‘Would you have sex with a robot?’: Mental health, human rights & the future

Would you have sex with a robot? This is a question that both fascinates and repels. In 2011, a paper co-authored with renowned futurist Ian Yeoman, Robots, Men & Sex Tourism became the most downloaded article in the Futures journal causing a stir of media interest worldwide. Dystopian responses such as the perpetuation of the historical commodification of female sexuality and child sexual abuse and more optimistic questions around possibilities for new experience and pleasure ensued.

This paper explores the idea that, in the context of our increasingly intimate connection with technology, a human rights framework is necessary but not sufficient to promote transformative gender and sexuality. The right to be free from coercion, discrimination and violence impacts mental health positively. At the same time technology opens the door to liminal experience, sexual and gender expression and personal development. Yet mental health outcomes for sexual and gender minorities remain inequitable globally, even in countries where gender and sexual possibilities can be freely and privately enjoyed in a digital environment.

Keywords: Gender & sexuality, mental health

Themes: Gender/Sexuality and Technology, Sociology of Gender/Sexuality, Gender, Sexuality and Society