Date of Award

8-2012

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Mass Communications

Advisor(s)

Pamela J. Shoemaker

Keywords

Convergence, Technosexuality

Subject Categories

Mass Communication

Abstract

Convergence refers to a phenomenon where multiple communication technologies are integrated into a single device. Technosexuality proposes a convergence between sexuality as a social phenomenon and technologically mediated modes of interpersonal communication and sexual information consumption. The findings of this study indicate that though there is not a complete convergence between technology and sexuality, there nonetheless exists a relationship between the two constructs. Consistent with extant literature about computer-mediated sexuality, the technosexual behaviors in this study were organized primarily by arousal type; however, subsequent degrees of classification suggest that technology also plays a decisive role in the ways in which behaviors are adopted and enacted. This study also focuses on same-gender sexuality as it relates to expressions of technosexuality as well as the ways in which same-gender sexual identity, behavior, and desire are classically operationalized and empirically measured. Findings suggest that though queer persons--and gay, queer, and bisexual men in particular--participate in technosexual behaviors more frequently than their straight counterparts, same-gender sexuality has an indirect effect on technosexual participation and is mediated by primarily by the construct of deviance.

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Open Access

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