Back in December, Keanu Reeves was interviewed by The Verge to discuss the coming launch of The Matrix Awakens with Epic Games. It wasn’t long before the reporter brought up gamers wanting to have sex with Reeve’s avatar in his last project – Cyberpunk 2077.
Reeves, thinking about it, got animated, his eyes going wide: “Oh my God, it’s always nice when it’s nice. Think of how much money is in porn, right? So, you could not even have to be there, and people could have digital sex with your digital avatar… Oh my god, and then you get the suit that’s probably made in Sweden or some German thing. Oh my god, and then you’ve got the VR thing… Oh my god, and then they’ve got the data on you, with your arousal metrics.”
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
For the man who played a character that questioned what is real and what is illusion to viewers 22 years ago in The Matrix, it was a strange twist for him to confront how far technology has come and how the metaverse could be used for sex. Just watching him go down the rabbit hole and get excited about it gives you a glimmer of hope that the adult industry will become more accepted once sex goes mainstream in the metaverse.
According to Innov8tiv, it’s not just a glimmer of a hope, it’s a very real possibility. The online publication broke down several reasons why – the most compelling being the ability to use VR to help couples enjoy and explore their sexuality. Because porn has typically been behind closed doors with one partner hiding it from the other, it has carried a stigma. With sex in the metaverse couples can try new things, learn what they like and what they don’t and enjoy fantasies together instead of apart. This could make the relationship better vs. “drive a wedge” between them like traditional porn.
Other thoughts included affordable technology – as it becomes cheaper to make, you can reach larger audiences with content that speaks to different niches, an increased base – because users are in control of the experience, they’ll be part of the world not outside of it as some groups currently feel about pornography, and the chance to use VR for sex education. Dazed Digital spoke with sex tech researcher Bryony Cole: “Because the topic of sex is still so stigmatized, the combined anonymity and intimacy of virtual worlds makes it an ideal platform for education and health topics to thrive.”
Always an early adopter, the adult industry of course is no stranger to VR. Many creators already incorporate the use of the technology into their content or products. Ela Darling, a VR porn star and cam girl based in Los Angeles, told Dazed that she discovered it at a trade show back in 2013 and has been using it ever since. Another company Vibease focusing on Teledildonic products talked about how the pandemic saw their sales for their product go up 50%. Still there are hurdles to overcome, Cindy Gallop, founder of MakeLoveNotPorn disagreed with innov8tiv’s assessment that the technology is affordable. She said it’s still out of reach for the adult industry due to the difficulty of finding investors and companies in tech who are willing to collaborate.
Regardless, the fact that the adult industry is already developing interactive experiences just puts them ahead of the curve when it becomes commonplace. VR could be a real bridge to changing minds about pornography and who better to get the world thinking about it than Keanu Reeves who is respected by millions around the world.
