Online sex shops: Phenomenological, psychological, and ideological perspectives on Internet sexuality

Explosive growth in access to the Internet has created an unprecedented opportunity for the general public to acquire explicit erotic texts, images, services, and merchandise, but psychological scientists have not conceptualized antecedents or consequences of contact with Internet sexuality or conducted a significant amount of empirical research on these issues. The current analysis uses Internet sex shop sites as a case example of Internet sexuality, and offers a phenomenological exploration of the world of Internet sex shop sites, conceptualizes antecedents and consequeces of use of Internet sex shop sites from the perspective of the Sexual Behavior Sequence, and suggests a conceptually based agenda for future empirical research in this area. Discussion concludes with consideration of ideological aspects of research on Internet sex shop sites and Internet sexuality broadly conceived.