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Rumer Willis has responded to trolls who criticised the mothers for promoting a sex toy.
The 35-year-old actress, the eldest daughter of former couple Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, shared a post on Instagram on August 7 to promote a women's vibrator from Bellesa Boutique. In the caption, she wrote about the importance of female pleasure and described how “taking time to practice solo is a powerful act of self-love and discovery.”
While several people in the comments praised her for sharing such a heartfelt message about sex toys, others were quick to criticise her for promoting the product when she has a one-year-old daughter, Louetta, whom she shares with her partner Derek Richard Thomas.
Shortly after, Willis took to her Instagram Story to address the comments on her Instagram post, specifically comments from trolls shaming her for being a mother.
“What I find really interesting and wanted to mention is that a lot of the comments I've seen, besides the typical troll comments, are, 'Oh my God, you're a mother. Don't show such intimate moments,'” she explained.
“We’re in a culture where it’s so frowned upon to feed our children in public, or to talk about female pleasure, to talk about female sexuality,” said Willis, who has previously responded to criticism for posting about breastfeeding. “We’re literally so oppressed and repressed around these issues that the very idea of posting about something, or having a casual conversation about it, causes a visceral reaction in people.”
However, Willis said she still believes “it's really important to have these conversations” to “remove some of the shame” surrounding them. She also described how it can be “really difficult” for girls, especially teenage girls, to “create a dialogue” with their partner about their “pleasures.”
She acknowledged that while her own mother was open about the importance of female pleasure, “it's still a very difficult subject to broach.” Willis also expressed that, as she now has a daughter of her own, she doesn't want her daughter to feel any “shame” during her “sexual self-discovery.”
“I think it’s despicable to put any kind of shame or taboo on it,” Willis added. “Because I want Lou to be able to love her body, to be able to share it or not with whoever she wants. And I don’t want her to feel ashamed of her sexuality.”
After encouraging her followers to “stop shaming people for talking about their sexuality,” she also described how proud she felt to be in a place where she could speak so openly about herself.
“I’m not ashamed. I’m not ashamed to talk about sex toys or masturbation or anything like that,” she explained. “And you shouldn’t be either. I think we need to start raising the level of awareness and consciousness, so that as we raise this new generation of young men and women, we need to break down those old social boxes that we try to put everyone into.”
Willis concluded by asking her followers to stop spreading “hate and negativity” on their social media and to “be kind” to others.
In her initial Instagram post promoting the vibrator, she addressed how she wanted to eliminate the shame surrounding sex toys and discussions about female pleasure.
“Embracing our own fantasies and desires is essential to cultivating an intimate relationship with ourselves. By removing the shame and taboos that exist around it, we honor our bodies and their incredible capacity for pleasure,” she wrote in the caption. “Exploring what lights us up not only enriches our personal journey, but also enhances the connections we share with our partners. So, let’s create space for personal intimacy, bring toys into the bedroom, and celebrate the beauty of our own sensuality.”
Willis has previously responded to comments criticizing mothers on social media. Last year, she silenced those who questioned her for posting a photo of herself breastfeeding her daughter. In the comments on her post, she not only defended the image, but also explained how she wanted to fight back against the scrutiny women face.
“I think it’s so important to share because being born in a female body comes with a lot of shame,” Willis wrote. “And I want to set an example and teach my daughter that she never has to be ashamed of her body and that she can decide how she wants to share it.”
