Bump’n Joystick: ‘World’s first disability-driven sex toy’ cancelled ahead of full production

3
Jamie F
Updated May 21, 2024
Published May 6, 2024
We may earn a commission via links on our site.
Why?

A one meter-long huggable device billed by its creators as the “world’s first disability-driven sex toy” is not going to make it to full production and distribution stage, despite years of development and promotion.

The Bump’n Joystick device is soft and huggable, and rather than being a sextech device itself is designed to have sex toys attached to it. The idea is that it makes sex toys easier to use for people who may not be able to use their hands for certain functions. It was designed by the Australian company Bump’n, helmed by brother-sister team Andrew Gurza and Heather Morrison.

The Bump’n Joystick was supposed to be available in 2022, priced at AUS $249 (US $165). On May 5, 2024 Bump’n announced that the Bump’n Joystick had reached golden sample stage, meaning a product sample stage smaller than full production. The company added that it was “not able to move the product to full-production”.

Morrison confirmed to SEXTECHGUIDE that a production run for the Joystick was not proceeding, and said that customers who had paid a deposit for the product would not receive a refund. She said: “While pre-sale deposits are non-refundable, these funds fuelled the development of the Joystick and its accessories – for which we are immensely proud and incredibly grateful.”

Morrison added: “Despite our best efforts and significant progress in successfully designing the world’s first sex toy for and by the disabled community, we’ve encountered challenges that prevent us from moving the Bump’n Joystick into full-scale production. After exploring a number of partnerships and funding routes, we’ve been unable to secure the necessary resources or partners to continue.

“With heavy hearts, we’ve accepted that we’ve taken the project as far as we can and have no option but to close shop and are actively looking for another team to take this remarkable product forward.”

While the Bump’n Joystick’s failure to fully launch could be seen as a blow for accessibility in the sextech industry, the product’s development helped start conversations about the issue.

“Inclusivity is a buzzword a lot of industry people are trying to get in on. I understand why. But a lot of them aren’t doing the work in terms of talking to the disabled community, doing testing with disabled community members, and saying to them, ‘What works for you?’” Gurza told SEXTECHGUIDE in 2022.

Gurza added: “They all want to be inclusive, and that’s great, but they have to do so much more work in actually connecting with that community to find out what is actually viable, and what accessibility actually looks like.”

The disability activist has limited hand use, and channeled this to help design the Bump’n Joystick. Gurza also talked about issues the company had converting general interest to hard sales.

andrew gurza and heather
Bump’n’s Andrew Gurza and Heather Morrison

“The community is excited but it has been slow going,” Gurza said in the 2022 interview. “We need to sell 500 for the toy to go. There’s a lot of, ‘Ooh, this is cool’. It’s a new product, it’s geared towards disabled bodies, so that’s a whole other conversation that people are not quite ready to have.”

Bump’n wasn’t the only Australian company working on more accessible sextech-related devices. A firm named Luddi has released the Ziggy, which is a hands-free vibrating device. Luddi said “the disabled population is widely being ignored” with regards to sexual pleasure and access to sextech.

Morrison said: “It has been an absolute honor and privilege to be a part of this mission, and we look forward to supporting the crucial work being done in this space in all the ways we can.”

Topics mentioned in this article AccessibilityDisablitySex ToysVibrator
Article by
Jamie F is a freelance writer, contributing to outlets such as The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, CNN and Vice, among others. He is also the creative force behind the Audible podcast Beast Master.
Get in touch
On the same topic…
  • perineum pleasure guide

    Perineum pleasure 101: Exploring one of the most overlooked erogenous zones

    Amy Norton/
    December 4, 2024
  • Nipple Clamps

    The history, design, and innovation behind today’s best nipple clamps

    Harlow J/
    November 25, 2024
  • sex tech innovation

    The evolution of sextech: What drives innovation?

    Chris S/
    November 18, 2024
By the same author…
  • dating appdate nov 2024

    Dating appdates (Nov 2024): Apps for news junkies and the ‘visual generation’, prizes for the ghosted, and more

    Jamie F/
    November 19, 2024
  • meta robot hand

    Meta’s latest robotics project brings ‘human-level’ touch to machines

    Jamie F/
    November 14, 2024
  • bellesa silent toys

    Quiet revolution? Bellesa launches ‘silent’ vibrator range

    Jamie F/
    November 12, 2024

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *