Sunday, May 27, 2007

Sexblogs and the public sphere

“Sex is a subject that really benefits from the weblog treatment. Sex is a subject that, frankly, is hard to talk about in polite company. But it’s important to talk about it, to bring it out into the light, chase out all the demons and shame we associate with it.”(Selene)

“…we could say that blogs are a gift to humankind that no one needs.”(Lovink)

All over the world people are opening up their lives online, sharing intimate details with people they have never met, in places they have never been, through the medium of blogging. Sexblogs are an example of this phenomenon, one that highlights just what people are willing to share in our new interactive, interconnected online world. But do these sexblogs contribute more than just a space for tawdry voyeurism? Are sexblogs "a gift to humankind that no one needs?" (Lovink) Or can a sexblogger contribute to the public sphere? This essay will strive to discuss these questions through an exploration of two different styles of sexblogs: diary style sexblogs and link style sexblogs, and will discuss whether both these styles contribute to the public sphere. Each point of discussion does raise further, difficult questions, such as; who is really empowered by free explicit material in link style sexblogs? And are diary style sexblogs just a selfish way for their writers to find catharsis? Such questions do seem to suggest that this interconnected world we live in is an extremely complex one and that the question of sexblogs and public sphere is not an easy one to answer.

Habermas’ public sphere can be defined as “a domain of our social life in which such a thing as public opinion can be formed”, (Thompson, 1) a place where private individuals can come together in conversation to form a ‘public’, to participate in democracy, to create and change opinions, and to monitor and comment on all aspects of media and politics. It would seem then, that a weblog could be a very good example of the public sphere in action, because it allows people to have a voice, and comment upon such issues as hypocrisy, scandal, and misinformation within the realms of politics and media. Naturally, due to the ambiguous, intransient nature of blogging and indeed the Internet as a whole, this idea of blogs contributing to the public sphere is debatable. Blogs come in many variations, and would be almost as difficult to categorise or pinpoint as individual personalities. Lovink describes a blog as a “frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links, a mixture of what is happening in a person’s life and what is happening on the Web and in the world out there” (Lovink) According to Gary Thompson, often a blog “(will) provide; individualised voice and perspective not evident in news websites…(and) are sometimes attentive to aspects of news coverage and events absent from mainstream media coverage…”. (Thompson, 3) Naturally though, as with many definitions, most blogs do not fit neatly into these definitions. Some are purely links to pages or other blogs that interest the blogger, some are social commentary, while others are like online diaries, detailing the minutiae of a person’s life. They broach a wide range of topics, and having differing formats and they also, it must be said, different greatly in quality (in itself a difficult term to define when discussing blogs), and all these factors will effect any public sphere/blog discussions.

One broad genre of blogging is sex blogging; blogs about sexuality, pornography, sexual experiences and/or alternate sexual lifestyles. Such blogs have multiple variations, including the two I shall discuss; a dairy style of sexblog, and link style sexblog.
A diary style of sexblog, what Blood calls a ‘journal style’ blog (Blood) is similar to an offline dairy, or a more general blog dairy except that it focuses on the sexuality and sexual exploits of its creators. Often (but not always) it seems that these blogs are written by those that are involved in alternate sexual lifestyles, areas not generally discussed publicly in the media, whether that be polygamy, S&M, or more simply a female who enjoys being promiscuous. These blogs are often about private matters, with the writers sharing intimate details of their, and their sexual partner(s) lives with readers. A link style sexblog, or 'filter style' blog (Blood) as Blood calls it is quite different, and is usually one, or several people sharing links for pornography, other sexblogs, or other online sexual material with readers, often with a commentary on why the link has been put up, the background to a story, picture or blog, and how the writer themselves feels about it. It often a more community based blog that shares resources, and allows others to comment on what is posted there. As a general rule, it is not as intimate as a diary style sexblog; you do not get to know the person(s) creating the blog the same way you would if you were reading their diary. This said however, the overarching sexual preferences, opinions and voice of the creator(s), often still have quite a presence, due to what they choose to display in their blog. Both these categories of sexblogs have (it can be argued) some role in the public sphere, however what this role is, how important it is, and whether is really exists, are all debatable issues which shall be discussed over the course of this essay.

