Sexual Ethics in Virtual Worlds

This week I’m going to be attending SXSW in Austin, Texas. When I’m not camped out in movie theatres and enjoying the above zero temperatures and famous Austin hospitality, I’ll be indoors at the Interactive festival learning about everything from web accessibility issues to sexual privacy online. I’m also part of a group of folks who were invited to facilitate discussions about intimacy, sexuality, and interactivity.

The conversation I’m going to be facilitating is about sexual ethics in interactivity, and given that my co-facilitator is Peter Ludlow, who is a professor of linguistics and philosophy at the University of Toronto as well as the co-author of The Second Life Herald, the focus will likely be on sexual ethics in virtual environments, particularly Second Life.

Unfortunately to date public discussions of sex in virtual spaces has largely mirrored public discussions in real life spaces. While individuals may strongly value their sexual identities and actions, corporations and the media tend to either trivialize or patholigize the role of sexuality in virtual spaces. Our discussion will hopefully try to address some of the basic questions about sexual ethics in virtual environments. Questions such as:

• Where does one begin to develop a virtual sexual ethics? Are real life sexual ethical issues an appropriate starting point?
• What is, and what should be, the role of users in developing ethical standards and practices in virtual spaces?
• What about the role of governments and corporations (those that own the virtual spaces and those that advertise within them)?
• What is the relationship between real life sexual ethics and sexual ethics in virtual environments?

I’m sure I’ll have more to report after the talk, so stay tuned.