LOS ANGELES—Lovense has released survey findings on barriers to prostate pleasure adoption among men, based on responses and an analysis of over 10,000 posts and comments from men's wellness communities on Reddit. The results challenge the assumption that pain and hygiene concerns are the primary purchase blockers.
Nearly one in five respondents (18.3 percent) cited "not knowing how to talk about it with a partner" as their single biggest barrier—the highest single response, ahead of both hygiene concerns and fear of pain. Over a third of respondents worry their female partner may see them differently, and roughly one in four report fear of being misunderstood.
In online communities, this concern is the most frequently and emotionally discussed topic. One wife who discovered her husband had hidden his prostate play for 18 years wrote, "I was absolutely crushed. Not because of what he was doing, but because he left me in the dark for nearly two decades."
Identity and social concerns surpass physical discomfort as barriers at roughly a three-to-one ratio. Fear of being perceived as gay or bisexual, concern that it conflicts with straight male identity, and worry about feeling less masculine collectively dwarf fear of pain, which ranked as the single biggest deterrents for fewer than one in ten respondents.
The community's most upvoted response to this anxiety captures the shift underway, "You're a damn grown man! Own it!"
The industry's messaging around "comfort" and "painless design" may be solving the wrong problem.
When asked what would increase their confidence, almost 40 percent of respondents chose education: beginner-friendly guides, clear safety information, and more mainstream discussion to normalize the topic—all ranked above product features or pricing. "Prostate orgasm" was the preferred framing, with men responding to direct, pleasure-focused language rather than clinical alternatives. As one highly upvoted community comment put it, "I had no idea the prostate could even bring pleasure."
In response to the findings, Lovense has highlighted its Edge 2 prostate massager, which features app-based partner control allowing a partner to adjust vibration patterns remotely. The product features app-based partner control—allowing a partner to adjust vibration patterns remotely—designed specifically to transform prostate play from a solitary secret into a shared experience.
Community data showed that when partners engage positively, user satisfaction increases—the dataset's most-upvoted post (2,607 votes) described a session "interrupted" by a curious girlfriend, turning a private moment into a shared discovery.
A Lovense spokesperson said, "The data showed that the product isn't the problem—it's how people handle it with their partner. Edge 2's partner control feature was built to make that first conversation easier by giving both people a role."
The survey was conducted by Lovense and validated against qualitative analysis of over 10,000 posts and comments across major men's wellness communities on Reddit.
For more information, visit Lovense.com.
