ECO-INTIME

The Economy of Sex and Intimacy on the Internet
The ECO-INTIME research project is granted by a 18-month IDEX-IRS grant (ANR-15-IDEX-02). It aims at filling a gap in research on the economy of sex and intimacy on the Internet. Actually, sex markets and the economy of intimate life are still rather little studied, despite the key role played by sexuality in the functioning of contemporary capitalist societies and the profits that the economy of sex and intimacy generate. In addition, digital technologies have profoundly transformed the functioning of the economy of sex and intimacy, but the effects of these technologies have been little researched. The ECO-INTIME research project analyzes the economy of sex and intimacy on the Internet as any other for-profit business. Thus, we take seriously all material devices, valuation processes and work activities that contribute to this economic sector. More specifically, the research aims at exploring the online sex business (based either on Internet websites or social networks) and at mapping these digital spaces in order to analyze the logics and dynamics of these markets.
Published on October 17, 2019