This video clip provides some clues to how various communications and entertainment media that have evolved over time have always been used to incorporate elements of sexual titillation and gratification. From the invention of the early telephone and motion pictures to CD-ROMs and live internet connectivity, there have been increasing opportunities to pursue one’s own sexual interests and quirks. As media have become available to the general public, they have—as one of the speakers in the films says—“democratized the audience.” Sexually explicit images are no longer available only to the wealthy or the aristocratic; they are there for all to see.

Just as people can now seek out the sexual images that will please them the most, and in fact do so quite privately and safely, there are also concerns about how far the media should go in satisfying sexual needs. Since the market allows purveyors of sexual material to make a great deal of money, it does not seem likely that they will be regulated out of business. The question remains as to how the availability of pornography and erotica will affect societies and cultures.

Please watch the following video clip and answer the corresponding follow-up questions.

Technology and Sexual Fantasy

1			In considering how media have changed over the last century, what does the speaker in the video clip mean by the “democratizing of the market” for pornography?
2			As computer graphics become continually more sophisticated in creating likenesses of real human beings, what are the implications of these images being used in sexual poses? Is it still illegal to watch certain sexual acts, even if the “people” are only virtual?