Designer and digital researcher Mindy Seu presented her performance lecture "A Sexual History of the Internet" at New York's Performance Space, using an Instagram Stories format to explore how sex has shaped digital tools and infrastructure. The audience followed synchronized prompts on their phones, reading scripted text and viewing archival materials, with the lecture credited to Julio Correa's influence from Seu's class at the Yale School of Art. The sold-out event is part of a tour that will next visit the Kunstverein in Hamburg and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.
This lecture matters because it reframes the internet's development through the lens of sexuality, revealing how intimate and often exploitative dynamics—such as the use of a Playboy centerfold to test JPEG compression—underpin everyday digital technologies. By turning the private act of scrolling into a public, participatory performance, Seu challenges the commodification of online experience and highlights the pervasive influence of sex on the internet's architecture and culture.