MAUDErn Sex: With maude Founder and CEO Éva Goicochea
Masturbation.
How did you feel after reading that? Did you laugh uncomfortably? Recoil in disgust? Did you not react at all? Or maybe you’re thinking “masturbate? Don’t mind if I do!”
When it comes to self-pleasure, we’ve been doing it *wink wink* for centuries. To quote NPR Life Kit’s, Simran Sethi, “Humans have been using sex toys since the Ice Age.”
Masturbation is known to have an abundance of benefits for your mind, body, and soul and thanks to liberalization and the impact of social media, more people are getting on board and getting it on—with themselves. According to a June 2020 report by pleasure product brand TENGA, more than 80% of people recognize masturbation is self care. Nearly 30% have a more positive relationship with masturbation and 60% intend to use their toys more frequently post-pandemic. Masturbation is a natural, healthy way many people explore their body, celebrate themselves, and find pleasure.
But if there has been such a spike in self-pleasure positivity, why are there still so many stigmas surrounding it? For many people, the shame stems from religion and insufficient sexual education. A lack of representation in the sex toy, pornography, and sexual wellness space can also cause some to turn away and avoid thinking about it.
Éva Goicochea is here to change that.
As the founder and CEO of maude, a modern sexual wellness company that advocates for inclusivity, simplicity and quality, she is reshaping what it means to get intimate. Since its launch in 2018, maude has raised over $4.3M in funding and Éva is one of only 60 Latinx women to raise over $1 million in Venture Capital.
Maude’s mission: modern intimacy for all people.
“The name Maude literally means strength in battle. Our take is that sex is human and few brands have inclusively spoken to people.”
But before Éva started a sex tech powerhouse and and became a Brooklynite, she was just a kid from Albuquerque, New Mexico. “I was a total bookworm and loved animals—I used to read to my first rescue Shih Tzu, Buster. When I wasn't reading, you could find me making speeches to my stuffed animals or going to museums with my mom. 33 years later, nothing has changed. I collect books now, spend my weekends at The Met or MoMA, and have two rescued Shih Tzus, Luisa and Sofie, plus two Persian cats, Bea and Winnie.”
“The name Maude literally means strength in battle. Our take is that sex is human and few brands have inclusively spoken to people.”
Her ability to foster connections stemmed beyond storytime and grand speeches to her audience of stuffed animals. It was also influenced by her travels.
“My best travel memory is when I was 7. Wanting to be an architect when I grew up, I asked my mom if we could take the train from Albuquerque to Chicago to see the Sears Tower for my birthday. The day arrived before we made it to our destination so I got to eat cake and have a train ‘party’ with strangers. I truly had the time of my life. To this day, and probably because of this openness that my mom fostered, I still love to travel and make friends with strangers wherever I go. There's a joke amongst my friends that if invited somewhere, I almost certainly will pick up a few new people before I arrive.”
Éva Goicochea, Founder + CEO of maude. Image courtesy of maude.
Éva credits her mother for raising her in an environment that didn’t shy away from diversity, sex, and sexuality, something not common in Latinx households. According to a 2013 research brief by Child Trends, most Latinx parents and teens did not talk about sex, dating, and teen parenthood often or extensively, yet parents believed they were sending clear messages to their teens about the values and behaviors they expected them to uphold. Despite the continued decrease in teen pregnancies, Éva’s home state of New Mexico still has among the highest teen birth rates in the nation.
“My mom, an arts educator, gave me a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves when I was old enough to read and surrounded us with friends of every orientation. So from a very early age, I knew about sex and love of every type, where babies came from, and ultimately, had a very healthy and biologically factual view of sex.” She used this view of sex and her extensive experience in public health and branding to build maude.
“I always aspired to create a consumer goods company that solved for everyday wellness specifically in sexual health because ultimately, I believe that it’s the foundation for how we feel about ourselves and others. Realizing that the industry was outdated and with no sign of it changing, I decided to create maude.”
I asked Éva how maude is tackling a male-dominated industry and bringing diversity in sex tech to the forefront.
“The sexual wellness industry has been monopolized for so many years by the same tired male-focused incumbents who have created an uncomfortable, confusing, and transactional landscape. The response to these legacy players has been a pendulum swing: Hyper-feminine, trend-focused newer brands that are often just as explicit and young. Our take at maude is that sex is human. We're building a company that completely rethinks the approach to the category by putting inclusivity and accessibility first—for all people. This includes access from a price point—keeping our products fairly priced.”
This brings me to maude’s Instagram. When I first stumbled across their page in 2019, something felt…different. It was sex made simple. Each of maude’s products featured a minimalist design that kick outdated and traditional designs and colors right where the sun don’t shine. Instead of the gendered hot pink and blues, maude has opted for hues of cream, tans, and browns. Their products are discrete and are aimed to make customers feel empowered and are pretty enough to keep on your nightstand.
Image courtesy of maude.
Images courtesy of maude.
Image courtesy of maude.
Quality and inclusivity doesn’t just go into maude’s designs, but it also shows up in who they work with. In October 2020, maude announced that Fifty Shades star, Dakota Johnson, would be joining the team as an investor and co-creative director. “Dakota so clearly embodies maude's mission,” said Éva. “She fearlessly has taken on the subject of sex and intimacy through her work—becoming a powerful voice for inclusivity and progress. Her elevated eye for design and sharp sense of humor connect so seamlessly to our aesthetic.” Maude also teamed up with Urban Outfitters to release an exclusive mint colorway of their best-selling vibrator.
Dakota Johnson (left) and Éva Goicochea (right).
“Her [Dakota’s] elevated eye for design and sharp sense of humor connect so seamlessly to our aesthetic.”
So what’s next for maude?
“As maude grows, we are going to continue to work to be considered the next chapter in sexual wellness and thus, usher in a new era of destigmatization, education, and communication around sexual wellness. We want to be in the history books.”
