So, for anybody not familiar, Rule #34 of the internet is that “if it exists, there is porn of it.” The articles for this week demonstrated an interesting example of that phenomenon, and the internet seems to be the catalyst that lets this exist.
As we have mentioned before, subcultures thrive on the internet because it unites people who are otherwise divided. It takes surprisingly few people to create an active subculture, but without the web, it is unlikely those people would ever meet. Sexual subcultures are an even more extreme example, as it is very unlikely that people will mention even fairly tame sexual fantasies in passing conversation. The internet, however, strips away both social constraints around these issues via anonymity and the physical boundaries that divide people who share an interest in them.