Lips, a sharing platform and marketplace for uncensored sexual self-expression, has announced it has reached it’s $10K crowdfunding goal to build a sex-positive, blockchain-enabled, web and mobile app. Interested persons can still contribute at https://ifundwomen.com/projects/lips, where they can gain exclusive beta testing access and purchase discounted premium membership which offers uncensored posting, an easy to set up online store in the Lips marketplace, the option to promote work in events and gallery shows, DMs with fans, and networking opportunities with companies that want to hire sex-positive artists and models
Once launched, the app will be free to use, but premium Lips users can sell directly from the Lips feed. Lips CEO and founder Annie Brown is asking the industry for feedback and support: “As adult industry professionals know, raising funds and awareness for sex positive companies, especially ones focused on female pleasure, is not easy when done through traditional methods,” she said. “This is why we turned to our community of supporters to help us fund and inform the technical development of the platform.”
According to the company’s website, Lips’ mission is to provide a space for women and those in the LGBTQ+ community to share their experiences openly and honestly, as well as a space for all humans to enjoy and support empowering and authentic content without the harmful aspects of online culture, such as harassment and unnecessary censorship.
“Lips will be a game changer for creating a reliable source of promotion and income for artists, performers, models and brands within the NSFW space,” added Brown. “It will also mean providing independent creators with a platform that respects them and values their work – which in turn, builds self-esteem.”
Lips features various forms of sexual self-expression, such as writing, photography, memes, gifs and paintings, that empower creator and consumer alike. Brown originally released the project as a printed zine – an independent, self-published magazine – as part of an assignment for her Introduction to Women’s Studies Seminar at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The Lips MVP (minimal viable product) can be experienced via http://lipszine.com/ and the next iteration of Lips will be a further built-out website and mobile application where users will have the option to post their art anonymously, without sacrificing intellectual property – utilising cryptographic and blockchain technologies to do so. The forthcoming Lips app will also enable users to purchase directly from the main feed.
With the 10K raised from this crowdfunding campaign Brown and the Lips team have begun to develop their vision for the Lips app – a next generation sharing platform that integrates feminist philosophy into algorithms, allowing for artistic expression, discussions of sexuality, sex work and sex education without censorship or trolls.
Brown said: “Currently adult industry brands, sex workers, sex educators and sex tech companies are simply not able to advertise on social media. All of these groups will be able to advertise to targeted, sex-positive Lips users who are eager to support them. Besides advertising, we provide a platform where brands can post, sell products and gain followers without having to self-censor themselves to avoid account deletion or shadowbans.”
Lips aims to launch for beta users in late 2019. For more information visit https://ifundwomen.com/projects/lips
