Influencers and marketing are playing key roles in the challenge of broadening awareness of sexual health, contraception and the psychological and physiological benefits of using adult toys. 

A leader in this area is Moments, the leading Australian sexual health and wellness company that sells condoms through Coles and recently released a range of adult toys.

The company’s education and information program covers the whole spectrum of sexual health and wellbeing, including the benefits of adult toys through to contraceptive choices. 

Working with Moments, influencers are helping spread the message of shame-free education, prioritising female pleasure and sexual wellbeing. Couples therapist and sexologist Isiah McKimmie is a key partner, who co-created informative videos and blogs – published on the Moments website, including Choosing the Right Contraception – that aim to educate both men and women about shame-free and safe sex. 

“There are a number of factors that need to be considered when choosing options for safer sex, including relationship circumstances, health issues, potential side effects, effectiveness at preventing pregnancy, cost and ease of use,” explains Moments MD Nikhil Daftary. 

“We know for some people it can be challenging to work out what the best option is for them so we wanted to provide people with all the information to help them make an informed decision. This is just one of the many pieces we’ve co-created with Isiah.”

McKimmie also touches on sexual topics that some in the community may still consider taboo – such as pegging – and provides honest and non-judgemental advice to people interested in exploring these topics. 

Another influencer Moments partners with is Nadia Bokody, a queer sex-positive journalist and media commentator passionate about destroying “the shame around taboo topics like sexuality and mental health” whose work has been published by The Washington Post, HuffPost and Thought Catalog. 

“Nadia is a huge advocate for Moments, and discusses the importance of self-pleasure, which is often forgotten about from an educational point.” 

Breaking taboos

Daftary tells Inside Retail that the goal of such partnerships – breaking taboos – is a core purpose for the company, part of the brand’s DNA and much more than just a part of its marketing strategy. 

“Since the brand was founded back in 2017, we’ve certainly seen a positive shift when it comes to conversations about safe sex and using condoms, however, there is still a long way to go.

“Breaking taboos doesn’t happen overnight – especially when there’s such a big cultural shift needed in the way we talk about intimacy, sexual health and sexual wellbeing,” he explains.

“We want people to view condoms the same way they view paracetamol for flu – it’s a medicinal item that is used for protection.”

Daftary says there has already been a shift in the conversation over condoms, thanks to social media. “Twenty years ago, 17 to 19-year-olds would be talking about condoms, but now the conversation starts much younger due to children being educated in school about it.” 

Despite that, there is still a lot of work to be done. Last year, Moments commissioned research that found almost a third of Australian women have experienced fear or received judgment for providing a condom. 

“This statistic is simply too high, especially when you consider the risks of engaging in unprotected sex such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 

“Breaking the taboo around these topics needs to be a collective effort whereby everyone feels comfortable to have open and honest conversations about sex, and is supported and encouraged to do so, in a safe environment.”

He believes the increased acceptance of using condoms has also contributed to broader shifts in societal attitudes toward sexual health. “Conversations about condoms have paved the way for discussions about consent, sexual education, and reproductive rights – which is why it’s so important.”

Taking the message to billboards

Such taboos have stretched beyond education and discussion – to the way products like adult toys and condoms are advertised. 

To build awareness of its products, Moments has developed a billboard campaign in major cities – a challenging marketing execution given historical hesitation by media companies to carry advertising for products they fear might offend some sectors of the community.

Some of the billboards may be considered confronting by some – certainly attention-grabbing. 

“We’ve been strategic about which billboards we’ve advertised on. We’ve tended to select locations close by to where people can buy our products – for example, near Coles supermarkets,” says Daftary.

“When it comes to advertising sexual products, some media and advertising companies have restrictions around the images that can be used. We’ve always used images that are respectful in our marketing, and so far we’ve not received any complaints.”

An international role

Besides the work the company is doing at home, Moments is playing a broader international role, working with impoverished overseas communities through various partnerships to provide free sexual health education. Most recently, the company supported World Youth International by providing hundreds of students in Kenya with access to sexual health and HIV prevention education workshops.

“Kenya experiences many development challenges and a large proportion of the population lives below the poverty line,” explains Daftary. “Over the past decade, teams of Australian health professionals who participate in World Youth International’s Nurses In Action volunteer program have treated more than 10,000 patients from remote villages in Kenya and provided health education across the communities.”

Daftary says Moments’ products play a lead role in the global community in many ways. 

“We believe it’s our duty to help create a better world for everyone. We are passionate about empowering both men and women everywhere to celebrate and protect their sexual health, which is why we chose to partner with World Youth International as our organisations share and value the importance of providing ongoing sexual health education.”

As for the future, having begun the task of breaking taboos, Moments has no plan to relax its focus on awareness and acceptance. 

“We want to continue working with influential people, to ensure that we’re providing the most up-to-date sexual education, while simultaneously creating a safe space for people to discuss sexual health and sexual wellness,” says Daftary.

“We also want to widen our net to provide free sexual health and wellness education to other groups such as schools and additional charities overseas, which aim to provide information on sexual wellbeing.”

• For more information about Moments and its products – and to see some of the taboo-breaking education content, visit the company’s website.