Sex On Screen: Women, Technology and Sexualization

For years, the representation of women's sexuality has been an area of significant public debate and a focus for political activism, becoming at key moments emblematic of feminism itself. In the contemporary climate, claims that women are interested in sex as never before have become commonplace. Sex products are aggressively marketed to a new female audience and sex shops for women are proliferating. Erotic arts such as pole dancing, erotic writing and advanced sexual techniques form the basis of classes, parties and other organized activities for women. Erotica has become established as a women's genre and it is claimed that women increasingly consume pornography. A range of more mainstream media texts and leisure activities are also increasingly sexualized for women; in advertizing and magazine culture, in television drama and in the burgeoning sex advice industry. Developments in new media and communication technologies have made all kinds of sexual materials accessible as never before, and in addition, have provided new, safe spaces for sexual encounters such as cybersex. It has been argued that this safe access is of particular significance for women for whom active sexual interest has in the past been restricted, stigmatized and often punished.

This project focuses on the ways in which women represent and perform sexuality online in 'camgirl' and pin up sites, chat rooms, discussion boards and sex sites. It therefore represents a major contribution to work in this area and paves the way for future study.

The outcomes of this research will be of value to academics and students in media and communication studies and in gender and sexuality studies. It will also be of value to policymakers, women's organizations and the general public interested in new media.