Gender and Sexuality: No sex please, we’re Facebook
Date & Time:
27th October, 17:00
Location:
Online event; the link will be emailed to those who register.
Information:
Prof. Susanna Paasonen discussses how online platforms have been removing or demoting the visibility of sexual content.
No Sex Please, We’re Facebook
As online traffic has soared with pandemic lockdowns, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok have been persistent in removing, or at least demoting the visibility of sexual content: Zoom sex parties face terms of use banning sexually arousing content and “female-presenting nipples” are zoned out of Tumblr. Such aggressive deplatforming, building on horizontal moderation policies largely blind to context and serving commercial interests, results in online sociability void of sex. This talk examines the stakes involved in this – for social media platforms, advertisers, and users alike – and inquires after the perceived value (or lack thereof) attributed to sex in networked exchanges.
About Prof. Susanna Paasonen
Susanna Paasonen is Professor of Media Studies at University of Turku, Finland and PI of the consortium “Intimacy in Data-Driven Culture” funded by the Strategic Research Council (2019-2022/25). Susanna’s books include e.g., Carnal Resonance: Affect and Online Pornography (MIT Press 2011), Many Splendored Things: Thinking Sex and Play (Goldsmiths Press 2018), NSFW: Sex, Humor and Risk in Social Media (with Kylie Jarrett and Ben Light, MITP 2019) and Objectification: On the Difference Between Sex and Sexism (with Feona Attwood, Alan McKee, John Mercer and Clarissa Smith, Routledge 2020).