Onscenity: Sex, Commerce, Media and Technology in Contemporary Society

This research network draws together international experts in order to respond to the new visibility or 'onscenity' of sex in commerce, culture and everyday life. It responds to public concerns about a range of issues including the new accessibility of pornography, the mainstreaming and normalization of sexually explicit representation, the commercialization of sex, the role of the internet in circulating 'extreme' images, and the use of communication technologies, often by young people, for sexual purposes. It is supported by leading academics in the field and will draw together scholars from Europe, the US, Hong Kong and Australia.

The aim of the network is to investigate the ways in which sex is increasingly intertwined with commerce, the media and new technology in our lives. We live in a changing landscape surrounded by media, where our use of technologies is changing the way we live and offering new opportunities and new risks. Sex is presented as central to our experiences of identity and relationships, and it is increasingly a part of the lifestyle and leisure practices of a consumer culture where many forms of commercial sex have experienced unprecedented and global growth. Media and communication technologies are widely used as information resources about sex, to access pornography and other sex-entertainment materials, and increasingly to fashion home made sexual representations and experience new types of sexual encounter in virtual environments.

It is now necessary to develop new approaches and research questions about the relationship between sex, commerce, media and technology and new research is needed. We need to develop a coherent and well-informed body of work that can underpin public, policy and legislative debates around the world. Drawing on the work of leading scholars from around the world, the network contributes to the development of these by mapping a transformed landscape of sexual practices and by co-ordinating a new wave of research.

The network will employ the following strategies for engaging with two distinct groups of non-academic beneficiaries:

1. Interest Groups and Institutional Users
The network will be of interest to a wide range of groups, including health and youth workers, counsellors and educators, MPs and policy makers, regulatory bodies and organizations that are concerned with sex education, media literacy and civil liberties and that recognize the need to base practice on reliable and contemporary research. Seminars will be the key fora for these groups. They will be designed with their interests and concerns in mind, and with the aim of identifying and increasing the network's links and relationships beyond academia. In addition, a report that takes up the issues identified as important by these groups will be produced. This will summarize the state of academic knowledge, identify and explain key areas of debate and issues of contention, and present suggestions for future research and practice.

2. Journalists, cultural commentators and the public
The network's key areas of debate concern issues that are of intense public interest and a perennial source of discussion in the media and in popular literature. The work of the network will provide contemporary and reliable information on these in order to inform public debate and media commentary. Press releases will be provided to inform public debate. The production of a publication aimed at the general public will also be pursued.

In addition, a website will provide an accessible resource for both academic and non-academic beneficiaries and will be used to publicize and disseminate the activities and findings of the network.