CyberSex and CyberPorn

Sex in Cyberspace

• Art and Love on the Net
  A witty and beautiful webzine dedicated to the lovers inside of us.

• Baker, Andrea [1998] (Ohio University, Lancaster, USA)
  Cyberspace Couples Finding Romance Online Then Meeting for the First Time in Real Life
  This article summarizes early results from an ongoing study of online relationships. Eighteen couples filled in emailed, open-ended questionnaires discussing how they met online and them offline, what qualities attracted them to their partner, reactions of friends and family, among other issues.

• Benedikt, Claire (Univ. of Texas at Austin, USA)
  TinySex is Safe Sex
  First appeared as "Thoughts on Cyberspace and Safe Sex" in Passionate Living Magazine (Nov. 1994); reprinted under this title in Infobahn Magazine (June 1995).
  Within cyberspace, men and women can in theory take a part of their sexuality and emphasize it without fear of consequences. There is no HIV, no herpes, no unwanted pregnancies. "The physical side of sex is under your control. And this opens doors. I can become this girl Kari, who is slender and young, with golden skin and a winning smile, who wears no clothes, and who sleeps with the stranger who meets her eyes and gruffly orders her to follow him. This drama would never happen in my real life, but in this fiction-world of words I can let my head do it, even my heart, and there's an off-switch by my hand the whole time." But it is important to remember that sexual harassment can still occur online. "While people might decide to merely roleplay unwanted pregnancy, STDs, or rape, as part of their character's lives, there are actual RL (real life) threats to be aware of. These range from harrassers claiming to know where you live in real life, to people who might bombard you every time you log in with curses or lewd suggestions; their "spam" making it impossible to read anything else as they force your screen to scroll."

• Benschop, Albert (University of Amsterdam)
  NetLove and CyberSex: Bodiless Intimacy
  Stories about one of the "Peculiarities of Cyberspace". Includes a Dutch version

• Bruckman, Amy S.
  Gender Swapping on the Internet [pdf]
  Bruckman explains that the Internet is a tool which is blind to physical characteristics, so it has become a way for men and women to make realizations about the stereotypes and treatment of others. The use of MUDS has been facilitating people's understanding of culture and values. The increased use of the Internet has made both men and women more aware of their predisposed roles in society, but it hasn't changed the way that males and females view each other.

• Cyber-Love Stories
  A collection of cyber love stories, presented by the Love Life Radio Network.

• Cyber Matchmakers
  • Match.com
    Online personals, matchmaking and dating offering a fun and safe environment to meet other singles. Free trial (every first-time registrant gets 7 days unlimited use).

  • Personal Possibilities
    Free, fast, and fun to find your perfect match. Once you find them, you can purchase "stamps" to send anonymous emails to the potential Mr. Right or Ms. Wonderful. You are notified whenever someone who fits the description of who you would like to meet joins. You can record a free Real Audio message to get to know each other.

  • Yahoo! Dating Listing
  
  

• Cybersex by E-Mail
  A humourous look at cybersex. Part of Elsop Humor for Webmasters.

• Cybersex, Cyber-Romance, and Cyber-Eroticism
  Issue One of Cybersociology. Editor: Robin Hamman. It includes:
  • Researching Cybersex in Online Chat Rooms by: Robin Hamman
  • Erving Goffman, Dramaturgy, and On-Line Relationships by: Nikki Sannicolas.
  
  

• Dibbel, Julian
  A Rape in Cyberspace
  This article originally appeared in The Village Voice, December 21, 1993, pages 36 through 42. "They say he raped them that night. They say he did it with a cunning little doll, fashioned in their image and imbued with the power to make them do whatever he desired. They say that by manipulating the doll he forced them to have sex with him, and with each other, and to do horrible, brutal things to their own bodies." And it all happened right in the living room. It's the story of a man named Mr. Bungle, and of the ghostly sexual violence he committed in the halls of a MUD called LambdaMOO.

• Hamman, Robin, B. [1996] (Department of Sociology, University of Essex)
  Cyborgasms: Cybersex Amongst Multiple-Selves and Cyborgs in the Narrow-Bandwidth Space of America Online Chat Rooms.
  In his MA dissertation the author analyses two forms of cybersex in America Online chat rooms: 1) computer mediated interactive masturbation in real time and, 2) computer mediated telling of interactive sexual stories with the intent of arousal. He stresses that much of the information we obtain in face to face interaction is from body language and other physical cues. In narrow-bandwidth communications, this information is not transmitted, making misinterpretations frequent. This has led to the emergence of a new language which helps users avoid misinterpretations. Anonymity allows users to safely and freely experiment with their multiplicity of selves. Experimentation with these selves is possible, at present, only within the narrow-bandwidth space on online chat rooms. People become cyborgs when two boundaries become problematic, 1) the boundary between animal and human and, 2) the boundary between human and machine. Hamman calls the people presented in his paper 'cyborgs' because pieces of them are undeniably tied to the computer. He argues that we can only resist becoming cyborgs if we can fix the repressive 'real world' society that keeps us from experimenting with our multiplicity of selves. Until we live in a society where it is safe to freely experiment with sexuality and gender, he thinks we will be forced to become cyborgs.

