Masturbating to Remain (Close to) the Same: Sexually Explicit Media as Habitual Media

Abstract

This short commentary surveys the state of sex and leisure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it focuses on sexually explicit media and other forms of digitally mediated sex that have received increasing media attention during the pandemic. Though much of this media appears to be new or novel, drawing on the work by Wendy Chun (Updating to remain the same: Habitual new media, MIT Press; 2016), I argue that this sexually explicit media has become habitual media during the COVID-19 pandemic, and helps produce feelings of closeness and sameness during isolation.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• digital media
• masturbation
• pornography
• sex
• sexuality explicit material
• social media