RE: [-empyre-] the invisible subject [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

["Benson, Tracey" <Tracey.Meziane@deh.gov.au>]

Hi all,

Thank you for this discussion. I am finding all of your posts very
stimulating.

I think the invisible woman as subject, visible woman as object can be
deployed in a range of subjective contexts. This example brought to mind
for me the detainee identity of immigration detention centres and
Guantanamo Bay. In these cases the identity is figured as objective
stereotypes, predominately terrorist, asylum seeker and refugee.

However, the subject is rendered invisible not only because of these
associations, but because of the restrictions in place regarding access
to the outside world.

Tracey

-----Original Message-----
From: empyre-bounces@gamera.cofa.unsw.edu.au
[mailto:empyre-bounces@gamera.cofa.unsw.edu.au] On Behalf Of Michele
White
Sent: Wednesday, 12 July 2006 3:46 PM
To: soft_skinned_space
Subject: Re: [-empyre-] the invisible subject

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

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