Early in her career, Éva Goicochea worked as a legislative aide in healthcare. During that time, she grew increasingly concerned with the abundance of outdated and discriminative barriers surrounding the sexual wellness industry. Tired of not seeing any change, she launched her company, Maude, with the purpose of creating quality intimate essentials and promoting transparent, inclusive language to better educate people on sexual health practices. In 2020, actress Dakota Johnson joined Goicochea as Maude’s Co-Creative Director. Together, along with a medical advisory board, they’ve created one of the best modern sexual wellness companies I’ve come across in recent memory.
Regardless of your current relationship status, being well educated in sexual wellness practices is important. As Goicochea explains in an interview with Wallpaper*, “Our take at Maude is that sex is human and few brands have inclusively spoken to people throughout their adult lives in a smart, factual way.” It’s no secret that sex education in schools is mediocre at best, so Maude hopes to serve as an alternative sex education resource for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, race, or gender. Goichochea reiterates the importance of being transparent when it comes to teaching young adults about sex, “Without robust sex education, young adults are emotionally ill-equipped and lack crucial information about their own bodies, which not only leads to fear and stigma but also the compartmentalization of sex in adult life.” Maude is partnered with several organizations such as Sex Ed for Social Change, Advocates for Youth, and Peer Health Exchange to help change educational curriculums by urging state legislators to create better sex ed policies.
Maude offers a variety of intimate essentials on their website for both partner and individual self-care use. From condoms, candles, body washes, and oils, Maude has something for everyone—and they’re continuously updating their product line. As someone who has tried a few of their products myself, I can confirm Maude’s products are of fantastic quality. The brand’s aesthetic values simplistic designs that are easy to use and pleasing to look at.
Not only does Maude create elegant, quality products, it also has a weekly online publication called The Maudern. They offer a wide variety of content centered around the science, history, and culture surrounding sex and relationships. From dating advice to funny, lighthearted reads, I highly recommend checking it out. On an additional note, Maude has partnered with Dakota Johnson’s production company, TeaTime Pictures, to create Cinemaude, a weekly film screening centered around the theme of “firsts.” According to the Maude website, all net profits from ticket sales go to Sex Ed for Social Change.
Ever since discovering Maude, I have been impressed by the visuals and diversity of this brand. Not only does it offer well-designed products, but it’s also a vocal, proactive advocate of social change. The sexual wellness industry is extremely important and affects everyone—it’s refreshing to see it being revolutionized by companies like Maude.
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