Emoporn, Sex Machines and Mediated Sexualities

Online pornography and virtualization of sexual practices (in social media and beyond) have been shaping new strategies of self-representation and remodeling geographies of desire for some time now. The production and methods of dissemination of pleasure are shifting, often intertwining with market logic and commercial aims.

On one hand, networking possibilities are increasing; on the other, gentrification politics produce a space of encounter leveled on mainstream media markets. Is the DIY collaborative ethos of early Netporn leaving space for a progressive individualization of our bodily presence online (and offline)? Are we going toward a fictional dimension of desire, where bodies are coming in contact via immaterial representation of their own selves? This panel reflects on the topic of construction (and deconstruction) of identities in the new generation of technology and media culture, in which a progressive crisis of the self reflects the current economy of crisis. By addressing specific examples related to online sex and porn, porn-sourcing, love for sex machines and fictional characters, the objective is to investigate the current state of mediated desire and reimagine critical body politics.

During the panel discussion, the audience is invited to take part in the live performance Laborers of Love (LOL), a crowdsourcing project focused on the relationship between online sex and online work, generating a just-in-time pornography of a global online workforce.