Re: [-empyre-] the invisible subject

[Michele White <mwhite@michelewhite.org>]

Hi Christina,

Thanks for your powerful thoughts and personal
descriptions about the ways women are both rendered
invisible as subjects and are hyper-visible as
objects. I have been considering the ways that
traditional forms of gazing are enforced by the sale
of vintage erotic photography on eBay and how
descriptions of these images also articulate other
viewers and desires. In some developing work, I
suggest that some eBay vintage photography sellers
address heterosexual male buyers but list
mass-produced erotic images of women as "lesbian" and
"lesbian interest." Vernacular photography sellers
also employ the terms "lesbian" and "lesbian interest"
when presenting items to lesbian viewers and
consumers. Through this conflicted usage, sellers make
male buyers of nude images of women seem less straight
and begin to reconceptualize sexuality and eroticism
outside of the straight/gay binary. Sellers use the
terms  "lesbian" and "lesbian interest" to indicate
images that are of note to lesbians; photographic
documentation of lesbian pasts; women dragging and
performing masculinities; queer readings of
photographs that confuse stable categories, desires,
and subject positions; political positions that can
enhance lesbian communities; and erotic images of
women. 

Men cannot just pleasurably view the "lesbian girl on
girl action" photographs that were originally directed
at them when engaged by this diverse grouping of
images and texts. Men view versions of lesbians that
were not coded or designed for them and are situated
within and in front of the pictures in different
subject positions than anticipated. Their unexpected
situation encourages a rethinking of the ways binary
gender and stable sexualities are articulated by
theories of consumption and viewing. The construction
of men with lesbian interests and portrayal of women
performing masculinities promote continued
examinations of how sex and gender are identified. As
the work of Anne Fausto-Sterling and Suzanne J.
Kessler and Wendy McKenna indicate, presumptions about
genitals and other sex traits are better described as
"cultural genitals." 

In my work, I want to consider the ways cultural and
economic processes structure men as well as women.
Addressing the ways women are constructed without also
considering issues of men and masculinity may leave
such positions empowered and naturalized. Concepts of
the male computer programmer and self-representations
by men in the information technology field suggest
very conflicted versions of masculinity as well as
femininity. For instance, narratives about nerds and
geeks in text-based communication settings, usenet,
cyberpunk literature, and films like War Games (John
Badham, 1983) and Thomas in Love (Pierre-Paul Renders,
2000) depict pasty-faced and asocial men languishing
in the monitor's glow. The programmer Sir_Timothy
humorously and ambivalently describes his lifestyle as
"get up, walk to computer, use computer, eat, go to
the bathroom." 

Individuals who self-present as male programmers in
Internet settings write about the male body, concerns
about weight, and fear of fat in ways that feminize
them. Ironic commentary on the lifestyles and eating
habits of male programmers and other intensive
computer users abound. This fascination with the male
body is notable. While men are traditionally expected
to view the female form--a problem that feminists have
addressed--such Internet stories indicate that men are
often considering the bodies of other men. Their focus
suggests a homosocial or even homosexual setting and
system of desire. However, this male?centric setting,
which certainly presents problems for other gender
representing individuals, does not inherently lead to
a consolidation of power. These men are coded as
feminine because they seem to exist within an
excessively meaty and embodied state.

Charles Arthur describes the attendees of a hacker
conference as "about 20 pounds overweight. It's all
those hours at the keyboard." There are pronouncements
that "geekus midwestus" has "rolls and rolls of fat"
and that the Internet is "full" of "fat ass ugly
guys." Negative and harassing posts suggest that some
male programmers are unable to control their bodies.
There are suggestions that an individual could lose
weight by getting "off your lazy ass and do
something," "Get off your ass, stop watching >4 hours
of TV, eating a bucket of crap (chips, popcorn,
burgers, whatever)," and "Eating is about self control
and not being a child." This lack of control is
usually coded as feminine and associated with women.
However, the bodies of women programmers are rarely
mentioned in these discussions and women seem less
likely to post in these forums on body issues, perhaps
because they already encounter so many comments and
social pressures in other situations. Men are the
intended targets of these comments, which provide
moral superiority to those with bodily control, and
render larger male individuals as weak and indolent.

I am happy to provide citations for this material if
people are interested. I address some of these
masculinity issues in The Body and the Screen:
Theories of Internet Spectatorship and "Where Do You
Want to Sit Today? Computer Programmers? Static Bodies
and Disability," Information, Communication and
Society 9, 3 (2006). 

All my best,
Michele