February 14, 2007
There's an 11-page photo spread called Boyfriend Video (where "the sexiest lingerie finds its ultimate audience") in this year's double issue opener of Preview magazine. I wish there was a way for me to scan some of the pictures, but that would mean buying just another glossy that isn't worth the clutter in my home.
Of course, it's nothing new - the usual commodification of "sexiness" - or more like what magazine editors and fashion photographers mediawhoring for Summit's line of women's magazines consider sexy. However, someone over at their camp thought that appropriating the aesthetics of those "scandal videos" whilst peddling "the sexiest lingerie" was a good idea.
Cashing in on intimacy is one thing. Suggesting to take this intimacy a notch higher by documenting the nasty for personal home viewing only is another. Only this is not "home viewing" because there's an audience involved - us. And when there's an audience for "scandal videos", nothing is as sexy as it looks, unless you actually get off on watching a pair of real (read: unglamorous) genericos having a go at each other under the natural lighting conditions of a dimly lit motel and the amateur camera work of its participants.
Having viewed the "Makati Scandal" or "La Salle Scandal" (or whatever title it bore) awhile back just to see what the big brouhaha was about at the time, I had been primarily curious about how the nasty evidence was "discovered" and eventually mass-marketed at your nearest pirate dealer. But there didn't seem to be anything accidental about it in the "lost and found" kind of way - in fact, the video seemed too calculated to even be considered scandalous, like the couple were aware that they were giving the audience something to see, even if they couldn't seem to get it right. They still looked rather self-conscious, and likewise, camera-shyness affected their ability to perform. So, no real shocker there, as far as scandals go. It also became hellishly boring after awhile.
A friend of mine told me that he had cousins who'd show each other their personal sex videos with their girlfriends, taken with the ease and convenience of the camera fone. Now this variety of family reunion-style social bonding actually shocks me, even if it isn't necessarily played for shocks. It has less to do with the content itself, which I'm (thankfully) spared from seeing, and more of how casually these videos are being exchanged - akin to showing off pictures of their babies or kids or pets, wholesome family trips, birthdays, weddings, graduation and other similar milestones.
Labels: culture, media, technology
December 04, 2006
GUEST BLOGGER: Kara Santos (WFS Philippines)
"If I had a lie detector, I could have left sooner," writes e of Malaysia.
This is just one entry to the digital postcard campaign that "connects the dots" between modern technology tools and violence against women .
Technology tools like radios, the internet, digital cameras, mobile phones, webcams, blogs and videogames can make women's lives much easier. But the same tools can also be used to degrade them.
Trafficking, pornography, sexual abuse and harassment are just some forms of violence against women that have evolved in the recent years because of the rise of modern technology.
The Commission Against Trafficking in Asia and the Pacific (CATW-AP) reports that the use of info technology to recruit victims of trafficking are on the rise.
In Angeles, Pampanga (a hotspot for trafficking and sex trade), pedophiles are increasingly using the Internet to lure other pedophiles to come to the Philippines . Live video streaming on the Web show children being sexually abused. Other pedophiles browse personal profiles or lurk in chat rooms to find their victims.
PCIJ reports that technology has also enhanced voyeurism in the Philippines, with video recordable tools increasing the ability to capture intimate videos or tape others without their knowledge .
Celebrity sex tapes are spread on the internet, nude photos are sent via MMS on mobile phones, while private sex videos can be shared via Bluetooth or Youtube, a popular video sharing website. Sex scandals are compiled in pirated DVDs by school (the La Salle Scandal, UST Scandal) or province/city (the Makati scandal, the Dumaguete scandal) and sold on sidewalks. In some cases the videos are completely fabricated, exploiting the "flavor of the month", as in the case of the Subic rape scandal DVD portraying rape victim "Nicole" as a prostitute.
To combat this, women from all around the world are reclaiming their rights and "taking back the tech" to take control of information communications technology (ICT), and use it in activism to eliminate violence against women. This is in line with the 16 days of activism against gender violence (celebrated globally from November 25 to December 10).
The campaign is initiated by The Association for Progressive Communications, Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP), a global network of women who support networking for social change and women's empowerment, through the use of information and communication technology (ICTs).
Here are some suggestions how you can help out the 16 Days of Activism campaign:
Send someone an SMS on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Change your email signature to www.takebackthetech.net
Change the homepage on cyber cafe computers to webpages/resources that teach women's empowerment
Snap a picture to change the image of women in digital spaces
Take photos of abusers, perpetrators and post them online or on Flickr sites with the appropriate tags.
Build knowledge & share what you know to help other women (through guides, FAQs, etc.)
Bookmark good links and resources on VAW for others to use
Participate in digital storytelling
Make videos that can interrupt violence against women
Change your YM status message or email signature into something that provokes thought in your network of friends and acquaintances.
For questions and submissions on campaign ideas, visit www.takebackthetech.net or email ideas AT takebackthetech DOT net
"If I had a lie detector, I could have left sooner," writes e of Malaysia.
This is just one entry to the digital postcard campaign that "connects the dots" between modern technology tools and violence against women .
Technology tools like radios, the internet, digital cameras, mobile phones, webcams, blogs and videogames can make women's lives much easier. But the same tools can also be used to degrade them.
Trafficking, pornography, sexual abuse and harassment are just some forms of violence against women that have evolved in the recent years because of the rise of modern technology.
The Commission Against Trafficking in Asia and the Pacific (CATW-AP) reports that the use of info technology to recruit victims of trafficking are on the rise.
In Angeles, Pampanga (a hotspot for trafficking and sex trade), pedophiles are increasingly using the Internet to lure other pedophiles to come to the Philippines . Live video streaming on the Web show children being sexually abused. Other pedophiles browse personal profiles or lurk in chat rooms to find their victims.
PCIJ reports that technology has also enhanced voyeurism in the Philippines, with video recordable tools increasing the ability to capture intimate videos or tape others without their knowledge .
Celebrity sex tapes are spread on the internet, nude photos are sent via MMS on mobile phones, while private sex videos can be shared via Bluetooth or Youtube, a popular video sharing website. Sex scandals are compiled in pirated DVDs by school (the La Salle Scandal, UST Scandal) or province/city (the Makati scandal, the Dumaguete scandal) and sold on sidewalks. In some cases the videos are completely fabricated, exploiting the "flavor of the month", as in the case of the Subic rape scandal DVD portraying rape victim "Nicole" as a prostitute.
To combat this, women from all around the world are reclaiming their rights and "taking back the tech" to take control of information communications technology (ICT), and use it in activism to eliminate violence against women. This is in line with the 16 days of activism against gender violence (celebrated globally from November 25 to December 10).
The campaign is initiated by The Association for Progressive Communications, Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP), a global network of women who support networking for social change and women's empowerment, through the use of information and communication technology (ICTs).
Here are some suggestions how you can help out the 16 Days of Activism campaign:
For questions and submissions on campaign ideas, visit www.takebackthetech.net or email ideas AT takebackthetech DOT net
Labels: culture, media, technology
