Veteran TV host and comedian Bill Maher has a new book out this week, and he devotes an entire chapter of it to digisexuals. Maher discussed the book – called “What This Comedian Said Will Shock You” – with talk show host Jimmy Fallon last night, and explained to him and the audience what digisexuals are. According to him, digisexuals and robosexuals are ‘people who are not interested in human contact’, by which he means they do not need or desire human contact to find love or sexual satisfaction. The gags come thick and fast, with the comedian wisecracking at one point that “there is a woman one (sex robot) that can simulate an orgasm…. just like a real woman!”
Maher claims that digisexuals see themselves as the next sexual minority, seeking rights similar to the gay, lesbian, and trans community. One digisexual allegedly told him that asking him to be with a human would be like asking a gay man to marry a woman. More audience laughter ensued when the comedian made a play on the LBGTQ chant “We’re here, We’re Queer” – turning it into “They’re here. They have gears”, ‘Get used to it’.
Back in 2019, I published a kind of draft ‘digisexual manifesto‘ here, and I assume I was probably the first person to do so online. Not that I have any special privilege to do so, either now or then. I intended only to inspire others to do the same, and perhaps to promote a discussion. Whether there really is a growing number of self-identifying digisexuals forming is open to debate. My attempts to establish a community at Reddit proceed at a snail’s pace, and r/digisexuals still has less than five hundred members.
While he stresses what he sees as the funny side of digisexuality, there is no doubt Maher seems genuinely interested in the subject. This isn’t the first time that he has given airtime to it either. Several years ago he used the word on his HBO show ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ in a Valentine’s Day segment which took a fun look at the history of sex tech.
Bill Maher’s book “What This Comedian Said Will Shock You” is available to buy on Amazon. The term ‘digisexual’ was coined by academics Neil McArthur and Dr Markie in their famous paper – ‘The Rise of Digisexuality : Therapeutic Challenges and possibilities‘.
A Manifesto For Digisexual Rights (2019)
We, who identify as digisexuals, proclaim that it is our right to seek sexual fulfillment in digital worlds or through other means of technology.
The pursuit of sexual happiness through technology must be in accordance with all relevant laws and moral codes of society, but there should be neither legal nor social discrimination against digisexuality as a lifestyle choice.
Laws relating to future sex technology should always be the result of careful review and objective consideration, with fair representation given to digisexuals and others who possess both knowledge of sex tech and insight into its possible impact upon society.
We, as digisexuals, believe that developments in digital technology carry with them the potential to enhance the sexual lives and happiness of every adult. We believe that digisexualism as part of a sexual lifestyle can be a positive thing for society. We therefore call upon the media, politicians, and others with influence in shaping opinion, to join with us in proclaiming the positive benefits to society that digsexualism will inevitably bring. Such things as a reduction in STDs, new sexual possibilities for the disabled or elderly, a powerful new aid to sex therapy for couples and individuals, and a possible solution to the problem of a sexually alienated segment of society that identifies itself in increasingly radical and potentially harmful ways such as ‘incels’ or religious extremism.
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