This week's Warren Ellis Second Life column focuses on sex. Ellis offers vignettes on objects, ageplay, land use, building construction, land speculation, language, the stripper economy, and, of course, how far one can go before getting squicked out.
The column concludes with an important note, concerning the underrating of the amount of sexual content in Second Life, and reminding us that creating a medium as fearsome or portraying that which is shunned tends to lead to policy:
I’m just saying: anyone who says that sexual activity is a tiny part of the SL experience is either stupid or knowingly lying. Further: anyone who thinks it’s not going to lead to trouble down the line is just an idiot.
This sort of experience may be the single most powerful force driving Third Life projects, at least from the United States. Think about conservatives, (CleanFlicks), along with politicians and politically active parents, different types of gender activists, sex educators - Second Life's sloppy overlap of adult and not-so-adult might not fly much longer. This kind of story will definitely chill educators' interest in SL.
The best quote from the article is:
"No one needs to see a man getting sexual relief from a cat in slow motion. Trust me."
Hilarious.
Posted by: Andrew | February 24, 2007 at 12:45
Heh, indeed. Much of that column can be read aloud for popular entertainment.
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | February 24, 2007 at 18:46
And yet, given his other, more balanced articles, this really felt like a "Hey, look at the freaks!" episode.
Posted by: Steven Kaye | February 25, 2007 at 00:43