Sexting and the politics of the image

When the invisible becomes visible in a consensus democracy

Bibliographic Data

ID13086103
AuthorsT Gregory (0000-0001-8394-9278, UNSW Sydney, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume2
Issue4
Pages342-355
Publication date2015-09-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePorn Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2326-8743 • E-ISSN: 2326-8751
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23268743.2015.1059773
OpenAlexW2176280719
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited20

Sexting is a highly contested form of image production, particularly when it involves people under the age of 18. Adolescents who are legally prohibited from making pornography are deciding to generate and distribute new forms of sexual material. Public responses to sexting reveal that the dominant image of adolescent sexuality is maintained by heteronormative structures. The educational, legal and social action against sexting is aimed at protecting this dominant image. This article argues that sexting's visualization of age, race, class and gender ruptures ‘consensus democracy’ – the space of appearance of the people. This rupture occurs because adolescents have increasing access to the means of making and sharing their own images, entirely independently from the system that purports to speak for them. The impact of sexting goes beyond issues of adolescent sexuality; it raises fundamental questions that may redefine how representation relates to notions of the real and the body

Class (philosophy · Democracy · Human sexuality · Internet privacy · Political science · Politics · Pornography · Race (biology · Representation (politics · Sociology · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Artificial Intelligence

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