Sex and Consumerism Essay - 1606 Words

My generation, specifically Generation Y, has grown up with computers. Whether it was DOS or Windows or Macintosh, my peers have a knack for the virtual interface. Our parents and grandparents do not understand it. They fumble uncomfortably with their cell phones and become frustrated by the oncoming new media of video games (especially when my brothers and I would rather play Halo 3 than Pac-Man with my dad). Whereas we effortlessly communicate with each other like each button is an extra organic limb on our body. It is as if technology was in our blood, but not theirs. However, having a life with technology is much different than having a life in technology. Once upon a time it was sitting in front of N64 playing Golden Eye with four†¦show more content†¦This genre began with the board game Dungeons and Dragons and moved into online games such as MUD1 in the 1980s (Lastowka and Hunter 17 – 18). There is very little difference to what we know as reality and these virtual â€Å"games.† Yet, my curiosity does not lie in the â€Å"game† itself or its appearance as a virtual reality, instead I will emphasize the themes that I see prevalent in a MMORPG as they refer to consumerism, specifically Second Life, and compare its dynamic to the â€Å"Tupperware-style sex toy party† (an observation Deborah Curtis made in her â€Å"Commodities and Sexual Subjectivities: A Look at Capitalism and Its Desires†). Obviously, this appears a strange task, but it is in this juxtaposition that we will be able to identify desires of our society, particularly sex and commodities. Fostered in certain dynamics, both these instances, the sex toy part and the MMORPG, allow individuals to express themselves by means of their desirous self (a term that later withholds a much greater social meaning). We attempt to find satisfaction by means of carnal vehicles. That is to say, much of our consumption, online and physically, can be categorized within these two possibilities. Furthermore, Second Life extends the sex toy party by administering romance and mystery creating a type of utopian commercial arena that says a few more things about Generation Y than just stating the obvious (i.e. we enjoy sitting behind a computerShow MoreRelatedThe Brave New World by Aldous Huxley1054 Words   |  4 Pagesthe conditioning of babies with electrical shocks soon after their birth. While the government allows and advocates open sex, they refuse people from forming a close relationship with one partner. Emotions are portrayed to s how weakness. The idea of forming relationships and families in the World State is found to be outrageous and immoral in order to keep the notion of consumerism moving and achieve economic prosperity. 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