Teledildonic Developments
Emerging technologies of "teledildonics" was one area I've looked into in the past, but left out of my Sex and the Internet piece. While there are some pretty neat technologies coming onto the market - in my estimation it's sort of beside the point. After all, the primary sexual organ is the one between the ears, not the one between the legs. Since text is the primary medium for intimacy, the impersonal nature of the medium actually makes it possible to be far more personal than in a face-to-face encounter. It's the pure emotionality that is unique - not the mechanics of getting your rocks off.
But nevertheless, innovation marches on...
The "killer app" in the near term would be if the following two devices were wired together:
First, you take the internet-enabled remote control device technology - RemoteControl Sex.
Second, you use the following types of electro-stimulation devices as the "output" - PES-Electro.
Voila! While some cyber chatters, and perhaps long-distance relationship people would use such a thing, I think the real application would be for the commercial sex websites. They already have Web Cam girls chatting online...having one of them riding the controls of one of these devices for the benefit of their devoted fans would be pretty damn popular.
Boy's Movement
Earlier in the week I had the pleasure of reading Susan Faludi's Stiffed, and Kindlon & Thompson's Raising Cain The following is the short piece I banged out:
Trend: the emerging Boys Movement will form the foundation of a reformed masculine ideal for the Information-Age economy.
In the wake of the heavily publicized spree killings in Littleton, Colorado there is an ongoing shift in public attention towards the concerns of adolescent males and the way in which the socialization process exacerbates their problems. A measure of this shift in emphasis is that books addressing the inner emotional life of boys have emerged on the best-seller lists. Garbarino's book, Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, sold out immediately in its first printing in April. Likewise, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, by Kindlon and Thompson, immediately hit the bestseller list and sold out after its April release. And Pollack's book, Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood topped the nation's list of paperback bestsellers.
The new focus on boyhood is definite break from previous attempts to reassess masculine identity. Whether the "sensitive man" of the 1970's, readers of Iron John male-bonding in the woods, or the teary emotional release of a Promise Keeper rally, prior reformers of the masculine identity focused on adult men. The rise of the "Boys Movement" reflects the decline of the conventional wisdom that unwanted male behavior is due to genetic determinism - a matter of "too much testosterone." A more sophisticated model of emotional mis-education as the primary factor in male dysfunction is beginning to emerge.
Under the framework of this model, male mis-education is a systemic problem that comes from a variety of sources. The media inundates boys with violent action heroes that portray a hyper-masculine vision of manhood. Parents invalidate emotional vulnerability by urging boys to be tough and strong. The educational system treats rambunctious and energetic boys as a problem to be solved through harsh discipline or medications like Ritalin. Hazing and bullying by peers often reinforces emotional isolation by forcing boys to choose between close friends or peer acceptance. Proponents of this new model of male development advocate an enriched emotional life for boys, one in which the emotional needs of boys are validated and supported though our educational institutions.
The emotional mis-education model of male development should continue to gain in popularity because of the ongoing disputes over what constitutes authentic adult masculinity. The construction of manhood in the industrial era was primarily utilitarian - men could derive a certain measure of satisfaction and accomplishment by simply performing a job well and being a breadwinner for a family. However, with the decline of industrialism and the emergence of the information age, our culture has become transformed into what Susan Faludi in Stiffed calls an ornamental culture.
"In a culture of ornament...manhood is defined by appearance, by youth, and attractiveness, by money and aggression, by posture and swagger, and "props," by the curled lip and petulant swagger and flexed biceps, by the glamour of the cover-boy, and by the market-bartered "individuality" that sets one astronaut or athlete or gangster above any other.": (p. 39)
Contemporary men are losing the traditional societal structures that once rewarded them for their work, loyalty, or dedication. In our increasingly ornamental culture, success often goes to the talented, the attractive, the lucky - to the men with the quick wit and stylish appearance that will keep them one step ahead of the competition. The hard-working but unsuccessful men who lose out because of this societal change are finding that the dislocation is not just economically painful, but it strikes at the core of their masculine identity. The traditional mythologies of manhood are proving to be a burden in the ornamental culture of the New Economy. The emotionally integrated vision of manhood that is being promoted by the Boys Movement will play an important role in the creation of a masculine ideal that will serve the needs of men in the 21st century.
