Illustration by Aditi Singh

For part II of this article, click here.

To spotlight the work of sidelined communities changing the sex toy industry, Slut Saga spoke to Step Tranovich — the founder of the company Cute Little Fuckers. Tranovich is a queer and disabled business person whose advocacy for the sex-positive movement and LGBTQ+ visibility has had powerful ripple effects in the world.

CLF started with a vision: to create toys that feel affirming to all bodies. The idea was born from a conversation between Tranovich and their queer friends about how mainstream sex toys do not feel welcoming. A friend said, “I wish there were Pokemon toys,” and Tranovich knew what they had to do.

CLF hoped to create toys that encourage sex to be fun and playful. These toys are designed to be emotionally accessible to sex toy novices who have body dysphoria, gender dysphoria, as well as sexual and emotional baggage. The toys have unique monster designs that are accompanied by names, pronouns, and personalities, so they can feel like “friends” to the user.

Tranovich said sex toys and pleasure are important to our society because they lead to essential self-acceptance and self-knowledge. “If we are afraid of sexual self-expression, it negatively impacts our daily life and society in general […] Exploring pleasure is a radical transformation towards positive inter and intrapersonal connections,” Tranovich said.

“Sex toys can be gender-affirming in non-explicit ways,” Tranovich said. They said Starsi — a vibrator and grinder — is the first sex toy a lot of trans people buy. For context, grinders are suggested for people with bottom growth and experiencing the sensitivity that comes along with it. “I’ve heard from reviews that Starsi is the first time a person experiences gender euphoria while having sex,” Tranovich said. The CLF website explains that “[Starsi] can cover the entire genital region, offering a euphoric experience that aids in reimagining the body.”

CLF does not intend to create gender-neutral products. “This is not about washing out gender into a sterile gender-neutral space, this is about screaming, ‘Yes to gender! All genders are valid! All gender expressions are welcome,’” they said.

Tranovich said the first step sex toy companies must take to become inclusive of the queer community is to market outside of the binary. The second step is design. All CLF toys are designed to be used in multiple ways (and in different, uh, holes). For example, all of CLF insertable toys have a flared base to make them safe to use in the anus. This opens the possibility of pleasure to people of all sexual preferences, sexual relationships, and anatomies.

“Even people with the same anatomy [like everyone with a vagina] don’t orgasm in the same way,” Tranovich said. The multi-use design of CLF toys encourages people to explore — with the same toy — the spectrum of clitoral orgasms, vaginal orgasms, prostate orgasms, nipple orgasms, and more.

CLF toys are also designed for people with disabilities. Tranovich developed severe nerve damage in their hands in 2018 and this has impacted their daily life in many ways — from losing their previous job to disability, to incorporating daily accommodations like the voice-to-text feature. They were intentional in designing their toys as easy to hold as possible. Princette is designed to be held with the minimum strength of two fingers in the ridged base. Jix’s “rabbit” handle is meant to feel comfortable in a baseball-grip. Starsi can be used hands-free.

Their mission towards accessibility extends to their low-income toy program. CLF takes donations and matches those donations to send sex toys to people who cannot afford to purchase one. Individuals with low-income can ask CLF for a discount before purchasing their products. The CLF website says the program has supported over 750 community members through the Pay-It-Forward donations.

The trans community has been historically economically disenfranchised. This makes it hard for trans people without expendable income to start a business (especially one with so many risks like a sex toy business). “Many banks and companies that process payments don’t work with adult toy companies as part of their policy. Now consider the companies who won’t work with queer businesses out of principle,” Tranovich said.

Tranovich spoke about the responsibility they feel representing trans ownership in the sex toy industry: “[it] does not need to feel heavy.” They want to be joyful in their role as a public figure. They emphasized the importance of being highly visible about their own identity as a trans and disabled person, founding CLF as a way of celebrating marginalized communities thriving.

Today, CLF toys can even be bought at Urban Outfitters and Spencer Gifts, as well as local sex shops. The success of CLF is an example to big distribution companies that there is profit to be made signing with smaller trans businesses.

The most rewarding aspect of running a sex toy business for Tranovich is when people write positive reviews. Their eternal goal is to empower people to look at their creations and think, “I can do that.”

For reviews of CLF sex toys go to fnewsmagazine.com.