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Virtual Sex

Sex and technology have likely been intertwined since humans recognized that they could use tools on themselves. Yet with the advent of new communication technologies, people have, unsurprisingly, devoted considerable interest to the notion of virtual sex. Despite its seeming simplicity of definition, virtual sex encompasses a wide variety of practices, ranging from simple masturbation with an accompanying fantasy to the use of sex robots. However, when most speak of virtual sex, they are describing the practice of sex mediated through machinery or software. There are three main modes of virtual sex: textual/image-based, mechanical, and interface-driven.

Textual/Image-Based Virtual Sex

It is often said that the largest sexual organ is the human brain. One can stimulate another through the imagination and therefore through words, and when this occurs it is known as cybersex. There have long been Internet chat rooms dedicated to cybersex. In such rooms, individuals describe what they would be doing to the other if he or she were present. There are other types of virtual sex that bridge the textual elements of cybersex with “point of view” (POV) pornography. One such program is VirtualFem, which incorporates artificial intelligence with sexual commands and video. However, compared to textual cybersex with an actual person, the artificial intelligence seems stilted and uninteresting.

Another aspect of virtual sex is a practice referred to as “sexting,” or sending sexually explicit texts and images to another individual, generally through cell phones. This has recently been in the media because teenagers have been sending images of themselves to others, making them subject to child pornography laws. Also included in image-based virtual sex are sexual activities that take place between avatars in virtual reality environments such as Second Life, which can also incorporate voice-over-IP chat as well as text-based chat.

At its heart, these forms of cybersex retain their roots in the love letters and phone sex lines of previous generations. What distinguishes cybersex from its predecessors is the ability to participate anonymously with one or more individuals who are likewise seeking similar sexual stimulation. While phone sex lines are generally operated on a pay-per-call basis and the exchange of love letters generally necessitated a relationship, digital cybersex can circumvent these barriers. Moreover, a major draw for practitioners of cybersex is that they need not be who they are in real life. For example, a male can have virtual sex as a female, animal, or mythical creature in the digital realm.

Mechanical Virtual Sex

Another strand of virtual sex focuses on tricking the body into thinking that it is participating in sexual activity through the use of machinery and POV pornography. Some of these programs include the Virtual Sex Machine and Real Touch. However, all of this could just as easily be accomplished using a dildo, vibrator, or synthetic vaginal sleeve while watching POV pornography. Because of the ubiquity of digital cameras and camcorders, POV pornography is hardly novel anymore, and there are countless amateur POV videos online.

While the Virtual Sex Machine and Real Touch rely on the illusion of an active participant in the sexual encounter, other forms of virtual sex take a more strictly mechanical approach. Synthetic sex dolls have a long history, although mainly as gag gifts. However, these have become more sophisticated and expensive, costing thousands of dollars. Some, such as the RealDoll, are equipped for both men and women, while others, such as the CybOrgasMatrix, are only female. These synthetic sex dolls come equipped with functional genitalia and other orifices. There are sex machines geared toward women, which consist of a dildo attached to an oscillating machine that can be controlled by wireless access or remote control. However, both the sex dolls and these sex machines simply offer methods of technologically enhanced masturbation as opposed to true virtual sex.

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