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SEXUALITY AND THE INTERNET Net.SeXXX: Readings on Sex, Pornography, and the Internet. Edited by Dennis D. Waskul. New York: Peter Lang, 2004, 340 pages. Paper.
As personal computers became relatively inexpensive, widespread use of Internet technologies for individual and occupational purposes has considerably affected the everyday lives of individuals from all walks of life (Chen, Wigand, & Nilan, 1999). More and more, people from both developed and developing countries are becoming identified by online usernames, passwords, and code names serving both leisure and business Internet pursuits.
Cybersex has been likened to a kind of "sexual revolution" with more than 100,000 Web sites featuring all kinds of sexual content, such as erotic photos, videos, live sex acts, and Web-cam strip sessions (Carnes, 2001; Cooper, Boies, Maheu, & Greenfield, 2001). Visits to pornographic sites have increased with some sites reporting as many as 50 million hits (Worden, 2001). Although the majority of Internet users tend to be recreational or utilitarian oriented, some end up becoming "addicted" to Cybersex. According to a survey conducted by the Marital and Sexuality Center and MSNBC (2002), 6.5% of the male Internet population reported spending nearly six hours per week engaging in Cybersex.
The edited book Net.SeXXX provides a detailed investigation into the intricacies of Internet pornography. Included in the discussions are issues concerning societal values, worldviews, morality and justice, ethics, atypical behaviors, interpersonal relationships, gender issues, economics, technology, social forces, culture, and social institutions. In a casual and easy-to-understand tone, and with useful concluding sections at the end of every chapter, Net. SeXXX provides a thought-provoking account of human sexual diversity. This quality makes the book suitable for a wide range of educational-both undergraduate and graduate students in social science departments-and lay audiences who are interested in gaining valuable knowledge about an otherwise neglected and taboo area of sexuality. The chapters encourage readers to engage in critical introspection, thereby enabling them to arrive at their own conclusion regarding the value and utility of this new form of human sexual expression.
The editor, Waskul, rightly contends that Internet sex is more than just the use of a modern medium for sexual ends; it is more a reflection of today's fast-pace social life characterized by individuality, impersonality, materialism, and social isolation. Since different...