Link style sexblogs are complex because they range over so many different topics and styles. There is certainly an argument that these types of sexblogs are contributing something to the public sphere because they can create a sense of community and sharing, voice other opinions and choices, and perhaps provide a way to fight against the commercialisation of the net. As we will see though, these areas of public sphere ‘contribution’ raise many questions including; how much of this is really a valid political contribution? Who do these link style sexblogs empower? Are they just a way to find easier, cheaper stimulation and gratification?

Link style blogs create a space where people can share and comment on information, news, ideas and images, and this can create communities, or networks of people who share interests, and who, though these blogs, can voice to a certain ideal or point of view. (Blood) Because of the Internet’s massive scale, people around the world can find others in a similar situation to themselves, no matter how obscure these situations or preferences may be. Sexblogs then, can provide a space for discussions that are not dominated by hetero-normative ideals because they are a space where mainstream views can be challenged. As Stern and Handel’s study discusses “legal, social, political, cultural and religious forces can use their power…to prevent people from expressing their sexuality openly and adopting sexual practises that may be heavily stigmatised….” (Stern & Handel, 288) The internet, they say, allows members of marginalized groups (they use the example of homosexuals) to “find greater self-acceptance of their identities” through anonymous discussion online (Stern & Handel, 288) Other sexualities and different ways of life, often undermined in the outside world have a space where they can become empowered, find like minds and fight for what they want to fight for. These people can ‘participate in democracy’ and change public opinion through their commentaries of mainstream media and their ability to showcase alternative media and viewpoints in these link style sexblogs.

Another aspect of link style sexblogs that may contribute to the public sphere is a focus on providing free explicit material, and indeed a majority of the link style sex blogs I studied, were simply providing and commenting on a large range of free explicit material (as opposed to empowering a certain sexual group through discussion). (Please see ‘Footnote’ post below in relation to this point.) A study on internet pornography states “spectacular growth in availability of sexually explicit material on the internet has created an unprecedented opportunity for individuals to have anonymous, cost free, and unfettered access to an essentially unlimited range of sexually explicit texts, still and moving images and audio materials.” (Fisher & Barak, 312) Stern and Handel say that in this way the Internet “democratises and distributes control over access to sexual services and products that were previously difficult to obtain.” (Stern & Handel, 288) Link style sex blogs would play a large part in such a democratisation of sexual materials (if such a thing exists). This suggests that the benefit of such a blog is to empower the consumer, and take the commercial aspect out of sex and to resist the corporate porn culture (a massive industry – which in some reports is said to be worth well over a billion dollars). (Fisher & Barak, 314) This is a complex issue that moves into the realm of file-sharing and open source software debates; should porn be free to download if music isn’t? However, perhaps what free explicit material can ‘contribute’ to the public sphere is an acceptance of ‘other’ sexual practises and access to ‘taboo’ materials outside the hetero-normative ideal, how valuable a contribution this is though, is debatable. To push this debate a little further the question must be raised: Who is empowered by the free material in these blogs?; Does it empower undermined groups and allow them to be seen and heard? Does it just allow hetero-normative, violent and degrading stereotypes to continue? Does it empower the porn industry, giving them free advertising and greater coverage or is it the porn consumers who are empowered, choosing what they watch, and getting it for free? Does it empower women and allow them to express their sexuality, or are they just being used for other’s arousal? Is it, at the end of the day, just a way for people to get aroused, quickly and cheaply? These are questions unable to be answered here, however it is most likely, as with most complex issues, the answer will lie in a combination of all of the above.

