"Lights, Camera, Interaction"
CYBERSEX: Extensions of Men

by Tanya Wagner

I have come to accept that we are the digital generation, raised by Apples and IBM's, VCRs and microwaves, MTV and autobanks, Super Nintendo games, computer viruses and Madonna. I have acknowledged that the average North American child watches approximately 30.hours of television each week, that developing countries are bombarded with Western cultural goods and that government agencies have access to immense dossiers of information on every citizen. As technology enters an increasing number of areas of human existence, the inevitable has emerged: rehabilitation centers for telesex addicts, libidinous exchanges heating up BBSs; risqué demos at computer trade shows which attract hordes of male voyeurs and irate women. In short, the fusion between sex and technology has occurred and it is the marriage of the decade, if not the century.

Cybersex is the sexual relationship that takes place between a human being and a particular technology. For example, telephone sex falls into this category since two, or more, people actively engage in sexual discussions on the telephone, but never actually meet. It is the technology which connects these people, their voices interacting in cyberspace while their bodies remain physically estranged. "It's an unbelievably lucrative business," says Jules Goldstein, president of Money Marketing Inc, a Toronto based company which operates sex lines in both Ontario and Quebec, "And there's more and more starting up."1

Similarly, the plethora of erotic and, some would argue, pornographic CD-ROMS recently introduced are selling extremely well. A 1989 adult-oriented game called Virtual Valerie is one of the best-selling CD-ROM titles in the genre's short history. Virtual Valerie was quickly followed by an even more explicit and complex game entitled Donna Matrix. Not to be outdone, Penthouse recently released Penthouse Interactive Virtual Photo Shoot. Players choose one of three 'Penthouse Pets' and place them in certain poses. During the short video segments, they are able to take stills which can be stored or printed.

"...because the product is interactive, you get to issue instructions and requests, which the girls then fulfill. In short, you become the director of a photo shoot for Penthouse. You're in charge of three separate photo sessions with three different and delicious women."2

So where is all this technology heading? Why towards teledildonics of course! Howard Rheingold has predicted a coupling of virtual reality technology and telecommunication networks which will completely revolutionize sexual relations. By slipping into a bodysuit embedded with an array of intelligent sensor-effectors which can receive and transmit a realistic sense of tactile presence, one can literally 'embrace technology':

"Imagine plugging your whole sound-sight-touch telepresence system into the telephone network. You see a lifelike but totally artificial representation of your own body and of your partner's. Your partner/s can move independently in the cyberspace and your representations are able to touch each other even though your physical bodies might be continents apart."3

Then why enter into cyberspace to engage in cybersex when you can physically experience the real thing? Numerous reasons have been offered by a variety of disparate sources. First of all, there's an element of curiosity piqued by the intrigue of the technology and services. But this does not explain long term usage. Jean Baudrillard offers the postmodern explanation that "America is neither dream nor reality. It is a hyperreality," and since "the only physical beauty is created by plastic surgery, and the only opinion by opinion poll surgery..."6 it is not surprising that many would prefer to interact with the fabricated allure of Penthouse's Julie, Natalie or Dominique than with their less-than-perfect human counterparts. Tiffany, a 24-year-old telephone sex operator, suggests the immense popularity of phone-sex and other interactive erotic media stems from loneliness and fear of AIDS.

Cybersex may indeed prove to be 'the safest sex' available in the AIDS stricken 90s. The fear of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases coupled with a fear of rejection may encourage people to turn to the secure haven of cybersex. But many vehemently reject the technologies altogether. Feminists are disturbed by the objectification of women and the possible links between pornography and sexual harassment. Conservatives worry about eroding family values, parents fret that yet another medium is tempting children into growing up too fast, and lawyers ponder the legal ramifications of interactive erotica and issues of privacy and obscenity. Chris Molnar, a writer for Adbusters, has noted that some critics even warn of physical and physiological addictions - sexual support groups like Cybersex Anonymous and Children of Cyberholics already exist!

There is also the question of personal identity. Psychosocially speaking, how will creating one or many simulations of ourselves in cyberspace affect the way in which we see ourselves in reality? For instance, will I project myself as Jane Smith, a young, white heterosexual female, or will I decide to be John Smith, a middle-aged, black homosexual male? If I experiment with various identities and engage in continuous role-playing, will I revel in the opportunity to temporarily become someone else, or will I become disoriented and 'lose sight' of the 'real' me? Perhaps the split between the idealistic world of cybersex and the harsh realities of life will cause a condition similar to that of multiple personality disorder. The prospect of donning another personality seems liberating since, in cyberspace, race, class and gender become ambiguous and can vary according to one's own constructs.

