Sexytime_Marriage

toc =Introduction= Throughout human history sex and technology have had an intertwined, if not interesting, relationship. Sex has always played an important role in the proliferation of new technological developments throughout history; from the development of the first [|printing press] during the 15th century, to the guided establishment of VHS technology over Sony's Betamax video format by the adult entertainment industry during the 1980's. It follows, then, that the border between technology and sexual activity has naturally become more and more blurred as technological improvements as well as cultural developments reach ever increasing benchmarks. In a sense, technology has long served as a tool for satisfying our appetite for erotic or sexual material. More recently however, technology has begun to play a different role in regard to our sexual habits. Artificial intelligence specialists propose that possible futures for human sexual interactivity with technology include the legalization of [|marriage with robots] and the development of [|artificial intelligence] capable of interacting with users in a virtual setting.

For roughly the past decade people have be using online gaming, more specifically, massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG), as an escape for the ins and outs of everyday life. That is, some people often use the interactivity and connectedness that online gaming offers to augment what may otherwise be described as the dull and boring workings of a modern lifestyle. In a series of technological developments, and subsequent societal adaptation on virtual "reality", games such as Ultima Online and most recently Second Life have provided populations with avenues to extend or project themselves into places or situations otherwise not possible. One of the biggest benefits of virtual worlds provided by MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Second Life is that they drastically expand the possibilities, so to speak, of users. That is to say, options and realities that are not attainable through direct action may be simulated in a virtual reality and shared with others. Many use their online experiences as vehicles to experience new possibilities, in terms of our research this could mean age play, fetishism, virtual furry fandom, or beastiality. However, not necessarily all users turn to online gaming as an abstract thoroughfare to new places and experiences otherwise not possible. Some use the networks provided to [|develop relationships] which attempt to mirror, and often times, replace, their real-world models. In many ways, the online environment in Second Life has created a platform for social scientists to investigate comparable social norms and behavior.

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Marriage in Second Life is nothing new, in fact, an entire industry has been established around the concept of virtual wedding planning. One [|Kande Knox], a prominent virtual wedding planner in Second Life, with business partner Granite Outlander, state that "the artistic limitlessness" of Second Life allows them to "supply and fulfill dreams". In much the same way "real" wedding planners organize and compile resources to satisfy the needs of their clients, virtual wedding planners such as Kande perform relatively identical services; choosing a date, lag free venue, the style and formality of the wedding, etc. The ability to reinvent yourself online inevitably leads to interesting, and what some consider disturbing, developments, as explored more deeply here. However, it is this appeal in and of itself that inevitably draws users to develop relationships in Second Life, either as an extension, escape, or augmentation of their real lives. In some instances, as Kande explained, users sometimes use Second Life marriages as an alternative to material weddings in the real world to save cost. In comparison to a real wedding, marriage ceremonies in Second Life are limited only by the imagination of the organizer and his/her clientèle. Marcio Moo, another prominent Second Life event planner described to me how much easier, relatively speaking, creating an intricate ceremony in Second Life is. Also, he noted that fictional components of clients' desires could only be address in Second life. The relatively inexpensive production costs of creating objects in second life makes the reality of a fantastical ceremony feasible for nearly every Second Life user. Generally, a typical marriage in Second Life costs no less than L$10,000 (~US$40).

When the creation and maintenance of virtual relationships in Second Life is used as an escape, as one [|BBC program] details, inevitable conflicts are created between "real" life and a person's "second" life. One user, a 37 year-old mother of four admitted spending up to 18 hours a day with her lover online on Second Life in a virtual affair. This occurs often and for many reasons. The ease of forming relationships online in comparison to those established and nurtured in person often lead to

A collection of recorded Second Life weddings can be found here.



Generally speaking, wedding ceremonies in Second life are often simple secular formalities in codifying the presence of a relationship without any of the legalities normally backing a wedding in the non-virtual world. The ease of wedding and divorce in Second Life have led to a less formal partnership and a higher rate of both.

Matchmaking & Emotional Attachment
Another industry that has sprouted within Second Life is the virtual matchmaking industry. As with wedding planning and organizing, the existence of virtual matchmaking networks such as [|Paradise Dating] located in Chalanties and groups such as Casanova's Matchmaking, which offers online seduction workshops for L$13,000 act in much the same way as their real world counterparts. Some matchmaking networks in the real world have even begun to suggest to members that they use Second Life as an analogue to chatting online or exchanging emails because of its highly interactive qualities. According to research conducted by Nick Yee, an expert on virtual reality from Stanford University 80 percent of females and 60 percent of males who play online games have engaged in flirtation. Additionally, 29 percent of females and 8 percent of males said they dated someone who they had met online. Unlike other ventures in Second Life, taking risks with emotions by entering relationships is much harder to recover from than simply rebooting. Both worlds provide avenues for heartbreak, friendship, and intimacy in much the same way. However, unlike a relationship developed over the internet through chat rooms or web cams, the framework for a relationship in Second Life is based strictly on fantasy, no matter how closely it attempts to imitate reality. The tagline "Your World. Your Imagination." typifies the nature of a users' existence on the grid in Second Life. Courtship through Second Life is similar to that of other relationships inhibited by travel and communication barriers.

Virtual Tribes
Naturally, with the desire to commit to romantically engaging virtual relationships, the logical extension of that behavior for some users is to simulate familial development. Second Life caters to this niche community through a variety of ways. Virtual adoption agencies such as the [|Kids First Adoption Agency & Maternity Clinic] located in the Pleasant Shores sim for instance provide adult avatars with aid in finding child avatars (role played by adults in the real world). This age base role playing, or age play, is inherent to recreating the family dynamic in the virtual setting. The process generally involves a short trial period for parents and adoptees to interact and later a service fee collected by the adoption agency which acts as a centralized network of child avatars and other adoption and family related services such as [|family activities]. When I interviewed Sachiko, the avatar pictured to the left, she referred to her parent avatar as her "mommy" although no other avatars were present and our discussion was generally out of character. In addition to adoption, virtual pregnancy has also become a viable option in simulating the logical endpoint of many users' outlooks on relationships within Second Life. It

A collection of recorded Second Life child births can be found here.