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Leaked Sex and Damaged Goods: News Media Framing of Illicit and Stolen Celebrity Images Stephanie Patrick Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for a Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Women’s Studies Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Stephanie Patrick, Ottawa, Canada, 2019 Abstract New media technologies are changing the ways that we not only go about our day-to-day lives, but also the ways that we sell and exchange our labor within the capitalist economy. These technologies are shaping how we represent and perceive ourselves and others, as well as the ways in which, as we move about the world, our images are taken and circulated with neither our explicit permission, nor sometimes our knowledge (Dovey, 2000; Toffoletti, 2007). Despite the fact that we can no longer viably opt out of visual or technological culture, there remains a strong rhetoric of personal responsibility when such images are used in ways that are unexpected and sometimes extremely damaging (C. Hall, 2015). The growth in incidences of what Clare McGlynn (2017) calls “image-based sexual violence” cannot be divorced from the economic and cultural shifts that are both challenging and reifying dominant power relations in the early 21st century. This doctoral thesis examines the economic and social discourses underpinning news reporting on sexual privacy violations in relation to new media technologies and shifting forms of female celebrity. Using empirical methods to collect and sort U.S. and Canadian news articles at a macro level as well as discourse analysis of news reporting at the micro level, I focus on two particular sites wherein new media celebrity, sexual violence/violation, and political economies converge: the celebrity sex tape scandal and the stolen celebrity nude photo. I examine sexuality and privacy violation in an exemplary economic context, looking at how the “leaked” sex tape or image functions in the gendered sexual economy to undermine claims to meritocratic capitalist success. I focus on two moments of crisis: firstly, the pop culture crisis of 2007-2008, coinciding with the global economic recession as well as the growth in new media technology and social media usage, wherein several high-profile female celebrities undergo dramatic and very public ii “breakdowns” in proper femininity, ranging from the fairly banal “scandal” surrounding a then- 15-year-old Miley Cyrus posing semi-nude for Vanity Fair to the more severe and illegal acts of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton (both of whom were arrested for driving under the influence across this time period). Secondly, I examine the moment of crisis signaled by the 2014 iCloud hacking incident wherein hundreds of female celebrities’ personal private nude photos were stolen and circulated online. I analyze the sex “scandals” that are both discursively constructed by, and circulating through, the news at these moments. The findings point to several notable trends in the contemporary political climate. Firstly, they illuminate the tensions and contradictions in the media’s attempt to reconcile post-feminist sexual “empowerment” narratives with the broader imperatives of neoliberalism, surveillance, and self-commodification. Secondly, this thesis provides a timely analysis of the gendered pathways to success and the gatekeeping that is conducted both within and by the (news) media, which are themselves invested in narratives of meritocracy. Finally, the cynical, meta- commentary circulating in the news reporting on celebrity content – reporting that is increasingly beholden to corporate interests – contributes to the broader erosion of trust in mainstream media. In today’s media environment in particular, studies of heirs-turned-reality stars such as Paris Hilton (whose trajectory is eerily similar to that of U.S. President Donald Trump), are particularly urgent, as are studies that connect the seemingly disparate yet increasingly converging fields of celebrity, journalism, feminism (and sexual violence), and neoliberalism. Keywords: news analysis, sex tape, nude photos, the Fappening, new media, Disney, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), material feminism, iCloud hack, rape culture. iii Acknowledgments Thank you first and foremost to my supervisor Dr. Dominique Bourque, whose advice and guidance throughout this journey has been invaluable. Our research interests may have made this seem, at the start, like an odd pairing, but your knowledge and support have shaped this project in innumerable ways, and I cannot imagine having worked with anyone else. Thank you to each of my committee members, who offered their time, insight, and such incredible feedback. Thank you to Dr. Lori Burns, for bringing clarity to my thoughts and arguments throughout the process. I’m grateful to Dr. Shoshana Magnet, for your generosity, patience, and enthusiasm from the outset. Thank you to Dr. Mythili Rajiva, for not only pushing me to my analytical limits, but also for giving me the confidence to pursue those limits. And, finally, a huge thank you to Dr. Sarah Projansky whose own critical feminist scholarship has been such an inspiration: I am so grateful for your time, generosity, and intellectual engagement with my work. I also want to thank all of my wonderful colleagues at the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies, including, in particular, Dr. Gulzar Charania, Dr. Kathryn Trevenen, and, of course, my writing buddy Dr. Hayley R. Crooks. A huge (!) thank you to Sylvie Thériault and Natacha Lemieux for all of the help, encouragement, and laughs over the years. Thank you to Dr. Florian Grandena and Dina Salha who have supported me throughout my graduate career at the University of Ottawa. Thank you to the University, as well as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for the generous financial support. Thank you to my parents Leslie Patrick and Mark Patrick for always (objectively!) believing in me. Thank you to all my friends and family who have ever expressed any interest in what I’m doing: those questions always help and have, in turn, shaped my work. Thank you to Mike Migliara, my number one fan and best friend... Meet you on the other side. iv Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................... 1 I. Context and Interventions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 II. Key Terms ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 III. Chapter Outlines .................................................................................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 1 Literature Review .............................................................................................................................................. 19 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 I. Feminist Media Studies ......................................................................................................................................................................... 21 a) Consensual Sexual Imagery ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 b) Non-consensual Sexual Imagery ............................................................................................................................................. 25 II. Celebrity Studies ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 a) Female Celebrity, Sexuality and Scandal ............................................................................................................................ 28 b) Social Media Celebrity, Neoliberalism, and Sexuality .................................................................................................... 32 III. Case Study Scholarship ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................................................... 46 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 I. Material Feminism .................................................................................................................................................................................. 46 a) Women, Work, and Capitalism ................................................................................................................................................ 46 b) Women and the Media ...............................................................................................................................................................