• Kaloulas, Marisa [2001]
  Teledildonics

• Lust in Space
  A web site designed for those intrigued, fascinated, lured by, and otherwise "hooked" on the interdimensional relationships that evolve on the horizon of cyberspace. You will get some answers on questions like: If you are married and have an on-line relationship, are you cheating on your real-world spouse? Do you ever feel as though you have had a real affair after meeting another and having cyber-relations? Can an on-line love affair affect your feeling in the Real World for your spouse or partner? What should I do if I find this affecting my Real World relationship?

• Maines, Rachel P. [1989]
  The Technology of Orgasm. "Hysteria", the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction.
  John Hopkins Univ. Press
  Chapter 1: The Job Nobody Wanted.

• Morality in Media
  A conservative American organization that combats obscenity and uphold decency standards in the media. One the activities is the "White Ribbon Against Pornography" (WRAP) campaign.

• Mosher, Mike [1998]
  Teledildonic Temptations: The Rise and Fall of Computer Sex
  In: Bad Subjects, 41, December 1998.

• Nechvatal, Joseph [1995]
  Cybersex Technologies of an artist called Matta
  The author argues that the Chilean painter Roberto Matta in his sex drawings from the early 1940's predicted and illustrated the point of cybersex with an almost prophet like vision. See also: Roberto Matta: An Art Gallery.

• NetLove
  An online resource for online relationships. Cruising for love is the most popular motivation for chatroom forays. Online love presents a whole different set of difficulties. Should you meet the love you've only e-mailed and telephoned? Does online flirting count as cheating on your spouse? Should you have cybersex on the first date? On this site you can explore the brave new world of internet love.

• Online-Romance Central
  Lorilyn Bailey has a lot to say about online romance. She wrote a book about it and she's glad to answer your online romance questions. There seem to be 11 important things we need to know about online romance (such as: "Never lie. You'll pay for it later" and "Get a fast modem"). In case you might succeed, you can send your lover an antique romantic postcard.

• Rebele, Tara [1997] [Moved to ??]
  What is Cybersex?
  Published in Mix 'n Match, May 1997 A virtual virgin tries to understand her various cybersexual encounters. The real cyber lovers know the question: "How do you know if it's really a man or a women". Tara doesn't really know. "But isn't the uncertainty part of the excitement behind cybersex? If you believe you are communicating with a man, and that man does it for you, I don't think it really matters if that man is really a woman, or vice versa. You are engaging in a sexual/sensual encounter with a persona, and not the actual person. What that person has or doesn't have between the thighs doesn't really matter between modems. At least, that's my take. I'm sure a lot of folks will disagree, but to each his (or her!) own. If you feel it's necessary to know the true gender of your partner, meet them offline first and make them show you their package, otherwise there is no way of being absolutely certain. I say, if it feels good, do it. Don't sweat the truth when what you're getting off on is the fantasy." Comprendre?

• Sandy Stone
  One of the first researchers to investigate Cybersex.

• Suller, John D. (Rider University)
  • Cyberspace Romances [1996]
    Interview with Jean-Francois Perreault of Branchez-vous, on the causes, benefits, and pitfalls of cyberspace romances.
  • The Final Showdown Between In-Person and Cyberspace Relationships [1997]
    Relationships are developed by hearing, seeing, feeling, intuiting, and even smelling and tasting. Cyberspace and in-person encounters can be quite different on these dimension of relating. Those differences have a dramatic effect on friendships and romances.
  • Do boys just wanna have fun? — Male Gender-Switching in Cyberspace [1999]
    Why do people switch their gender in cyberspace? Is it possible to detect someone who is faking his gender?
  • Identity Management in Cyberspace [2000]
    In cyberspace, people can be themselves, present just a slice of their identity, take on an imaginary identity, or try to be invisible.

• The Unofficial Guide to Great Cybersex | mirror
  A funny look at cybersex from Jo-Anne.

• Wayne, Alanna
  Shared Dreams and Shattered Dreams: Love on IRC
  Some stories that show love on IRC can work, but that it takes honesty, true friendship, and love.

• WildAngel
  A webzine on Internet Dating, Love Online, and Risks & Hazard. They say that if you're 'looking for love' on the Internet, "you'd better look here first...". Let's hope anyone will find what (s)he's longing for.

