviegoers. 

Print

How could I write this article without mentioning the infamous ka-ching 50 Shades of Grey? The erotic novel by E.L. James has transformed from a self-published guilty pleasure to the No. 1 summer beach read. At this point, the trilogy holds the top three places on the New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Best Sellers List. All those sales equal serious cash for James. Celebrity Net Worth estimated she should be getting a $20 million royalty check at the end of the book’s first six months – and that’s before we take the $5 million Universal/Focus Features movies deal into account. With all respect to Playboy, I can’t think of any sexy writing aimed at men that has gone mainstream so completely and quickly. However, it is worth noting that, while 50 Shades of Grey is notable for its seemingly endless sex scenes, the plot of the book is surprisingly traditional. No real spoilers here, but in the end the sugar daddy/baby duo end up married and picnicking with their children. What better chick lit ending to a trilogy of BDSM fantasies? Playing to the sexual desires of women readers doesn’t necessarily mean happily-ever-after isn’t in order.

Music

Having sex for pleasure and bragging about conquests in lyrics certainly isn’t new for male singers and songwriters, and hasn’t been new for female pop stars since early Madonna. The last few years, however, have brought a new wave of female sexual empowerment with the rise of the likes of Lady Gaga and Ke$ha, whose lyrics included snippets such as “I want to take a ride on your disco stick.” Though Gaga and Ke$ha haven’t put anything new out this summer, Katy Perry (whose documentary Piece of Me opened last Thursday) and Nicki Minaj appear ready, willing and able to pick up the baton. Piece of Me is slated to be the top grossing documentary of 2012, surpassing the current leader Chimpanzee (which has made over $28 million). As anyone who has seen Minaj’s video for Super Bass knows, the singer is more than willing to feature men reclining by the pool as eye candy for viewers. Super Bass went quadruple platinum in May, having sold over 4 million digital copies, and helping Minaj to be the first female on Forbes’ 2011 Hip Hop Cash Kings list.

Pharmaceuticals

While pop culture is the most obvious way that women’s sexual desire has been selling, other markets are taking note. Last week the New York Times reported more women are seeking over the counter sexual remedies. Companies have pouredmillions of dollars into the quest of the “female Viagra,” but haven’t yet managed to be approved by the FDA. The solutions that companies are offering aren’t the most legitimate (the line between burning and tingling—pain and pleasure?–still seems unclear in the case of a cream mentioned by the Timesarticle), but they are meeting a demand. When products are in demand and selling, the companies are more than happy to boost the supply. And, if/when big discoveries are made, some people, like Orgasm Inc. director Liz Canner, believe millions or billions of dollars are going to be made.

Hotels

As Jezebel reported last Friday, hotels have caught wind of a trend, and are trying to sell some ’50 Shades of Grey’ style sex with the room. And at almost $2 thousand for two nights at Hotel Max, living out E. L. James’s BDSM fantasy is hardly cheap. Nonetheless, when I went to Hotel Max’s website, the package seemed to be completely booked for the next month. Getting a nice hotel room for the night isn’t a new idea. Repackaging the room with BDSM twist seems like a new coat of paint on a romantic fantasy. However, it’s a repackaging that is set up to give some ’50 Shades’ loving women exactly what they want – if they’re willing to pay.

So what does this all mean? Is “selling sex” now an equal opportunity market? While I appreciate shirtless Channing Tatum as much as the next gal, I wouldn’t bet on it. Though I’m all for equal opportunities, I’m not sure that selling sex to women is necessary the next feminist frontier. Further, looking at the offerings, I’m not that convinced anything is truly that new. The media mostly offers the same old stories of romance novels, just with more shirtless men or naughty scenes. Pharmaceuticals are stalled at iffy over-the-counter products, while hotels seem to be repackaging things they already have. None of these are particularly “revolutionary.” Selling sex to women doesn’t mean that the product is going to be particularly forward-thinking or high quality. Call me when more thought is being put into how to market to women outside “just add naked men.”

5 Industries Making Bank By 'Selling Sex' to Women - Forbes