Digitaltag

In 2014 Facebook bought Oculus Rift (a Virtual Reality headset developed for gamers by Palmer Luckey) for $2 Billion. One of the first industries to adopt Virtual Reality (VR) was the porn industry. As the technology rapidly advances, in a near future users will be able to fulfil their sexual fantasies by accessing hyper-realistic environments and experiences.

Pornography and technology historically hold a close relationship. Through each technological development, society has always attempted to make profit with it by connecting it to the sex industry. However, as immersive technologies become increasingly realistic there are growing questions about the impact that these will have in society. Early psychology research in VR has proven that there is a link between certain virtual experiences and behaviours or attitudes in the physical world. The rise of online pornography has also contributed to the normalisation of extreme pornographic imagery. If current online hard-core pornography were to move into a virtual domain tomorrow, what would be the impact in our society?

Virtual X is a design project that investigates the possible legitimisation of the illegal sexual practice of rape if it were to be made available in VR and how this may impact our society. By designing the three objects that would enable such an experience, Virtual X exposes a near future to raise debate around the direction the pornography industry is travelling towards and whether or not these extreme experiences could and should be regulated.

Marta Giralt is a design researcher and explorer of the future. After graduating from MA Material Futures at Central Saint Martins, her work explores the cultural, ethical and moral impact of new and emerging technologies and the potential implications that they may have on our future society. She believes that it is only by critically engaging and navigating such technologies and their impacts that we can really even begin to design and imagine a fairer, more ethical and ultimately more democratic and sustainable future. Marta is also Lead Tutor at the MA Material Futures course and editorial researcher at Franklin Till, where she continues to explore material and design futures.