But is disembodiment really the ultimate sexual revolution or is it the first step toward abandoning our bodies altogether? Consider a question raised by Susie Bright, the anti-censorship cultural heroine and lesbian sex guru, who asks: if everyone can have perfect breasts and blonde hair down to the floor, will that be devalued as commonplace, or will we become the new virtual Aryan Nation?.7 Katherine Dodds, a critic of cybersexual relations, asks whether having the choice to construct an identity works to deconstruct gender or whether it in fact appropriates identity? In her article Cybersexism and the search for technological transcendence, she warns those who believe Internet to be a great equalizer that:"to take on another identity does not make a person understand the 'other'."8 Another issue raised by cybersex is, how will it fundamentally affect human sexual relations? As Bright says:

"the anticipation of an experience that is neither real, nor fantasy, but virtual, made me wonder what was going to happen to the value of real life encounters."9

One cannot ignore the fact that the existing interactive erotica are highly gendered in nature. If one examines products, such as Virtual Valerie and Penthouse Interactive, their market segments are clearly demarcated; men are the main beneficiaries of this ground-breaking technology. In my own research I came across only one article which included sensorial simulation or tactile data being developed for women. No doubt cybersex could have an unparalleled appeal for women for they could finally be able to customize their own erotica. But right now the majority of cybersexual developments are male-oriented, allowing selective empowerment that fragments, objectifies and dehumanizes the female body. Many women find this illusion of control could encourage offensive behavior in real life. "Objectifying women in this manner leads us down the garden path to all sorts of other kinds of abuses, discrimination, sexism and every other evil that's perpetrated against us", says Joan Meister, the Vancouver-based secretary of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. Meister adds that phone-sex and its accompanying developments may send misleading messages to young men. Similarly, Linda Jacobson editor of Cyberarts has stated:

"These products show men that they can have control over women. You can force them to do your bidding and they do it willingly. I am absolutely opposed to censorship but I think men have to be made aware that this kind of thing can make women feel very uncomfortable."10

"Nobody has yet found a way to make video games broadly attractive to the part of the market that consumes the biggest share of books, movies and television drama: adult women."12

One definite site for the empowerment of women and their use of 'cybersex' is the Internet. The possibilities within its myriad networks are endless, and thousands of women are making use of this fascinating new means of communication. Women are interacting (or inter-facing) with one another as well as with members of the opposite sex, on a daily basis, on bulletin boards catering to a variety of needs. These boards include support groups such as SAPPHO (a forum for gay and bisexual women), informative groups such as SYSTERS (a forum for female computer scientists for the exchange of research) and leisure groups such as ALT.SEX and JEZEBEL'S PARLOUR.

To avoid plummeting into fatalism one must take a pro-active rather than a reactive stance and seize this exciting new technology. More women have to take an interest in what technologies are being designed and for whom they are manufactured. Women should be granted access to large-scale production and be included and consulted within the design process, so that the available products reflect a variety of tastes and appeals.

2 Keith Ferrell, "Cybersex: Fantasies become Reality"" in Penthouse (September 1993), p.129.

3 Howard Rheingold, "Teledildonics and Beyond" in Virtual Reality (New York: Summit Books, 1991), p.346.

4 Keith Ferrell, op cit., p.209.

5 Suzanne Stefnac, "Sex and the New Media " in Newmedia (April 1993), p.40.

6 Jean Baudrillard, "Astral America" in America (London and New York: Verso, 1988), p.253 and p.257.

7 Susie Bright, Susie Bright's Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader (Pittsburgh: CleisPress Inc., 1992), p.70.

8 Katherine Dodds, "Cybersexism and the Search for Technological Transcendence" in Adbusters (Winter 1994), p.63.

9 Susie Bright, op cit., p.69.

10 Nora Underwood, op cit., p.53.

11 William Purrill, "Depiction of women belongs in the Dark Ages." in The Montreal Gazette (February 25 1993), p.C3.

12 Philip Elmer-Dewitt "The Amazing Video Game Boom" in Time(September 27th 1993), p.45.