Kinky sex tech is lacking — what could make it more exciting?
Environmentally friendly sex toy materials, romantic partners that exist in virtual reality, animatronic sex dolls — these and other technological developments have practically redefined how people experience sexual pleasure.
Yet despite all of these and other eye-popping innovations, kinksters like myself often feel we’ve been left out.
Where, we ask, are our cybernetic canes, smart plastic fetishwear, artificially intelligent submissives, or electronically enhanced bondage gear?
Although sex tech progress has lagged for the BDSM market, I’m optimistic that a brighter future is coming.
A peek under the black leather umbrella
I’ve been on the BDSM scene for nearly thirty years, and I have at least partially dabbled in every aspect of kink.
As a long-time kinkster, I think that the sex tech industry’s lag in BDSM-related products can be traced to the diversity of the community.
In some instances, kink play doesn’t involve what many people would consider traditional sex. Arousal can be found in anything from non-genital stimulation to the pleasure of emotional catharsis.
Complicating things further, the kink community, although welcoming to all, can’t make its collective mind up about what is or isn’t BDSM.
If there is a common ground, it is that play must be: safe, emotionally and physically; sane, in that no one’s judgment is impaired; and consensual, where explicit permission is always given — and can be renegotiated or withdrawn at any time, for any reason.
Due to this complexity, it’s no wonder technology hasn’t made a significant impact on BDSM: it’s one thing to build a better vibrator and quite another to put together something like a programmable dominant who understands the rules of the community.
Not that it hasn’t stopped people from trying.
Individual efforts
Although there hasn’t been a big move towards BDSM-related sex tech on an industry level, individuals in the community have taken the matter into their own hands.
In 2018, I wrote about Gary, a kinkster with a penchant for tinkering with electronics who re-engineered Amazon’s Alexa to act as a dominatrix.
Gary’s system is simple, yet ingenious: Alexa asks a series of sexy questions, and delivers escalating shocks through a shock collar that was designed for dogs.
A year later, virtual kink began to rapidly grow in popularity. Webcams and other computer-based technology became a well-liked avenue for kinky sex workers.
A notable example is Mistress Harley, who collected payments from submissives to control their computers remotely. With the consent of her patrons, she was able to access everything from personal files to passwords.
These individual efforts exemplify the type of BDSM-related sex tech that might lie on the horizon.
COVID took a toll
As with non-kinky sex, BDSM felt the impact of the COVID-19. Many scenes made the transition to video conference platforms like Zoom.
However, because of the nature of BDSM, many groups and individuals struggled to adapt.
Although not always comfortable or easy for those in the community, some kinksters found a way to thrive.
An Li, a Los Angeles-based professional dominant, explained to NPR how she went from providing in-person services to video sessions — and was surprised to find an interest in scenes inspired by the pandemic.
The possibilities of sex tech in BDSM
Looking at stories like these demonstrates BDSM’s novel adaptability.
Based on the community’s flexibility during COVID, I can easily imagine how it could grow with new advancements in BDSM-specific sex tech.
For example, consider the possibilities of virtual dungeons coupled with haptic feedback gear. Anyone, worldwide, could participate in kinky scenes with each other completely remotely.
Looking even farther into the future, we may yet see downloadable, fully interactive, dominants and submissives.
Not to mention next-gen robotics able to deliver and receive kinky punishment — or perhaps safely and effectively restrain us, as well.
Image sources: Eduardo Santos, istolethetv, Mια ℜιvєяş Nia92.Resident, Chris Marchant, Javier Kohen