It's my first shot at the Gee-Whizzy consulant-speak, but after a bit of writers block I began to get the hang of it. It'll be a while until I reach the depths of RealTrendyness like Faith Popcorn, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing...
Boy's Movement Reactions:
1) The relationship between male identity and the New Economy seems pretty darned important. The new Winner-take-all economic structure that is in the process of being created is going to need a new masculine identity to go with it. The ethos of loyalty, dedication, and craftsmanship that could give men pride even if they didn't make tons of money isn't going to cut in an economy where many of them are going to wind up as assistant managers at the local Wal-Mart.
2) While the emotional mis-education of boys argument is a good one, in a sense the Boys Movement really boils down to a "feminization" of boys. This may be absolutely necessary given the economic structures that are emerging, but the proponents don't really want to label it in this way. What I find interesting is that as girls get masculinized and boys are getting feminized, it would seem that we are approaching a Unisex model for child rearing, where at least the ideal for relating to others is the same for both sexes.
3) Until this new male identity comes into being, there are going to many men who have a crisis of identity from economic dislocations. God forbid the Bubble pops on Wall Street, and we start to slide into a recession. There is a good argument to be made that the rise of Militia's a few years ago was directly related to decline of the family farm due to the forces of Globalization. Judging by the "Battle of Seattle" the forces of Populism really seem to be on the rise, even in the midst of an unprecedented boom. Should the boom reverse itself, the millions of men that will become angry "failures" under traditional notions of masculinity may turn to charismatic populist leaders to channel their anger.
The "Battle of Seattle"
You well know that the realignment of the left and the right due to a coming economic dislocation is one of my pet hobbyhorses, so it was nice to see Buchanan, the environmentalists and the trade unions together in the streets of Seattle.
Whoever is holding this tenuous coalition together is doing a damn fine job. The environmental and labor people seem to want a stronger role for the WTO internationally, so it can impose Western environmental and labor standards in developing nations. On the other hand, the Protectionists want a weaker role for the WTO, because its kinds of trade agreements cause the US to lose manufacturing jobs. I guess like any big-tent coalition they'll just wait to duke it out until later, but it still seems pretty shaky.
Maybe it's my Contrarian nature, but I get the feeling that economic Globalization just got gut-shot in Seattle. It might stagger around for a while, but the hemorrhaging has just begun.
One reason for thinking this heresy is a recent article on Stratfor. They argue that the Global economy has become de-sychronized, most notably with Asia hitting the skids as the US booms. I'll quote part of their synopsis for your benefit:
Its failure is rooted in the fundamental reality of today's global economy: de-synchronization of regions of roughly equal bulk. Ever since the Asian meltdown, the world's economic regions have been completely out of synch. Indeed, individual nations within regions are out of synch. That means that the creation of integrated economic policies is impossible. What helps one region hurts others. Thus, organizations like the WTO cannot function. Instead, regional institutions are emerging. They, too, face conflict among constituent nations, but are more likely to create coherent and beneficial policies for their regions. This points to increased tension among and within regions. Such de-synchronization has been seen in the past. It is, over the course of a generation, a warning of the potential for serious international conflict.
I ought to sit down and put something together on Sovereignty vs. Globalism, but alas, this is not the week...
Also, I was pretty appalled by the TV media coverage. No Nightline segment? Limited live coverage on the news channels? I mean, these are the same guys that will cover an LA car chase in the hopes for some juicy snuff footage. An American city under martial law isn't newsworthy enough? I can understand why they would sensationalize things by ignoring the peaceful marches and recycling the footage of the vandalism, but why they didn't pull out the stops in their coverage is pretty perplexing. I guess I'm going to have to actually read Manufacturing Consent now.
Written by Mark Justman Copyright 1999 Posted 12/03/99 http://go.to/futureplex
