LOS ANGELES—Lips, a sharing platform and marketplace for uncensored sexual self-expression, announced a crowdfunding campaign to assist in building their sex-positive, blockchain-enabled, web and mobile app.
“Thus far, we have raised 7,000 via the campaign page with an additional 10,000 pledged, which will be deposited into the campaign page within the next month,” Lips CEO and Founder Annie Brown said. “Our ultimate goal is to raise $25,000—all of which will go towards web and mobile app development.”
Campaign backers can donate at IFundWomen.com/projects/lips, where they'll receive various rewards such as sensual photography art, stickers and commissioned nude portraits.
The campaign runs through the end of May 2019, and Brown—named by Forbes to a list of innovative women in blockchain to follow—is rallying fellow pleasure innovators to help conclude her crowdfunding efforts on a strong note.
“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. This is why we turned to our community of supporters to help us fund the technical development of the platform,” says Brown.
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,” explains 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, Va.
The Lips MVP (minimal viable product) can be experienced via lipszine.com. The next iteration of Lips will be a further built-out website and mobile application for iOS and Android where users will have the option to post their art anonymously, without sacrificing intellectual property—utilizing cryptographic and blockchain technologies to do so. The forthcoming Lips app will also enable users to purchase directly from the main feed, allowing for a seamless discovery and shopping experience.
With the 25K raised from this crowdfunding campaign Brown will be able to fund her vision for the Lips app—a next gen of sharing platform that integrates feminist philosophy into algorithms, allowing for artistic expression, discussions of sexuality, sex work and sex education without censorship or trolls.
If funding goals are realized, Lips is poised to become an online oasis for sexual wellness consumers and creatives who feel abandoned by social platforms like Tumblr, who recently banned all nude and sexual content. This is especially timely given Instagram’s recent announcement that even “suggestive” content will be deleted.
“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,” Brown said. “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 shadow bans.”
Donations to Brown's campaign will aid the entire sex-positive community by providing a safe, comfortable space to call home while promoting and developing their businesses and art online.
“Lips is transforming the future of the $20B social market by creating a new model of cryptographic sharing platform that better understands the difference between consensual sexual expression and sexual exploitation,” said Brown. “Partnering Lips is also a great PR move for adult industry leaders. We are embracing sex positivity in a way that empowers sex workers, educates users of all genders and sexual preferences, and stands up against tech companies that are silencing marginalized groups.”
Lips aims to launch for beta users in late 2019.
To donate, visit IFundWomen.com/projects/lips. Follow their crowdfunding journey at Instagram.com/lips_zine and email [email protected] for more information.
View the Lips crowdfunding video at Youtube.com.
