Sexuality! This fundamental element of human existence, identity, and creativity, once expressed in ancient caves and through the pen of Vatsyayana, was confined within four walls. Why did it need to be confined? Because the surrounding institutions of society, religion, and political authority attempted to control it. Upon deep reflection, one realizes that sexuality is a complex mix of natural physical drives related to sexual attraction, pleasure, intimacy, and reproduction, intertwined with emotional desires, social behavior, identity, and cultural meanings. It is influenced by biology, psychology, culture, politics, and power, encompassing how an individual experiences and expresses themselves as a sexual being.
Political authority derives its power from sexuality to determine the citizens and heirs of tomorrow. It defines the moral order of society and also provides gender-based identities. Why have all religions opposed homosexuality? A simple answer is: if same-sex marriages become normal, how will future citizens and heirs to wealth be produced? Anyway… Over time, sexuality also acquired an economic dimension. And now, in the era of social media, algorithms, and AI, this supposedly personal sexuality has exploded into the open. What is abstract in your mind goes to the algorithm in the form of raw material for processing; after which, the algorithm starts determining your preferences. Today, while communicating on platforms like Instagram, the algorithm gets an inkling that tender feelings are developing for someone before the user does, and their feed gets filled with similar Reels. Pornographic videos are easily available in the age of the internet. Dating apps have become a normal part of urban lifestyle. Sexuality is taking new shapes in this changing era. This is a brief discussion on the effects of the digital age on our concepts of sexuality, its constraints, and its socio-economic-political entanglements!
The French philosopher Michel Foucault, in his revolutionary 1976 work The History of Sexuality, provided a comprehensive overview of sexuality. Contrary to the prevailing notion that the state tries to repress sexuality and confine it to bedrooms, Foucault argued that the state does not repress sexuality but rather regulates it so that it finds an outlet through state-sanctioned methods. According to him, the confessions given in church were a way to collect information about citizens’ sexuality. Over time, this information gathering shifted from the church to psychiatrists, doctors, and courts. An expert or an authority figure prompted the individual to articulate their innermost desires, thoughts, and fantasies in ever-finer detail. This process did two crucial things: First, it turned the individual’s sexuality into “knowledge” about the self—something that could be analyzed and classified. Second, it subjected the individual to a new form of control based on self-regulation and self-scrutiny. Foucault termed this power Biopower—a form of authority that governs people’s bodies and desires.
Algorithms and Sexuality
In the digital age, the process of confession appears in its most effective and pervasive form. Dating apps, social media, and even pornography platforms have become the new confession centers of the 21st century. There is no need for a church priest or a psychotherapist to prompt people to talk; users are subtly leaving traces about their sexuality through their speech, and often through their non-speech. A ‘like’ on a photo, a message sent at a specific time at night, or a filter used to select a potential partner—each of these actions transforms the complex, ever-changing, and often confusing emotions in our minds into simple, machine-readable data. Our sexual ‘truth’ is constantly being produced through this, which we reveal not to any human, but to that silent, ever-watchful algorithm. The purpose of collecting this vast data of our desires through algorithms is not to make a moral judgment or provide spiritual salvation, but purely to control our lives for profit. This information is used to steer our behavior in a way that maximizes the company’s gain. Keeping us engaged on the app for longer, encouraging us to renew subscriptions, and showing us hyper-targeted ads for everything from restaurants to political campaigns—these are not the innocent faces of the algorithm but the ogre of commercialization.
Furthering this analysis, the thinker Herbert Marcuse analyzed a paradox, which he called ‘repressive desublimation’. This paradox is seen in societies that appear sexually free on the surface, but where sexuality is actually used to sustain exploitative systems. In the Indian context, it seems that platforms like dating apps or Shaadi.com allow youth to break free from the shackles of the past and choose a partner according to their wishes. However, analysis ultimately reveals that under the guise of this freedom, algorithms are strengthening existing discriminations of caste, religion, and class. Since these algorithms often operate without considering context, certain groups end up paying the price for their erroneous decisions. There have been instances where advertisements providing information about breast cancer were mistaken for pornography and removed from social media. Similarly, photographs of dark-skinned women are all too easily classified as ‘obscene’ by algorithms.
Political Consequences
Well, the geopolitical echoes of this sexuality have also emerged! In the United States, the ownership rights of Grindr, a dating app for gay men, were with a Chinese company. In 2019, US national security officials demanded the sale of the app. They feared that highly sensitive user information (sexual orientation, location, and even HIV status) could fall into the hands of a foreign power. Under pressure from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), China’s Kunlun Tech company agreed to sell Grindr by 2020. This is a rare example of how information about a person’s sexuality can become a matter of national security!
The creation of fake pornographic videos using AI to defame women has become a common crime. To curb this, the Trump administration passed the ‘Take It Down’ law in April 2025, which will make it mandatory for social media platforms to remove non-consensually produced pornographic content within 48 hours. OnlyFans, a platform famous for adult content, has an annual revenue of around $1 billion and a user base in the range of 40 million. The Reuters news agency conducted a major report analyzing this platform. Despite transactions worth billions of dollars, the livelihoods of its content creators depend on the political winds. In 2021, financial service providers like Visa and Mastercard expressed reluctance to service pornographic content. This event was seen as a warning bell for the industry, given its dependence on these online service providers. It also marked the beginning of polarization in financial services. Consequently, these content creators launched a global online campaign on social media. Social media became the new epicenter of activism for sex workers.
As the renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud said, “Sexuality is not limited to mere individual desires and aspirations. It is a factor that shapes personality, creativity, and indeed, civilization itself.” It is impossible that a state, which pays attention to the tender for a gutter in a ward’s corner, would neglect such a major factor, considering it a private matter! However, it is certain that the bloated algorithm has become obsessed with excavating our most sensitive matters, and in doing so, has brought socio-economic-political insecurity to the forefront!