(FEM1b) Feminist Sociology II: Digital Feminisms

This session brings together papers which explore the digital as a tool for feminist activism and consider how gendered violence and cybermisogyny are reproduced, enacted, and resisted through digital media. Tags: Equality and Inequality, Feminism

Organizers: Sonia D'Angelo, York University, Linda Christiansen-Ruffman, Saint Mary’s University, Ronnie Joy Leah, Athabasca University; Chairs: Sonia D'Angelo, York University, Rashmee Karnad-Jani, Public Scholar

Presentations

Pearl Phoebe Kimberly, University of British Columbia

"My Face Was Stolen": A Theoretical Exploration of Deepfake Pornography

The creation of synthetically manufactured media known as “deepfakes” refers to the non-consensual superimposition of a person’s face onto another’s body– usually, this process requires the employment of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically known as deep learning (DL) algorithms to manipulate both visuals and acoustics. The subsequent imitation is often virtually indistinguishable from undoctored content and the technological competency necessary for an individual to generate deepfake media is ceaselessly minimized with use. The ability to generate hyper-realistic synthetic media of individuals acting or saying things they never did brings with it unprecedented opportunities for deception. Thus, this has given a rapid rise to deepfake pornography as a phenomenon, in which DL technology is used to overlay a person’s face onto pornographic media (Öhman, 2019, p.133). A 2019 report released by Deeptrace found that out of 14,678 Deepfake videos found online, 96% are pornographic in nature (Adjer et al., 2019 p.1-2). Women have historically been immediate targets for hostile adaptations of evolving technologies and current trends indicate that deepfake pornography is no anomaly (Jane, 2016; Harwell, 2018; Melville, 2019). That said, the rapid transformation of artificial intelligence means that the existing body of scholarly literature has not expanded far beyond explorations of physical sexual violations. It is imperative that we conceptualize and concretely define deepfake pornography in relation to the overall experience of sexual violation, articulating a comprehensive understanding of the way its creation and distribution affect those targeted. This paper will draw from two primary frameworks: (1) Michel Foucaults accounts of power and constructive discursive practices to explore the institutions, and discourses that have justified the existence and perpetuation of deepfake pornography online. I argue that when power is exercised through technological mediums, such as deepfakes, the subject is rendered desirable precisely due to the mediation of the technology. In other words, I believe that the medium used to portray the subject plays a significant role in the objectification of the subject. (2) Linda Alcoffs concept of sexual subjectivity, as sexual violation is far from homogenous and normative; there are substantially diverse stances among survivors specifically on where to draw the fine line that separates harmless sexual exchanges from sexual transgressions. I will expand her articulations of sexual violation as an interpretive experience to the phenomenon of deepfake pornography. Furthermore, I am primarily interested in a Foucauldian interpretation of power as a collection of forced relations, constantly mobile and evolving within the sphere in which they operate. For Foucault, discourse is a primary site of power; thus, I consider each online discourse pertaining to deepfake pornography as a technique in which power is exercised. Accordingly, I will be supplementing my theoretical exploration with discussions of specific prominent online discourses concerning deepfake pornography to hopefully address these questions: do posting pictures of yourself on social media automatically extend to giving consent for the creation of deepfake porn? Should this be an expected reality for young girls and women in this new digital era? How does deepfake pornography create a new foundation that restructures the way women are sexually objectified? And how can we categorize the emergence of deepfake pornography as a type of gendered sexual violence? Ultimately, my aim for this paper is to offer a critical perspective as to how we can navigate the complexities of deepfake pornography. 

