Citation

Henry N, Flynn A. Violence Against Women 2019; ePub(ePub): 1077801219863881.

Affiliation

Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801219863881

PMID

31359850

Abstract

This article investigates the nature and scope of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) material on 77 high-volume online websites. On the majority of these sites, users appeared to be motivated by sexual gratification and proving masculinity to a sexually deviant peer network, rather than revenge against the person depicted in the image. We argue that nonconsensual image exchanges are contextualized within ever-expanding digital environments, characterized by dislocation of time and space, overvisualization, and hypersexuality. We argue that IBSA is a vehicle for the construction, performativity, and negotiation of hypermasculinity and heteronormativity, within the bounds and structures of existing gendered power relations.

Language: en

Keywords

image-based sexual abuse; online deviant communities; revenge pornography