New Spins on the Oldest Profession: Imagining Sexwork’s Wild Future

Virtual encounters, aphrodisiac mixers, sexbot modders, and more!

From the dawn of recorded history, if not earlier, people have exchanged goods and services for certain, shall we say, intimate activities.

But as our society continues to evolve, so too will what we’re willing to pay for—and how sexworkers might adapt to meet our sexual interests.  

In that spirit, let’s speculate on what sexwork might be like in the next few decades and consider how the world’s oldest profession might help meet our personal desires but also lead human sexuality into a new golden age.

Mixed Reality Experiences

As the COVID pandemic demonstrated, much of what we thought had to be done in person can instead be handled remotely.

So why shouldn’t the same be true with providing and enjoying sexual activities?  Various aspects of teledildonic sexwork are already here, evidenced by the monumental rise of camming platforms, with shows sometimes featuring interactive smart sextoys. For an extra charge, of course.

As the equally impressive growth of the virtual reality adult entertainment industry has taught us, not forgetting the promise of augmented reality led by Apple’s Vision Pro headset, we could soon see the emergence of a whole new VR/AR sexwork industry.

Eventually, it might include AI-generated environments, allowing professionals to wear any number of customized digital skins to disguise their actual appearance or allow clients to play with whoever/whatever they want.

Neuro Chemists And Pheromone Wizards

Though the science isn’t quite here yet, there’s still the possibility we may shortly be able to concoct personalized, DNA-specific, sexuality-enhancing medications or arousing new pheromone-based perfumes.

Or they might supply performance enhancers for their clientele: just pop one of their wizardly neurochemical pills, specifically formulated to work your unique biochemistry, and, viola, your mind and body will be up for any sexual tasks you can imagine

All of which may see the rise of an entirely new branch of the sexwork industry, occupied by erotic artisans who, for a price, will whip up non-toxic, 21st-century versions of love—or lust—potions.

Genitalia Sculptors

The name pretty much says it all.  Getting closer and closer to cracking our genetic code also means we’ll sooner than later gain the ability to alter our bodies, including but not limited to our primary and secondary sexual characteristics.

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Sure, you can design your own, but why not consult with a professional, someone who earns their, no doubt quite considerable living, giving their clients the genitals of their dreams? Who knows, they might become something akin to today’s celebrity fashion designers, with their customers proudly showing their new equipment on tomorrow’s social media—especially the hottest-of-the-hot’s miniature logo.

Erotic Chatbot Trainers

Most of us are by now pretty familiar with how erotic chatbots work, that you need to spend no small amount of time teaching them how to hit your most arousing buttons. 

But why do it yourself when you can hire someone to do it for you?  Just tell them what you want your chatbot to be like—personality, appearance, sexual interests, kinks, and so forth—and your professional chatbot trainer will take care of it.

Or they might have a catalog of uniquely trained personalities, most of which the companies who manufactured the base model would or, due to their industry or governmental regulations, couldn’t create.

Sextech/Artificial Companion Modders 

As pleasure devices get increasingly smarter, we’ll probably see the emergence of sextech black markets. In these virtual bazaars, uniquely skilled sexworkers would adjust, modify, reprogram, or otherwise modify your sextoys to your heart’s—or other body parts’—desires.  

The same might also be true for your off-the-shelf artificial companion, that rather than paying the manufacturer for a customized plastic playmate, we’d instead enter into a financial arrangement with a combination artist, engineer, programmer, and sexual therapist who—for much less than the manufacturer would charge and with far greater options—do it for you.

If you think this is a bit too out there, remember many of today’s products, from Nerf blasters to computers, cars to Ikea furniture, already have extremely active modding communities. Hence, it’s not a huge leap to imagine we’ll see the same for sextoys and artificial companions.

Sexual Persona Sellers

We’re all familiar with identity theft, but what if I told you there might come a time when people sell themselves?  

Not as in physical sexwork but by creating and packaging a fully-fledged, adult entertainment persona and then offering it to the highest bidder?

It begins by generating a lot, and I mean a lot, of explicit materials: picture after picture, video after video, along with training an erotic chatbot to mimic your carefully constructed stage-persona, rounding up with some artificial intelligent tweaking to disguise your true identity and generate even more adult content.

Why go through all this trouble? After getting paid for your artificial persona, you can kick back and relax—or, if you want, create another one to sell.

Some things never change—but a lot should

Fun though it is to imagine sexwork in the not-too-distant future, the most profound change, the most needed since the first person was paid for sex, shouldn’t be technological but a complete and total change in how sexwork and sexworkers are treated by the law—and from that, society.

Decriminalization would allow anyone, as long as they are old enough to consent, to engage in sexwork, a frequently dangerous occupation, without fearing imprisonment or violence.

Support would optimistically change our attitudes towards sexwork.  By treating sexworkers with kindness, understanding, and respect, we’ll grow to accept sex is an important part of life and there’s nothing wrong with paying for it or willingly providing it. 

Consent is what I mean by willingly, for the only crime in sexwork is when a person is emotionally, physically, or financially forced to engage in it.  Otherwise, it is—or should be—a conscious decision.

We earnestly hope the future will be bright for sexworkers everywhere, but only if we make it so: by decriminalizing it, supporting those engaged in it, enforcing consensuality, and accepting the world’s oldest profession isn’t wrong, immoral, or unlawful but has been and will continue to be part of human society.

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