The Internet is effectively a worldwide hookup of computers. Sex is a popular topic on the Internet. Commercialized sex is, of course, nothing new. The innovation which is the subject of Citizen Sex emerged in 1994. Sex sites arose which featured an individual girl, and treated her as a whole person, not just as a pretty face and voluptuous body. She had a personal life, preferences, and a history, and she shared these with her viewers. She was presented as a normal woman, in effect the "girl next door," who happened to enjoy exposing herself and perhaps also performing sexual acts for others to see. She did not appear to be a sex professional at all. That is, she was not a stripper, dancer, or escort. This unique new type of sex performer was termed an Amateur. The site was a personal adult sex site.

Citizen Sex is an exposition of the personal amateur sex site scene, and a study of the Amateurs featured on it. Most Amateurs pretend to lead "normal,""respectable"lives. To much of the general public, even to the sex-positive and sexually active segments of it, those who expose themselves on the Internet, Amateurs included, belong in the same category as hookers, exotic dancers, and professional porn actresses. That is, they are thought to merit less than the normal amount of respect, and are altogether aberrant. The present book, on the other hand, takes the position that Internet Amateurs, while perhaps not role models to be emulated by all, are decent people who are as worthy of respect and consideration as any one else. While they certainly differ from the official societal norm, the import of their aberration is in the eye of the beholder. The book is intended for the general reader interested in the passing social scene, as well as for those who are already Internet adult site fans. Citizen Sex has three Parts. Part One describes the Internet Amateur scene.

The women of the personal amateur Internet are the subject of Part Two. A number of amateur women are profiled in depth in individual case studies. An analytical summary concludes Part Two. It discusses, and attempts to answer, the questions, "What leads an apparently mainstream woman to become an adult star on the Internet?"and "To what extent is an Internet Amateur a 'Girl Next Door'?"

Part Three takes up issues, be they legal, moral, sexual, or social, pertinent to the interplay of personal amateur sites with society in general. Among the issues discussed are legal problems, health, swinging, bisexuality, and masturbation.