Susanna Paasonen
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262016315
- eISBN:
- 9780262298810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262016315.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter focuses on disgust as a positive denominator for online pornography and discusses the interconnections of disgust, interest, and shame through exploring shock pornography websites. It ...
More
This chapter focuses on disgust as a positive denominator for online pornography and discusses the interconnections of disgust, interest, and shame through exploring shock pornography websites. It discusses the role that shame plays in the dynamics of pornography, and discusses the factors which result in the feelings of disgust and shame, along with the psychological connection that links the two together. The chapter discusses masturbation, which, seen from the point of view of the modern subject, is a shameful act and has been tagged as an immoderate form of sexuality, and explores the use of reaction videos, blogs, and newspapers by viral videos to increase their affective intensity. The importance of censorship and disapproval of pornography helps it to thrive, which is the reason for the increasing viral videos and shock pornography websites.Less
This chapter focuses on disgust as a positive denominator for online pornography and discusses the interconnections of disgust, interest, and shame through exploring shock pornography websites. It discusses the role that shame plays in the dynamics of pornography, and discusses the factors which result in the feelings of disgust and shame, along with the psychological connection that links the two together. The chapter discusses masturbation, which, seen from the point of view of the modern subject, is a shameful act and has been tagged as an immoderate form of sexuality, and explores the use of reaction videos, blogs, and newspapers by viral videos to increase their affective intensity. The importance of censorship and disapproval of pornography helps it to thrive, which is the reason for the increasing viral videos and shock pornography websites.
Susanna Paasonen
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262016315
- eISBN:
- 9780262298810
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262016315.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
Digital production tools and online networks have dramatically increased the general visibility, accessibility, and diversity of pornography, which can be accessed for free, anonymously, and in a ...
More
Digital production tools and online networks have dramatically increased the general visibility, accessibility, and diversity of pornography, which can be accessed for free, anonymously, and in a seemingly endless range of niches, styles, and formats. This book moves beyond the usual debates over the legal, political, and moral aspects of pornography to address online pornography in a media historical framework, investigating its modalities, its affect, and its visceral and disturbing qualities. Countering theorizations of pornography as emotionless, affectless, detached, and cold, it addresses experiences of pornography, largely through the notion of affect as gut reactions, intensities of experience, bodily sensations, resonances, and ambiguous feelings. The author links these investigations to considerations of methodology (ways of theorizing and analyzing online pornography and affect), questions of materiality (bodies, technologies, and inscriptions), and the evolution of online pornography. She discusses the development of online pornography, focusing on the figure of the pornography consumer, and considers user-generated content and amateur pornography. The author maps out the modality of online pornography as hyperbolic, excessive, stylized, and repetitive, arguing that literal readings of the genre misunderstand its dynamics and appeal. She also analyzes viral videos and extreme and shock pornography, arguing for the centrality of disgust and shame in the affective dynamics of pornography. The book’s analysis makes clear the crucial role of media technologies—digital production tools and networked communications in particular—in the forms that pornography takes, the resonances it stirs, and the experiences it makes possible.Less
Digital production tools and online networks have dramatically increased the general visibility, accessibility, and diversity of pornography, which can be accessed for free, anonymously, and in a seemingly endless range of niches, styles, and formats. This book moves beyond the usual debates over the legal, political, and moral aspects of pornography to address online pornography in a media historical framework, investigating its modalities, its affect, and its visceral and disturbing qualities. Countering theorizations of pornography as emotionless, affectless, detached, and cold, it addresses experiences of pornography, largely through the notion of affect as gut reactions, intensities of experience, bodily sensations, resonances, and ambiguous feelings. The author links these investigations to considerations of methodology (ways of theorizing and analyzing online pornography and affect), questions of materiality (bodies, technologies, and inscriptions), and the evolution of online pornography. She discusses the development of online pornography, focusing on the figure of the pornography consumer, and considers user-generated content and amateur pornography. The author maps out the modality of online pornography as hyperbolic, excessive, stylized, and repetitive, arguing that literal readings of the genre misunderstand its dynamics and appeal. She also analyzes viral videos and extreme and shock pornography, arguing for the centrality of disgust and shame in the affective dynamics of pornography. The book’s analysis makes clear the crucial role of media technologies—digital production tools and networked communications in particular—in the forms that pornography takes, the resonances it stirs, and the experiences it makes possible.
