A Sexy Chat with Sarah Jayne of Unbound

Psst, go check out our first installment!

If you're a woman and you haven't been living under a rock or in North Korea for the last couple of years, you might have noticed the proliferation of subscription sample boxes filled with luxurious products. But just in case you've been swinging with Kim Jong Un and missed out, these sample boxes are a cost-effective and thoughtfully curated way to try a number of quality products that you might not otherwise know existed. Smart idea, great design concept, and perfect for a gal who wants to try a bevy of products for a home spa night, right?

So what if the chic product box contained custom-written erotica, a carefully chosen intimate pleasure device (ummm, sex toy), and other delightful tidbits to get your erotic juices flowing, and was delivered to your doorstep every quarter? And as an added bonus you also had access to creative playlists of lust-inspiring music, a Q&A with women who love exploring sex and sensuality as much as you do, and more wonderful free features? That exists in reality, and it's called Unbound.

Last week Liv and I debuted a feature over on the Unbound site called Ask Livia & Liza where we answer questions submitted to the lovely girls at Unbound, and we thought it would be fun to interview our editor Sarah Jayne and find out more about how they developed the concept and why it's billed as "an intimate revolution." We posed a series of questions to her, and she got back to us with the following. We think you'll love Unbound as much as we do! And hey, if you have a question for Livia and Liza, pop it in the comments and we'll see about tending to it on Unbound!

A snippet of erotica offered on the site.

Why Unbound, why sex and why now?

We're trying to pull it all together into one place to create a very open, honest and upbeat conversation and retail environment. A space that sort of breaks the rules that currently divide sexuality, intellect and femininity into separate groups. We want a place where a dominatrix and a PhD science writer both have a voice (and who's to say its not the same gal anyways?) We want it hot, informative, sex positive and welcoming of all types. Why now? I'll speak to my own involvement since I am sure my cofounders have their own reasons (besides free lube). For me, I am a feminist. I have always had a strong interest and involvement in promoting women's sexual health and wellness. I want to encourage women to take an active, engaged and informed role in their sexuality while creating a better cultural and social environment for it to thrive. Women need to feel as if "this sort of thing" is not shameful, negative or unacceptable if we want to be successful.


As a woman meeting your typical demographic, why should I come to Unbound for sexual and erotic info and exploration rather than say, my local sex shop or the host of other sex sites that already exist in the realms?
One of our biggest goals is to bridge the erotic industry and the modern gal. This is the woman that gives a damn about the products she uses, whether its lipstick or fair trade coffee and values good design when it comes to her everyday life. There's a pretty big gap that exists there now- most erotic products still arrive in cheap plastic blister packaging with an 80's style bikini clad gal and you think, "is this even attempting to get my attention, let alone get me off?" We're championing good products that "get it" and get you off. Products that are designed well and have a conscientious side to the materials they use. We're also very keen on staying "partner agnostic." On the site and when it comes to whats in the box. It's important to us to not exist in the heteronormative assumption that our box customers or visitors to the site are just straight couples looking to "spice things up." Maybe you have a boyfriend, maybe you have a girlfriend, maybe you've got one of each or maybe you've been single for ages (and like it that way, thankyouverymuch). It's no problem, sex isn't the goal anyways- pleasure and discovery is and that can be reached whether you've got a sack mate or not. Not everything we put out may not be your bag but it might be worth trying once or twice anyways to find out. We want to bring everything to the table, as long as it's good and hot.


Stripping back all the glitter and jazz of Unbound, what is the fundamental element that lies at the core of your 'mission'?
To create conscious sexuality. Not just sex: pleasure. Not just sexy: sexual. Being more than just a web based magazine is important to us too. We want to be competing in the retail space as well; selling products that we genuinely care for with a context to them. We're not experts, nor do we claim to be. Hell, we're still figuring our own sexuality out to be experts on anyone else's. I guess the mission in a way is to promote and encourage collective, thoughtful and positive discovery. We think sex and discovery is a very positive aspect of a woman's life at any age and we want to make it compelling and easy for her to do so.


How do you come up with the topics for each quarter's box and content?
My fellow lady founders and I have what we call Vcon (Vagina Convention more or less) in which we like to essentially eat and drink (probably junk, mostly booze) and just muse about the topics and products we want to explore. We listen to our friends and other women we chat with and take their curiosities into strong consideration as well. We're not just creating an SJ, Greer and Katie fantasy box- these are ideas and themes that women of all sexual orientations and appetites will enjoy exploring. The online content follows the product selection in a fairly organic way. There's always good discussion to be had...


What's the most outrageous thing/product/idea you've ever pitched for the site or the box, and did it (or will it) make it?

Check out some product reviews, too.

I still hoping my request for 2 pallets of Sex Cereal will be fulfilled. I could eat cereal out of a punch bowl so I'm dying to write about it. It's a good industry for strange and exciting product. While some things sound outrageous and exciting, often times things can come across outrageous and bogus. We definitely enjoy the experience of trying products that have lofty claims or a strange premise. Frankly, we're down for trying it all- the weird, the good, the silly and we encourage that in others, too. In a way, every vibrator in the world might have the chance to be someone's favorite. We're not going to knock something we deem a "bad" product just because it doesn't light us up. We'll explain what you might like and why it's worth trying. If it's downright awful--because let's face it some flavored lube is gross--it just won't go on the site, and certainly not into the box. We feel very strongly about things remaining positive and upbeat on the site and in the box.


How can we help inspire other women to join the conversation we're having about sex, sensuality, and desire?
I hate to say "normalize" it. Normal is such a weird word to use when discussing sex. The last thing we are trying to do is take the excitement out of sex by making it something that's so mainstream and homogenized that it barely gets people aroused. However, we do believe that sex, and more importantly, women's sexuality ought to be understood, encouraged and accepted more openly. When you hear that simply saying the word "vagina" can get you barred in a state legislature, something isn't being addressed. It's being stifled. And a message isn't being received. Women need to feel comfortable and secure in exploring their sexuality and desires and to have fully and unfettered agency over their bodies. It can be done in a way that's modern and provocative. We think a site that honors all orientations and a quarterly box that provides a high concept introduction to new experiences is a good start. But the conversation really starts after that...