Fantasy

In Harold Jacobson's 1998 novel No More Mr. Nice Guy, there's a scene where the male character chides his partner for getting in the way of his fantasy. Fantasies may be about sex, but they ironically separate you from other people. Masturbation is a narcissistic pursuit. If you're a spiritualist who tries to live in the so-called "now,"  fantasy is not for you. What happens when you're having a fantasy in the middle of another fantasy? Two degrees of separation is double indemnity. However, in today's world of porn in which large swathes of humanity are in a state of perpetual stimulation, fantasy is a drug. The only way to deal with crack or Fentanyl is to get more of it so you can beat the pain. Fantasy is the lingua Franca of our culture and sites like Porn Hub are junkies supplying enough fantasy to satisfy their own insatiable habits. There are individuals who are so immersed in fantasy that they have never really experienced what it's like to have sex with another person. They mechanically insert their organs or have a fellow traveler insert something into their behind or vulva. Civilization is a dog in heat. You only have to pick up the paper to realize you're fucked.

Read Francis Levy's "Making the Graphic Novel Graphic," Vol. 1 Brooklyn

and watch the animation of Erotomania