Fans of the Future: Envisioning Tomorrow’s Sexual Subcultures

M. Christian
6 Min Read

When it comes to pleasure, we’ve been and will always be astoundingly creative

As the old saying goes—for the British as well as the rest of humanity—put two or more people together, and they’ll inevitably form a club.  Or, in the case of what we’ll be discussing shortly, an entirely new sexual subculture.  

Taking a page from already-existing erotic fandoms such as MILF fanciers, not forgetting the kink scene’s array of often very specific turn-ons, let’s imagine what sexual subcultures might arise in the coming decades 

Sexbots, artificial companions, erobots, and the iDollators who love them 

It seems only a few years have passed since iDollators went from a few dedicated aficionados to what could now be described as a world-spanning movement.  

Based on its rapidly increasing popularity, it’s easy to picture it branching off into all sorts of unique interests, akin to present-day model train fans. Tomorrow’s sexbot subcultures might be centered on a single manufacturer or a particular design aesthetic. 

Also, like today’s hobbyists, they could congregate at yearly events to share their passions, buy and sell parts, learn how to repair or modify their playmates, or maybe even jump into a full-blown human/artificial companions orgy.

That said, this subculture’s biggest development would be acceptance, a time when iDollators—or digisexuals, as in those who may perfer software rather than hardware partners—are as common and openingly accepted as any other sexual orientation. 

Sexfluencers

Riffing off the latest social media celebrities, we may see the same popularity extended to adult performers—without, that is, the sexual stigma many in the industry still face.  

It might be what we’re already seeing on camsites or when top-tier adult entertainers market their own pleasure devices, though to a much greater degree.

RECOMMENDED READ: Future Love: The Rise of Digital Polyamory

Think trending sex advice experts but without the need to stay hidden behind a puritanical curtain, combined with the encouragement of a physical fitness guru: a subculture devoted to learning everything there is to know about sex—then use that knowledge to then teach others.

Retrosexuals

Analogous to how some enjoy their music on vinyl, cassettes, or 19th-century phonograph cylinders, we could see a subculture of people who prefer sex the old-fashioned way.

I’m not talking about social conservatism but a stylistic predilection for life before virtual and augmented reality, artificial companions, or artificial intelligences—a time that, for them, is aesthetically and erotically stimulating.

As modern-day retro-communities may listen to Taylor Swift on period-accurate gramophones bought on the Internet, they could marry classical sexuality with VR/AR/MR, sexbots, or AI to perfect an illusion of sex before those technologies existed.

The 100 Mile High Club

As the first photographers almost immediately began snapping shots of people in (ahem) the throws of passion and the earliest aeronauts instantly started bragging to their friends about fooling around while a hundred feet off the ground, be prepared to say hello to a higher altitude, and a far steeper-price tag, version of the Mile High Club.

While initially something only true thrill seekers might attempt—without getting caught, that is—if the companies providing suborbital flights or low-earth-orbit hotel accommodations had any smarts, they’d actually support this subculture: Come—and come see the stars!

The Year Of The Sex Olympics 

While the 1968 telefilm of the same name was noticeably dystopic, we might witness the emergence of a subculture that puts a far more positive spin on the idea.

Echoing back to how a large number of fan communities organize races, contests, pagents, and competitions, why shouldn’t it be the same for intimate activities?  

Not sex should ever be thought of as something to be given, taken, won, or lost, but perhaps our erotic olympians would rather emphasize perfecting negotiation skills, respecting personal limits, expanding sexual horizons, and the effective use of birth control.

The best is always yet to come

Whether we like it or not, there’s a chance the sexual pendulum might swing the opposite direction, away from freedom to consensually love and play with whoever or, talking artificial companions, whatever we want towards a world dominated by bigotry, shame, and guilt.

Don’t forget, if history has taught us anything, sexual subcultures can also help drive positive social change.  So don’t automatically assume there’s no way back from the brink. 

Instead, dare to dream of creative, determined, and especially passionate people banded together to oppose intolerance, ignorance, and hate—using their various subcultures to show that consensual pleasure can be beautiful, transformative, and most of all, fun!

Image Sources: Depositphotos

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M.Christian (they/them) loves nothing better than exploring the intersections of sex and technology—and speculating on the future of both. A highly regarded erotica writer they have six novels,12 collections, 100+ short stories, and 25 anthologies as an editor to their name. Their non-fiction regularly appears in many sites, but they're most proud of being a regular contributor to Future of Sex. Of their erotic fiction, Tristan Taormino said that “M.Christian is a literary stylist of the highest caliber: smart, funny, frightening, sexy—there's nothing [they] can't write about… and brilliantly.” Reflecting their unique ability to sympathetically and convincingly write for a range of genders and sexual orientations, their stories have appeared in multiple editions of Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, The Mammoth Books of Erotica, and others. Their collection of gay erotic fiction, Dirty Words, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. While a majority of their stories have been collected into books like Dirty Words, their fondness for combining sex and science fiction is clearly evident in collections that include Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, Skin Effect Effect, Bachelor Machine, and Hard Drive: The Best Sci-Fi Erotica of M.Christian. As a novelist, M.Christian’s versatility is on full display with Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Brushes, Painted Doll; and the somewhat controversial queer BDSM/horror/thrillers Finger's Breadth, and Me2. M.Christian has worked on the industry’s production side as an Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books and as a Publisher for Digital Parchment Services. The latter dedicated to celebrating the works of science-fiction legends such as William Rotsler, Jerome Bixby, Jody Scott, Arthur Byron Cover, Ernest Hogan, and James Van Hise. Covering topics like BDSM safety, sexual education, senior sexuality concerns, queer and gender issues, plus reviewing a variety of sex tech products, M.Christian’s non-fiction has appeared on sites like Kinkly, Tickle.Life, Sexpert, Queer Majority, Sex for Every Body, and—of course—their ongoing work for Future of Sex. If there’s anything M.Christian enjoys more than writing, it’s teaching. A featured presenter, sometimes with their friend Ralph Greco Jr, at national sex and BDSM events, they have lectured on kink play (with an emphasis on safety), polyamory, boosting sexual creativity, and erotica writing--for beginners or those wanting to go pro. M.Christian is a cohost on two popular sex-education podcasts: Love’s Outer Limits with Dr. Amy Marsh and Licking Non-Vanilla with Ralph Greco, Jr.