Embodiment, Relationships, and Sexuality: An Ethical Analysis of Extended Reality Technologies
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11948_2025_Article_563.pdf
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1.15 MB
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Adobe PDF
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cb0b92efc5e15b3c854e0d7452b72771
Author(s)
Ramirez, Erick J.
Clark, Laura
Campbell, Sydney
Dreiman, Julian
Clay, Dorian
Gupta, Raghav
Jennett, Shelby
Date Issued
November 14, 2025
Journal
Science and Engineering Ethics
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Citation
Ramirez, E.J., Clark, L., Campbell, S. et al. Embodiment, Relationships, and Sexuality: An Ethical Analysis of Extended Reality Technologies. Sci Eng Ethics 31, 38 (2025).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Abstract Communication technologies change the way we relate to each other and ourselves. In this essay we analyze the effects that extended reality (XR) technologies are likely to have on conceptions of the self, romantic relationships, and other associated concepts like sexual orientation. While these technologies are in their infancy, key psychological and philosophical concepts are already being explored. We begin by defining extended reality and the family of technologies that make it possible. We pay special attention to the way these immersive technologies ground the experiences of presence which can become virtually real. These experiences provide a useful framework for understanding the phenomena of XR embodiment. XR embodiment, the experience of one’s self as embodied in XR, opens up the possibility of blended physical and digital narrative selves which form the basis of new forms of relationships. In a future where XR is incorporated into the basic social and political structures of society, XR embodiment and virtually real experiences challenge normative concepts like sex and sexual orientation. Contemporary conceptions of the self, sex, consent, and love emerged in purely physical contexts to help us navigate the limitations of physical embodiment. XR embodiment requires a new ethical framework to make room for these possibilities. We end the paper by assessing ethical risks XR embodiment can introduce for XR developers, and researchers.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-025-00563-y
