Gender and sexuality in the Internet era

This chapter discusses dominant and alternative representations of sexuality as they have evolved along with the development of new media forms and settings of communication. More specifically, the chapter explores how the Internet portrays gender roles and stereotypes of sexuality in biological and social terms; which sexual stories are told and retold by the Internet, and in what ways; and whether Internet representations of sexuality produce differences in individual and social sexual values and practices as well as in broader conceptions of gender and gendered roles. The chapter attempts to answer these questions through content analysis of sexuality-related Internet sites and with reference to Internet representations of gender and sexuality. The chapter reaches conclusions about whether previously marginalized sexualities appear on the Internet, and whether myths of sexuality, race, and male dominance are reproduced online. In terms of its implications, it poses questions with respect to whether patriarchalism has actually died; the extent to which new media and Internet representations of sexuality have inaugurated a time of rising change; and whether this change reflects feminist ideas or new forms of the subordination of women’s sexuality