A playful look at human sexual desires in the future.

Human beings, especially when it comes to sex, are pretty odd creatures. Unlike a lot of other species, we are often drawn to both the common and the rare.

It’s like a certain percentage of humanity says, on an unconscious level, I’ve never seen that before… and it really turns me on!

As homo sapiens continue our evolution into homo technologicus, we might one day see the eroticization of what we now consider commonplace. But for citizens of the next century, what we currently regard as banal will be unique and exotic.

So here is a playful look at what our descendants might become—and what they may find daringly, erotically outré.

It makes you look distinguished

As the possessor of (sigh) quite a few… shall we say “facial folds,” as well as having the lack of what used to be a long mane of dark hair, it’s alluring to think that as we learn more and more about the physical aging process, that sometime in the, hopefully, near future we’ll see wrinkles and gray hair as being fascinatingly unique.

While there may not be any huge breakthroughs yet, all it takes is a glance at history to see that, as a species, our lifespans are increasing at an incredible rate. Mostly due to better care, diet, education, and exercise, we have gone from a life expectancy of mid 60s (for men) and early 70s (for women) only 50 years ago, to where we are looking at breaking the 100 year mark in only the next generation.

As we push back the human biological clock farther and farther, it’s no great stretch of imagination to envision people being drawn to the rarity of physical old age.

Those with natural signs of it could be the adult entertainment stars of this niche genre—though others may very well cosmetically adopt wrinkles, gray hair, and all the rest the same way people today get breast implants, artificial tans, colored contact lenses, and the like.

And who knows, if a certain erotic writer can hang on long enough, he may very well become an adult entertainment celebrity. A man can dream…

Cough… cough… cough…

Just as aging could be on the way out, our general health, as a species, is also improving. Sadly, a lot of this is still mostly only in the domain of so-called first world countries, but let’s stay optimistic that good health will eventually be a global human right.

As disease eventually vanishes—and, again, all it takes is a glance at history to see how fast that is approaching—it also doesn’t take a lot of speculation to see that we may have a whole subculture of illness aficionados.

There are already erotic subcultures around many medical practices. Doctors and nurses can tell you that while for some a visit to hospital is not at the top of many people’s lists, there are many who get a sexual thrill out of it: the caring, the sensations, the smells, the atmosphere, and more.

Eventually, as we get healthier and healthier, and visits to the doctor become rarer and rarer, we will more than likely see more directly erotic sexual vacations to days gone by. Perhaps skilled medical personnel will take care your real role-play medical needs—or maybe even give you a nice erotically charged illness for them to cure.

The good old days… below the waist

I’ve already chatted about the possibilities of what the genitals of the future may be like (Sex in 2115: Biohacking Bodies and Turning Ourselves into Sexual Cyborgs), so it’s not a big leap to imagine a possible society where going back to the ways things were, biologically speaking, has a huge erotic allure.

We’re seeing incredible breakthroughs in cosmetic genital surgery, and now even complete transplants, practically every year. So a ouija board isn’t needed to spell out that the next century is going to have a lot more options when it comes to our sex organs. Very soon our gender vocabulary will have to expand tremendously to encompass all the possibilities medical science will be providing.

Naturally, though, they’ll be a percentage of people who wax nostalgic for bygone eras of genitalia. We already have vintage erotica fans—life before breast implants and the like—so it’s safe to say that we’ll eventually have an expansion of that genre producing pre-upgrade erotica and playmates for those interested in trips down the sexual years.

Beep, beep: What is this thing you call … sex?

Artificial intelligence isn’t a what if but a when will. More than likely in the next few years we are going to see software getting pretty close to passing the legendary Turing test— where AIs will be almost indistinguishable from humans.

On the hardware side of things we are seeing unbelievable developments in soft robotics and other fields. So much so that we’ll soon have artificial sexual companions within the next few decades—if not sooner.

What our “plastic pals that are fun to be with” (to steal from Douglas Adams) will do to the human erotic landscape is anyone’s guess. But as a robot fetish community is with us today, it doesn’t take a huge amount of speculation to see a world where being artificial is a turn on.

Of course you’ll have many who will fetishize flesh and blood, but for these others the great turn on would be to play at being one of these manufactured beings. Beyond the gynoid fans, many find the idea of serving another sexually a huge erotic thrill. No doubt a lot of people would think the next step of playing as an erotic appliance as not just sexually thrilling but beautifully, mechanically logical.

“When you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away”

As humanity integrates itself more and more with virtual reality—right now via headsets but eventually through more direct means—the definition of what is, and isn’t, real will get fuzzier and fuzzier. Or, to use Philip K Dick’s definition: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”

Or, you may say, reality is what doesn’t go away when you unplug. I’ve already chatted a bit about the promise of erotic play using virtual and augmented reality and direct neurostimulation, but without a doubt we are looking at a no-holds-barred future where our sexual imaginations will be totally unfettered within the confines of artificial reality.

You more than likely see where this next fetish is coming from. As we sexually play more and more within our dreamlike virtual worlds, they’ll be many who want to take breaks from the illusionary, the fantastic. Maybe they will be the ones pulling off their headsets for an erotic weekend with physical partners of their choosing—or just themselves, solo. Or perhaps they’ll be get-togethers of people who erotically get off by tossing aside all but the barest of technological needs: tribes of naked people cavorting across the African plains, erotically embracing their flesh-and-blood humanity.

In the end

All this is guesswork, naturally; some fun what ifs. But one thing we do know for certain is that human beings can be delightfully diverse when it comes to sex. Some may be fine and dandy with what the culture surrounding them considers erotic, but there will always be a lively number of people who find pleasure in all kinds of imaginative and unexpected ways.

Let’s just hope that we achieve sexual enlightenment to go with our technological wonders—and embrace the lovely maxim of the BDSM/Power Exchange community: that if it is done safely, sanely, and consensually, then have a good time!

Image sources: Jundy Tiu, Geoff Stearns