Statista estimates the market size of the sexual wellness market to reach $37.2 billion dollars by 2023. This growing industry, ripe with potential and opportunity, is more than just sex gadgets and apps, as some might assume. Sexual health education, data gap related to female pleasure, and lack of research related to women’s health are some of the main reasons many of the sextech startups exist and build their innovative products around – while sexual exploration is important in and of itself, a huge potential lies in bridging the gap of female sexual function in health and medicine. And rightfully so. 

One example is cardiovascular health. Since Viagra and Cialis became available for erectile dysfunction, it’s a well-known fact that if you have blood flow difficulties down there, you may be at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and death. The same sort of research on female sexual response and cardiovascular health is not well established (due in part to the taboos and limitations in research in this area)—even though heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. That’s just one area—there are many different health conditions, diseases, and pharmaceutical effects where studying female sexual function could be beneficial in tracking changes in health or medication side effects.

It’s important to note that this research doesn’t exist