The website has been the subject of attention from journalists and academics studying sexuality. Writer Regina Lynn highlighted the site's emphasis on communication, and Annalee Newitz of "AlterNet" classed it as part of Porn 2.0. Violet Blue wrote in "The Adventurous Couple's Guide to Sex Toys" that it helped popularize the idea of machines aiding in sex acts. The 2008 edition of "The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History" described the aesthetic of the devices as disturbing. Jessica Roy wrote for "The New York Observer" that Fucking Machines' examples of orgasms were a form of transhumanism. Sarah Schaschek devoted a chapter to the phenomenon in "Screening the Dark Side of Love: From Euro-Horror to American Cinema", titled "Fucking Machines: High-Tech Bodies in Pornography". She observed, "Strictly speaking, the women in these videos are both the controllers and the controlled."