Meaghan Furlano, Western University

'Stories of Consent': A digital feminist project rooted in ethical erotics

Sexual violence is a pressing international issue that has grown increasingly prevalent since 2017 following the explosion of the #MeToo movement, where people, primarily women, began to digitally disclose their experiences of sexual harassment and assault. Simultaneously, these individuals started to situate their personal experiences of sexual violence within a broader rape culture that encourages masculine aggression and positions violence against women as sexy and desirable. To date, most research on digital feminist responses to rape culture has explored activist campaigns characterized by negative affect, including the disclosure and publishing of survivor stories of sexual violence. Launched in February 2023, Stories of Consent is a digital project spearheaded by two young adult activists that aims to make conversations about consent and safety during sex more visible, accessible, and actionable. Unlike most of the digital feminist projects previously explored by scholars, Stories of Consent is uniquely characterized by positive affect. Rather than encouraging people to submit their stories of sexual violence, the creators behind Stories of Consent ask individuals to share their definitions of and positive experiences with sexual consent. Further, the creators promote the affirmative model of consent, which has been slowly transforming the 1990s’ ‘no means no’ discourse into one that states only ‘yes means yes.’ At the same time, prior research finds that young people frequently have a hard time translating abstract definitions of affirmative consent into practical sexual scripts and that young people tend to view affirmative consent as an awkward and embarrassing process and, accordingly, express little motivation to give and get affirmative consent in their sexual encounters. Perhaps this is because young people are not exposed to practical sexual scripts involving affirmative consent, and are not seeing it practiced among other young people. Hence, I am interested in exploring what messages are most frequently disseminated through the Stories of Consent contributions and the demographic characteristics of the contributors themselves. I am guided by the following research question: What are the recurring themes in the Stories of Consent submissions? To answer this question, I performed a qualitative content and thematic analysis of a sample of 52 submissions from the Stories of Consent website (https://storiesofconsent.online/ [1]). Answering this question allows me to understand better the most popular themes under investigation and in practice and thus theorize about the potential value of engaging with Stories of Consent submissions, particularly for young people. Early results indicate that Stories of Consent contributors are young people, most often under 25. Their young age is likely significant, given that prior research has found that young people tend to replicate the sexual scripts of their peers. Hence, Stories of Consent can be a valuable tool for young people to learn about and see affirmative sexual consent enacted concretely by similar others. Theoretically, they are more likely to uptake and model these behaviours after being exposed to them through peers. Moreover, the contributors frequently discussed the following themes: that consent must be repeatedly asked for and acquired, that being in a relationship does not equal consent, that one must verbally ask for consent, that one must support verbal communication by paying attention to non-verbal signals of (non)consent, that consent must be asked for regardless of gender, and that consent is sexy and leads to safe, supportive, and pleasurable sexual experiences. Many contributors also noted how past experiences with sexual violence informed their attitudes towards sexual activity, and that being in a sexual relationship characterized by affirmative consent led to feelings of safety and comfort. After discussing the results, I move to situate the project within a framework of ethical erotics, which insists that sexuality should not be addressed, framed, or taught in a solely positive or negative light. Instead, ethical erotics involve highlighting both pleasure and danger discourses to reflect the realities of sexuality. In educational spaces, danger discourses either dominate or entirely frame teachings of sexuality. Hence, I argue that Stories of Consent, involving both pleasure and danger discourses, is an excellent tool to include in spaces concerned with sexuality education, especially schools. Further research should test and evaluate (young) people’s responses to Stories of Consent submissions to see if these predictions hold true.

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Non-presenting author: Kaitlynn Mendes, Western University

Baiyu Su, University of Alberta

Resisting Patriarchy: How Daughters in Chinese Families Respond to Gender-based Violence During Covid Lockdown

During China’s three years of Covid lockdowns, a trend emerged in online forums advocating for Chinese young women to act out (fafeng), defined as adopting a tough, aggressive approach, to cope with parental abuse of daughters and gender double standards imposed by their parents. This research investigates the narratives of fafeng and identifies the conditions for an efficacious fafeng that can result in improved treatments. Furthermore, I position the advocacy of fafeng and explore its implications within the context of contemporary “decentralized” feminism in China, where (1) women engage in online feminist activities without central leaders or formal feminist organizations, and (2) discussions about gender issues are more commonly led by laypersons rather than explicit feminists. By shifting the focus from feminist activists to the ways laypersons cope with gender oppression, this research expands the scholarly understanding of female rebels, both in China and beyond. Based on 10 months of observation and analysis of 15 posts in which women describe their fafeng scenes on a female-dominated online forum, Douban Group, I first explored fafeng as a specific kind of strategic performance. I found that an efficacious fafeng demands that abused women not only manage their emotions but also carefully choose the right moments and places for creating a publicly observable display to get sympathy and potential help from third parties. This approach contrasts with merely engaging in verbal and physical confrontations with their abusive parents, as it incorporates what Arlie Hochschild refers to as “emotional labor”. Second, I discovered that fafeng, as a coping strategy, is a shared knowledge within the online community, often taught by individuals who have experienced domestic violence. During the experience-sharing and knowledge-learning, women naturally connect and empower each other by attaching their personal experiences to wider inequalities. This process may not directly bring about structural and institutional changes, but it is essential for building community feelings of collectivity and feminist affective solidarity. Third, I linked the advocacy of fafeng to the context of contemporary Chinese feminism, emphasizing its role as a feminist endeavor to redefine femininity. The Chinese word fafeng carries the meaning of “madness” and is often utilized to stigmatize female anger. Women embracing this pejorative term is a symbolic act of transforming the old bad into a new normal. I further connected it to another feminist attempt at reshaping the old good into a new bad: repudiating the image of the “good daughter” as assessed within Chinese filial piety culture. These endeavors of redefining femininity offer women an alternative perspective to examine the ideals ingrained in patriarchal society and establish the moral legitimacy of female rebels in China. China’s special surveillance monitoring environment generates a prevalent suppressed attitude toward identifying oneself as a feminist and participating in protests in the real world. Therefore, focusing solely on feminist groups or activists is insufficient if we aim to grasp the complete picture of today’s Chinese feminism, as well as similar situations in other places. By revealing the rebellious thoughts underlying “girl talk” in female groups, my research redirects attention to the ways in which laypersons resist gender oppression.