Innovation and technology have reshaped almost every aspect of our romantic and sexual lives: from how we flirt, to how we perform desirability (even male strippers wear tool belts), to how we understand what counts as “normal” intimacy. If you watch the film Kinsey, about his famous US sex study in the 1948 and 1953 in America, all anyone wants to know of the researchers is, “Am I normal?” We are 'On Tech and Sexual Politics' here on this podcast, but as platforms tighten their rules around sexual content, and governments introduce sweeping legislation like the Online Safety Act, the politics of pleasure have become more visible than ever.

I discuss this with Dr Hanne Stegeman, a researcher at the University of Exeter whose work ...