This article analyses the role of Telegram in orienting, amplifying, and normalizing the non-consensual diffusion of intimate images (NCII). We focus on the sense of anonymity, the platform’s weak regulation, and the possibility of creating large male communities, arguing that these affordances are “gendered affordances” as they orient male participants’ harassment behaviors and, in concert with an established misogynist culture, contribute to the reinstatement of hegemonic masculinity. The research draws on data collected through an online covert ethnography of Italian Telegram channels and groups.
Blockchain technology enables new kinds of decentralized systems. Thus, it has often been advocated as a “disruptive” technology that could have the potentiality of reshaping political, economic, and social relations, “solving” problems like corruption, power centralization, and distrust toward political institutions. Blockchain has been gradually gaining attention beyond finance and is thus applied by a range of different actors. This includes local, regional, and national governments interested in the potentiality of experimenting with blockchain-supported governance. This article contributes to identifying blockchain as a contested socio-political object prone to contradictory political imaginaries regarding its potentialities, particularly when applied to policy. The article explores some of the most praised of blockchain’s affordances (e.g., decentralization and transparency) in the context of Estonia, one of the most cited examples of blockchain governmental applications. Estonia has received international attention as the alleged first national infrastructure integrating blockchain. However, so far, few have asked: what kind of blockchain-based tools have been built by the Estonian government in practice and why? And to what extent do blockchain-based governmental applications reflect the original promises of disruption of the crypto-community? This article draws on a qualitative approach to explore several blockchain-based socio-technical objects to identify the narratives that have emerged in Estonia. The research shows clear contrasting views between stakeholders and technical experts from inside and outside the institutional sphere. The conflict revolves around two different social imaginaries associated with permissioned vs. public blockchains. The paper concludes with an analysis of the profound political implications of each vision.
This paper aims to analyze what is the role of Telegram affordances in orienting, amplifying and normalizing the non-consensual diffusion of intimate images (NCII). We focus on the sense of anonymity, the platform’s weak regulation and the possibility to create big male communities, arguing that these affordances are ‘gendered affordances’ (Schwartz & Neff, 2019), as they orient male participants’ harassing behaviours and, in concert with an established misogynist culture, contribute to the reinstatement of hegemonic masculinity (Connel, 2005). The research draws on data collected through an online covert ethnography of Italian Telegram channels and groups.
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