Posthuman sex Inside the Viagraassemblage Nick J Fox

Posthuman sex: Inside the Viagra-assemblage. Nick J Fox University of Sheffield @socnewmat

Introduction • A materialist perspective on sex and technology. • Sex and ontology. • The sexuality-assemblage. • Posthumanising sex. • Inside the Viagra assemblage. • What else can a sex technology do? • The intensifications of sexualities. @socnewmat

The turn to matter • ‘New materialist’ ontology: • Not entities but relations. • Not agency but affects (the capacity to affect or be affected). • Not structures but un/stable assemblages. • Not construction but production. • Not textualities but matter. @socnewmat

Lively matter • New materialists recognise the capacity of all matter to affect/be affected. • So matter is lively, some say vital. • Matter assembles in unstable, unpredictable and continually fluctuating ways. @socnewmat

The transparency of technology? • Sociological perspectives on technology: • Technological determinism • Social shaping of technology • Technology as affordance • I explore technology instead from a materialist perspective. @socnewmat

What can a technology do? • Avoids both social essentialism and technological essentialism. • Let us ask instead about the material capacities of a technology in specific contexts. • Do we really know what this technology actually does? • To answer this we need to look at the micropolitics of that technology in context. @socnewmat

Sex and ontology • Conventionally, sexuality is essential attribute of a body. • Psychology • Relatively stable and fixed. • Neurology • Individualised accounts have influenced biomedical and social science ontologies of sexuality. • Psychoanalysis • Sexology • Humanist sociology • Biomedicine @socnewmat

Individualising discourses. . . classify sexual desires according to a very limited number of formulaic syntheses of genders and sexes: there is the norm (heterosexuality), then an inversion of the norm turned into an exclusive disjunction from the norm (homosexuality), then a perversion of the norm in a whole range of inbetweens (bisexuality and, to a much lesser degree, transsexuality) (Lambevski 2004: 306). @socnewmat

Posthuman sex • Explore sexualities as relational. • Sexualities link bodies to non-human things. • Sexuality-assemblage (Fox and Alldred, 2013). • Contemporary sexuality-assemblages may include technologies. • Sex as non-human; posthuman. @socnewmat

Sexuality assemblages A generalised sexuality-assemblage: hormones – sex organs - (sexual) past history – sexual imagery/marketing/porn – partial objects - fetishes (e. g. clothing) sexual others – romance – love – marriage – social and economic relations @socnewmat

What can a sexuality-assemblage do? A sexuality-assemblage produces intensifications in bodies. It produces sexual and other capacities. But we cannot know in advance what other capacities it may produce. @socnewmat

Sex and technology: Viagra • Viagra as treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED). • Explore Viagra as part of a sexualityassemblage. • Qualitative research study of online forum that discussed ED and Viagra. • Participant observation and follow-up interviews. @socnewmat

Medical use of Viagra I buy my viagra via the internet, and I have had no concerns. It's fast, easy and cheaper than the local pharmacy. I have ED all the time, as defined as the inability to achieve or maintain an erection. Does that mean do I always take a Viagra before I engage in sexual activity? No I don't, because I engage my wife in some sort of sexual activity almost every day. She demands and deserves my physical attention. But when we want sustained intercourse, I take viagra. That's maybe once or twice a week on average. (Online interview) @socnewmat

Medical/recreational use ‘I have been having erection problems for about a year due to high blood pressure and prescription drugs. My doctor gave me the sample pack of Viagra. The first time I took a 25 mg pill I got semi-hard after 30 minutes. After stimulation from my wife I got hard as a rock. We had sex for almost an hour doing various positions. I felt like I was 16 again. Even after ejaculation I still stayed hard. We did it twice after that. I have never performed like that in our 24 years of marriage!’ (online interview) @socnewmat

Recreational use Now i realise this great medicine should not be abused and I don’t want to start any competitions but can i just say that after sneaking off with a long time friend of mine for a enjoyable weekend, i racked up 12 hours of non stop action on day one, 16 hours on day two and only 4 hours on day three due to the fact my supply had run out ( I ate 8 of those blue M&M`s that weekend ). The only side affects i suffered was the fact I tore all my stomach muscles and could not walk or laugh for 3 days. (Post to forum) @socnewmat

The micropolitics of Viagra • Viagra was designed to produce a specific body intensification (capacity) - erection. • What other capacities does it produce? • To answer this, look at the Viagraassemblage. • This will reveal the micropolitics of Viagra. @socnewmat

The Viagra assemblage sex – bedroom – penis – male sexuality – Viagra – identity - consumerism – sex partner - internet - industry – profit – shareholders (Fox and Ward 2008) @socnewmat

Flows of affect in the Viagra assemblage I was panicking because of not being able to maintain my erection. . . sometimes it went down totally, (which) was really disappointing my partner. From that moment I guess I got performance anxiety. My best friend at the office introduced me to Viagra a week after he saw my attitude change at the office due to my noticeable depression. Thanks to Viagra, I felt I am gaining my manhood again, but now lazy of doing sex without the blue pill. I am now becoming a big fan of Viagra, and afraid of having sex without it. (George) @socnewmat

@socnewmat What else can Viagra do? • Medicalises sexualities. • Privileges male penetration over other sexual activity. • Creates expectations. • Contributes to sexual and health identities. • Affects intimate relationships. • Produces dependency. • Makes money ($1. 5 bn a year) for its manufacturer Pfizer.

Posthuman sex • Technologies like Viagra produce intensifications in sexuality-assemblages. • Technologies can constrain or open up what a (sexy) body can do. • Sexualities research exploring the non-human: • Alldred, P. and Fox, N. J. (2015) The sexualityassemblages of young men: a new materialist analysis. Sexualities, 18(8): 905 -92. • Fox, N. J. and Bale, C. (2017) Bodies, pornography and the circumscription of sexuality: a new materialist study of young people’s sexual practices. Sexualities. DOI: 10. 1177/1363460717699769 @socnewmat

Technology and intensifications • Technologies in sexualities assemblages: • Opportunities for having sex (e. g. dating apps). • Enhancement of arousal/orgasm (e. g. drugs, internet porn). • Many technologies place limits on ‘the sexual’. • Which intensifications ‘count’ as sexual? • Can technologies open up new or different bodily intensifications? @socnewmat

Conclusions • Technologies are lively, affective and productive of capacities. • The Viagra-assemblage makes connections between human and non-human relations. • We can trace affective flows through the body/technology assemblage. • Technologies may close down or open up body capacities. • Let us research the intensifications (‘sexual’ and ‘non-sexual’) produced by technologies. @socnewmat

Posthuman sex: Inside the Viagra-assemblage. @socnewmat