Diary style sexblogs often serve both private and public concerns because with this style of blog there is often a very personal element. In these blogs people discuss such things their everyday lives, their sexual activities, and problems or fears they may have. These are often “intimate reflections and revelations about personal, intellectual, and artistic preferences (that) are consciously shared with both known and anonymous audiences.” (Van Dijck) These ‘reflections and revelations’ often have an element of catharsis for their writer; a sense that the blogger is writing to purge their own emotions, fears, and insecurities. Lovink discusses this idea of catharsis saying “people are taught that their liberation requires them to ‘tell the truth’, to confess it to someone (a priest, psychoanalyst, or weblog), and this truth telling will somehow set them free.” (Lovink) Indeed this seems to be the case for ZoĆ« Margolis, creator of the blog ‘Girl with a One-Track Mind: Diary of a Sex Fiend’, who states in a New Yorker article: “since there was the shield of anonymity, I thought I could say anything. I wrote things I wouldn’t tell my best friend.” (Toobin) Since her identity has been discovered she complains, “I can’t express myself as openly” and is thinking of starting her own blog saying “that’s the only way I can return to the catharsis of anonymous writing.” (Toobin) Motivations for sharing such private thoughts and emotions do seem to lean towards the ‘individual sphere’ of the blogger, rather than wanting to create a dialogue that contributes to a public sphere.

However, regardless perhaps, of the bloggers own motivations this style of sexblog can still have the potential to contribute to the public sphere through the ability to create communities, and to give voice to undermined groups. The ‘intimate reflections and revelations’ discussed above can create a culture of sharing and connecting through common interests; what Jose van Dijck discusses as a “larger participatory turn in culture.” (van Dijck) He states “blogging software and internet hardware… are cultural artefacts facilitating a social process in which exchange and participation are conditions to enacting citizenship.”(van Dijck) Sharing this intimately can allow for a more open dialogue about sex, and sexual practises. People can share thoughts, concerns and desires in an open way, and they can remain as anonymous or known as they wish. This again can reduce the domination of hetero-normative values, and can allay fears people have about their very private sexual concerns or unusual sexual preferences. The level that these diary type sexblogs are participatory, rather than just being a monologue, is debatable but at the very least, sexbloggers that are sharing allow others to learn about sex, and find blogs that reassure them about their own private (perhaps unusual) feelings. There is also the possibility that blogs of this nature serve to politicise ‘other’ less mainstream causes by getting a dialogue about them out into the online world. As with some link style sex blogs these bloggers can ‘participate in democracy’ by opening up discussions about topics not covered in the mainstream media, and by creating coverage for issues that are overlooked, and in this way, diary style sex blogs can contribute to the public sphere.

Both link style sexblogs and diary style sexblogs can create communities and facilitate discussion about alternative lifestyles and ideals. They can also politicise and create awareness for issues away from the mainstream and in both these ways sexblogs can contribute to the public sphere. The discussion in this essay has mostly explored how sexblogs ‘could’ or ‘can’ contribute because it is clear that not all sexblogs are choosing to participate in the public sphere, with many having little more political or community based content than a pornography website. In all these ways, however, sexblogs, allow for greater sexual freedom, giving the public greater choices about their sexuality and a greater awareness about ways of life they may have previously felt ashamed to be involved in. This can be a double-edged sword though, because the sexual content online is not easily regulated due to the ‘private’ nature of blog ownership and by the sheer number of blogs available. This means that while some blogs are giving people more freedom to express their desires in a safe and comfortable way, there are some sexual preferences such as paedophilia which are also given coverage, and greater freedom, allowing paedophiles, much more access to taboo material, i.e. child pornography, than ever before. In this way sexblogs raised difficult questions about regulation, because there is no way to stop what enters the public sphere. This aside, as the quote by Adam Selene at the beginning of this essay says “sex is a subject that, frankly, is hard to talk about in polite company” and sexblogs are one way to get discussions about sex out in the open, and for this reason I would have to disagree with Lovink when he says “blogs are a gift to humankind that no one needs.” (Lovink)

Footnote

My research was limited because of the pure numbers of sexblogs online and in some instances by my personal squeamishness – there are things online that I just do not want to know about. However, from those I looked at I would say most link style blogs were tools to showcase more pornography.

Bibliography

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A link relating to my first essay

A link the JTV website which I will be using for my first essay.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

New Blog

Welcome to my Net Communications Blog!
Enjoy!