I talked sex, tech, privacy, and AshleyMadison with TQ Avery of Majic Atlanta 107.5 R&B radio.

AshleyMadison is only one of many sites on the interwebs catering to people looking to step out on their spouses/partners, discretely. And this week, hackers made good on their promise to release AM members’  previously-stolen private information.

I have very mixed feelings about this entire issue.

On one hand, it’s the Internet in 2015 – privacy doesn’t really exist.

And then on the other hand, fuck this hack. Hacking is not the same as data tracking (cookies and such), and if a team of hackers wants to unravel a site, they can. This has happened to .govs, Target, and now AshleyMadison. It’s basically an impossible security issue.

Further, fuck the moral judgement of the hack in general. Hackers specifically targeted AM because they disapprove of the presumed nature of its clients. It’s a little “do as I say, not as I do” when you yourself are doing something “immoral” — releasing cc numbers and addresses is pretty messed up — and what counts as im/moral in the first place is not up to you, Crash&Burn! (please note the Hackers reference!)

The privacy issues here are actually astounding. Because even if you don’t approve of what people may be doing on AM, two wrongs don’t make a right. That’s a basic principle of social justice.

But teehee oh-my-goodness the simultaneous *GIFT* of this data – Josh Duggar, several hateful conservative politicians, that one guy who vlogs for Jesus (the one who staged the fake pregnancy/loss with his wife)! All those fools with AM accounts! The irony of the self-righteous is both amazing and repulsive.

But what about all the others who were/are polyamorous, in open relationships, or single – those consenting adults in consenting relationships of whatever form who now have to deal with a privacy leak AND judgement from an inconsistent fickle public?

le sigh

(image via Majic 107.5)

All we can hope for here is that people not involved with the hack use this as a starting point – start a conversation about sex, start a thinking more about what you do, maybe start learning to become a hacker..?

And people, please — STOP bullshitting yourself, be it about sex and sexualities or about how much “better” you are than others. The issues may be different, but ultimately we’re all the same. Some of us just get caught.

Please enjoy my interview with the lovely TQ via the player below (August 21, 2015) or on Majic 107.5 directly right –> here

 

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Get Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment on Amazon and CT.com