Based on the theory of social construction of love and sexuality, this project uses a sexually explicit computer bulletin board (BBS) named Pleasure Pit as the source for contacting individuals who combine their technological computer abilities with their sexual desires. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to examine how and why individuals participate in sexually explicit computer bulletin boards; and to see if sex on-line is a way of replacing face-to-face relationships or a way of enhancing them. Specifically, this project focuses on how one sexually explicit BBS operates, what types of people use this BBS, what kinds of activities are available for the participants, why individuals participate in sex on-line and how those sexual behaviors are accomplished without face-to-face interaction. The findings suggest that individuals get to know each other much better, quicker, and based on different characteristics than those in face-to-face relationships. Similarly, the computer BBS has worked as a way of enhancing the face-to-face relationships rather than replacing them.
Adamse, Michael
and Motta, Sheree (1996) Online Friendship, Chat-Room Romance and Cybersex. Deerfield Beach, CA: Health Communications.
2.
Allen, G.
(1992) `Social Structure and Relationships', in Peter Nardi (ed.) Men's Friendships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
3.
Anonymous
(1997a) `Internet Sex Sells', Computerworld31(9): 59.
4.
Anonymous
(1997b) `Users Admit to Spending Three or More Hours a Week Online', Emedia Professional10(2): 25.
5.
Benjamin, Jessica
(1983) `Master and Slave: The Fantasy of Erotic Domination', in Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell and Sharon Thompson (eds) Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, pp. 280-299. New York: Monthly Review Press.
6.
Berg, Bruce
(1998) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
7.
Bloom, H.
(1995) `Love With the Proper Stranger: Wrapped in the Cloak of Anonymity, People Bare More Than Just Their Souls', in Net Guide: The Guide to the Internet and On-line Services, pp. 24-26. New York: Random House Electronic Publishing.
8.
Bright, Susie
(1992) Susie Bright's Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader. California: Cleis Press.
9.
Brophy, Beth
(1997) `Saturday Night and You're all Alone? Maybe You Need a Cyberdate', U.S. News & World Report122(6): 60-62.
10.
Cameron, Catherine
, Oskamp, Stuart and Sparks, William (1977) `Courtship American Style: Newspaper Ads', Family Coordinator26(1): 27-30.
11.
Cancian, Francesca
(1989) `Love and the Rise of Capitalism', in Barbara Risman and Pepper Schwartz (eds) Gender in Intimate Relations: A Microstructural Approach, pp. 12-25. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
12.
Childs, Matthew
(1994) `Lust Online', Playboy (April): 94-96, 152-153.
13.
Constable, George
(1990) Understanding Computers. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books.
14.
Culbert, Samual Alan
(1968) The Interpersonal Process of Self-Disclosure: It Takes Two to See One. New York: Renaissance Editions.
15.
D'Emillio, John
and Freedman, Estelle (1988) Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America. New York: Harper & Row.
16.
Dindia, Kathryn
and Canary, Daniel (1993) `Definitions and Theoretical Perspectives on Maintaining Relationships', Journal of Social and Personal Relationships10(2): 163-173.
17.
Edwards, Cliff
(1994) `Computer Dating: New Bar Scene In Your Own Home', Santa Barbara News Press (23 Jan.): D4.
18.
Elmer-Dewitt, Phillip
(1995) `On a Screen Near You: Cyberporn', Time (3 July): 38-45.
19.
Gagnon, John
and Simon, William (1973) Sexual Conduct. Chicago, IL: Aldine.
20.
Gagnon, John
and Simon, William (1987) `The Sexual Scripting of Oral Genital Contacts', Archives of Sexual Behavior16(1): 1-25.
21.
Giddens, Anthony
(1990) The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
22.
Giddens, Anthony
(1992) The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love & Eroticism in Modern Societies. Cambridge: Polity Press.
23.
Goffman, Erving
(1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.
24.
Goffman, Erving
(1963) Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
25.
Goldstein, Al
(1996) `Cybersex Leaves Me Limp', Forbes158(13): 104-107.
26.
Hamman, R. B. (1996a) `Cyborgasms: Cybersex Amongst Multiple-Selves and Cyborgs in the Narrow-Bandwidth Space of America Online Chat Rooms', unpublished MA Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Essex.
27.
Hamman, R. B.
(1996b) `The Role of Fantasy in the Construction of the Online Other: A Selection of Interviews and Participant Observations From Cyberspace', [Online]: http://www.socio.demon.co.uk/fantasy.html.
28.
Harmon, Amy
(1993) `The “Seedy” Side of CD-Roms', Los Angeles Times (29 Nov.): A1, A26-A27.
29.
Hinde, Robert
(1979) Towards Understanding Relationships. London: Academic Press.
Marx, Gary
(1994) `Fragmentation and Cohesion in American Society', in Russell Dynes and Kathleen Tierney (eds) Disasters, Collective Behavior, and Social Organization. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press.
37.
Michael, Robert
, Gagnon, John, Laumann, Edward and Kolata, Gina (1994) Sex in America: A Definitive Survey. New York: Warner Books.
Turkle, Sherry
(1995) Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster.
52.
Van Dijk, Jan
(1993) `Communication Networks and Modernization', Communication Research20(3): 384-407.
53.
Wysocki, Diane Kholos (1996) `Somewhere Over the Modem: Interpersonal Relationships Over Computer Bulletin Boards', unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Santa Barbara.
