Tomorrow’s pleasures will be recyclable, energy efficient, and arousing!
Unlike cyberpunk’s high-tech/low life aesthetic or atompunk’s stalwart heroes, solarpunk depicts an eco-conscious future—which, if we play our cards right, could inspire a brilliantly green sextech revolution.
But what is solarpunk, and how could a relatively new science fiction subculture save the planet and change society for the better while potentially transforming human sexuality in the process?
Think globally, act locally
Solarpunk is, by its nature, futuristic, though it involves less wildly speculative and more actually doable technologies such as its titular solar panels, zero waste manufacturing facilities, 100% recyclable products, and ecological stewardship.
Gadgetry aside, solarpunk is hopeful more than anything else, typically involving thoughtful, conscientious problem-solving without resorting to pew-pew violence—with everything ending on a positive, life-affirming note.
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In short, no towering glass towers, no sprawling megalopolises, no roaring starships but rather grass-roofed villages, bicycles or sailboats, naturally sourced clothing, locally farmed produce, and living at a sedate, more thoughtful pace—which would likely extend to the sex lives of its inhabitants, though erotic solarpunk fiction isn’t—as yet, at least—particularly popular.
Still, we’ve already seen the roots of what could bloom into an ecologically responsible, sexually liberated world.
Every day is earth day
As we’ve written previously, solarpunk’s green philosophy is showing signs of impacting the sextech industry. For instance, fetish fashionistas pushing for low-impact fabrics or pleasure device manufacturers are beginning to realize they have a stake in keeping their customers—and the planet—safe and healthy.
Using solarpunk as a jumping-off point, this rise of green positivity might extend to those very same customers passionately insisting the sextech industry pledge to reduce unnecessary waste.
For example, tomorrow’s vibrators could be made from either infinitely recyclable or completely biodegradable materials.
It might also mean the end of mass production, replacing it with toys 3D-printed on demand, so no more churning out hundreds of thousands of anything and then destroying the tens of thousands that failed to sell.
Or not construct but instead grow our solarpunk playthings? Add a dash of genetic engineering, and your garden might sprout more than just edibles.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Another solarpunk maxim is ditching mass consumerism for a more thoughtful approach to buying, selling, or creating, well, anything. It doesn’t take a dedicated eco-warrior to understand it’s a monumentally bad idea to have hundreds of different toothbrushes when only a few very carefully designed ones would do the trick.
To its credit, the sextech industry isn’t quite that reckless. Still, it’s far from comforting to realize how many pleasure devices—often looking, operating, and feeling the same—are made and sold each year.
Before you protest, having a large number of choices means you’re able to get precisely what you need to show yourself a good time; imagine when you won’t buy a ready-made sextoy but would design whatever your desire and then 3D print it—all without wasting power, water, and other precious resources.
A brightly shining tomorrow
If solarpunk can teach us anything—in addition to doing whatever we can to preserve our world—it is to never lose hope.
Sure, we shouldn’t shroud ourselves in reckless optimism, but it’s equally dangerous to automatically assume the future is tragically unalterable.
Solarpunk doesn’t wear green-colored glasses, telling its readers tomorrow will be an ecological paradise filled with friendly, socially-conscious hippies, but delivers the message it can be if we keep trying.
A sentiment we could—and should—extend to sex. Just as solarpunk is about efficiency, savoring the moment, and caring for the planet, so too its philosophy could guide us eroticicall: replacing kindness and tolerance with selfishness, living in the moment instead of racing to the finish line, and understanding and respect and not indulging in ignorance and frustration.
It may be a science fiction subgenre, but solarpunk could inspire us to create a better, sexier world—and not merely dream of one.
Image Sources: Depositphotos
