We no longer require a partner to live comfortably in Western culture.
Women are no longer dependent on a man for income, and men are no longer dependent on a woman to run a household or raise a family. In fact, women are no longer dependant on men at all, and vice versa. All the traditional relationship models have been suspended. Need, whether we like it or not, accounted for a substantial amount of the glue that kept couples together in decades past.
Since we spend lots of time on social media observing what appears to be other people’s amazing romances, expectations for our own relationships are higher than ever. It’s not adequate to just be “satisfied” with your partner. We want perfection from ourselves and our lovers. Women should be intelligent, sexy, and great lovers who are willing to participate sexually like the stars of porn movies. Men should be emotionally sensitive but still productive financially, great parents, and confident sex partners.
Few of us can actually live up to these expectations. We are constantly letting ourselves and our partners down. We may have a harder time now finding a relationship, but it’s easier than ever to find alternative partners for hook-ups or an affair. There are just so many apps and websites geared just for that purpose. The world is now filled with potential sex partners in a way we have never before, in the history of humankind, experienced.
So, while most of us agree that our sociocultural evolution is progressive and constructive, these changes have brought new challenges to conventional romance. People are having less sex than they used to, and rates of sexual concerns and dysfunctions remain quite high. And then, thanks to companies like LELO, there are sex robots.
Kind of.
Most experts agree that humanoid sex robots of one kind or another will be on the scene within two to five decades. More sophisticated than those available now, they will move, look and talk more like a human. And even before sex robots become an affordable alternative to a human partner, sex tech – such as VR porn – is already changing the way people get their sexual needs met.
Advancements in sex tech offer benefits for many – people without sex partners can enjoy the experience of a creative and varied sex life, and couples can amp up their sexual repertoires by incorporating sex tech into their love lives. But we probably want to go forth into our intimate future with a little more awareness of what’s unfolding. Technology interfaces all aspects of our lives, changing the way we eat, communicate, travel, and even have sex.
Sooner than we may expect, sex robots will be capable of meeting people’s sexual needs – for better and for worse. So, as any sex writer worth their salt would suggest, let’s discuss it!
Communication is key. We have the power to utilize sex tech in ways that enhance our intimate relationships – or detract from them. Now is the time for us to begin a dialogue about how we want the intimate relationships of our future to look and feel. Our love and vulnerability, and our ability to give and receive love all become only more critical as technology advances. Let’s capitalize on the best of our humanness and co-create the future of intimacy.