• Young, Kimberley/O'Mara, James/Buchanan, Jennifer
  Cybersex and Infidelity Online: Implications for Evaluation and Treatment
  Romantic and sexual relationships over the internet can under certain conditions result in marital separation and possible divorce. The underlying cyber-culturals isssues that increase the risk of virtual adultery are explained in term of the ACE Model (Anonymity, Convenience, Escape). And finally it outlines specific interventions that focus on strategies for rebuilding trust after a cyberaffair, ways to improve marital communication.

Pornography in Cyberspace

• Akdeniz, Yaman (Univ. of Leeds, UK)
  Governance of Pornography and Child Pornography on the Global Internet: A Multi-Layered Approach
  In: Edwards, L. and Waelde, C. (eds.) Law and the Internet: Regulating Cyperspace, Hart Publishing, 1997, pp.223-41.

• Benschop, Albert (University of Amsterdam)
  
  • Pornography in Cyberspace: Internet hornification and cyber sexual obsessions

  • Child Pornography: Traces of crimes

  • Regulation of Cyberporno: Moral and technological filters, social control and criminal prosecution

• Cyberporn Debate
  An anthology of the cyberporn debate that was initiated by the July 3, 1995 Time magazine cover story on "Cyberporn" (or mirror) by Philip Elmer-Dewitt, that was based on its exclusive access to Marty Rimm's paper Marketing Pornography on the Information Superhighway [1995]. The Rimm study and the Time cover story provided ammunition for conservative special interest groups, lobbyists, and elected officials. The series of critiques on this page document that both the Rimm study and the Time cover story contain serious conceptual, logical, and methodological flaws and errors.

• Dworkin, Andrea
  • [1977] Pornography: The New Terrorism

  • [1988/93] Pornography Is a Civil Rights Issue

  • [1989] Pornography: Men Possessing Women

  • [1991/93] Pornography and Male Supremacy

  • [1993/4] Pornography Happens to Women

• Feminism and Free Speech: Pornography
  An American anti-censorship organization that spreads a feminist view on pornography. 'Pornography is material designed to arouse and has no legal or consistent definition. Earch person's definition depends on her upbringing, sexual preferences and viewing context. One woman's "trash" may be another's treasure or boredom.' Pornography may lead to masturbation much as a novel or film may lead to tears or laughter. But the Feminists for Free Expression (FFE) don't believe that policing masturbation is the proper business of government or well-meaning committees. FFE concludes: 'Sexual images that do not meet women's needs should not be restricted. Better images should be made. The answer to bad pornography is good pornography, not no pornography.'

• Harmon, Denna / Boeringer, Scot B. [1997]
  A Content Analysis of Internet-Accessible Written Pornographic Depictions [IXML]
  In: EJS 1(3), 1997. "Concerns over the availability of sexually explicit material in what has come to be termed "cyberspace" have recently blossomed into a national debate on the subject. Attempts to restrict access to the sexual side of the Internet have expanded to involve universities, access providers, and the Federal Government, which enacted substantial new restrictions upon Internet content as part of the 1995 Telecommunications Reform Bill. These restrictions, which were ruled unconstitutional recently by the Supreme Court, were enacted in part due to research suggesting that the Internet is a veritable smorgasbord of pornographic entertainment, available to anyone, regardless of age, with a computer and Internet access. While there are serious questions regarding the research project which provided much of the press and governmental officials' information on the subject, the issue is important enough to warrant more research before the social science community can claim to be informed. This project assesses the content of images contained in one of the more commonly accessible Usenet newsgroups: alt.sex.stories."

• MacKinnon, Catharine A. / Dworkin, Andrea [1988]
  Pornography and Civil Rights: A New Day for Women's Equality

• Methi, Michael D. [1998]
  Sex on the Net: Regulation and control of pornography in the new wired world
  In: L. Pal / C. Alexander (eds.) Digital Democracy. Politics and Policy in the Wired World. Toronto: Oxford Universitary Press, pp. 164-79.
  How ironical is it that one of the most promising information and communication technologies, the internet, is being used to satisfy a basic human drive, sex. How societies balance freedom of expression with the promotion of a new technology?

• PedoWatch
  Pedowatch is leading the way in working with law enforcement worldwide to remove child pornography and child luring activities. They want to protect children from being exploited or molested as a result of communicating on the Internet or being exploited through child pornography. They also assist parents with keeping their children safe from online predators. The site includes a Sex Offender Registries for America.

• Pornography, Obscenity, Censorship, and the Communications Decency Act
  A collection of links gathered by Cecil Greek (Florida State University, USA).

• Regulation of Child Pornography on the Internet
  Cases and Materials related to Child Pornography on the Internet. Compiled by Yaman Akdeniz (Centre for Criminal Justice Studies of the University of Leeds), founder of the Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK).

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Editor	dr. Albert Benschop Social & Behavioral Studies University of Amsterdam
Created	September, 1996
Last modified	28th December, 2005