Surveillance is Sexy

Abstract

This paper considers sexualization of surveillance as a mode of resistance. It explores various modes of sexualized surveillance, from 'reality porn' to webcam footage, and focuses on the ways in which voyeurism and exhibitionism are mobilized within an emerging 'surveillance aesthetic' across these forms. Building on work that considers 'playful' engagements with surveillance, and discussions of forms of counter-surveillance, the paper attempts to locate 'sexy surveillance' within this body of critical engagement that seeks not to hide from surveillance, but to confront its logics head on. In exploring how the omnipresence of surveillance shifts experiences of voyeurism and exhibitionism into new contexts, the paper argues that sexualization is one possible response for the 'surveillance-savvy' subject to utilize.

Media and Communication Studies

“…However, the notion of panopticon operates on the general level and notifies the regulative mechanisms that operate on the level of the society and through the DIY environments. While some suggest that the regulative mechanisms of panopticon power should be studied at the micro level (Albrechtslund & Dubbel 2005;Bell 2009;Ericson & Haggerty, 2005), little specified studies exist.…”

“…(Jarrett 2008) In addition to these claims about subtle surveillance working at the level of the individual, there is a growing field of research in surveillance studies that point to the importance of resistance toward surveillance (see cf. Albrechtslund & Dubbel 2005;Bell 2009;Koskela 2008;Monahan 2006). For example, Bell analyzed how sexuality is a way to play out voyeuristic and exhibitionist experiences.…”

Resisting Digital Surveillance Reform: The Arguments and Tactics of Communications Service Providers

“…Resistance is a crucial issue for surveillance studies. Several notable studies have explored the relationship between surveillance and resistance (Gilliom 2001;Marx 2003;Mann et al 2003;Bennett 2008), although, in general, the attention it has received has been sporadic (see, for example, Bell 2009;Fernandez and Huey 2009;Introna and Gibbons 2009;Marx 2009;Sanchez 2009;Wells and Wills 2009). Beyond surveillance studies, Sharp et al's (2000) "entanglements of power" highlights some of the problems involved in framing resistance as necessarily being a counterpoint to power.…”

Representations of Public Sex in Crime, Media, and Popular Culture

“…On the one hand, the increasing presence of surveillance technologies in public space renders public sex increasingly filmable, with various consequences from repurposing as porn to use as evidence (McGrath, 2004). And, while some have argued for the need to regulate surveillance and protect privacy, others have suggested that exhibitionism and voyeurism can be seen precisely as responses to surveillance that, by sexualizing it, challenge its representational power (Bell, 2009;Koskela, 2003). In much the same way as George Michael's 'Outside' sought to take back surveillance and turn it into pop culture, the subgenre of surveillance porn can be seen to tackle head-on the intrusions of surveillance into our lives, not by hiding but by (over-)exposing ourselves.…”