cadernos pagu (44), janeiro-junho de 2015:171-198. ISSN 1809-4449 DOSSIER: DIGITAL PATHS: BODIES, DESIRES, VISIBILITIES Self-exposed nudity on the net: Displacements of obscenity and beauty?* Paula Sibilia** Resumo This article focuses on images of nude female bodies that circulate today within the media, and on the internet in particular. Prime attention is given to the images that women publish as self portraits. From a genealogical perspective, we examine the politicization involved in a new set of practices, diverse but recent, and how they impact on current redefinitions of beauty standards and criteria defining what is considered to be obscene. Palavras-chave: Body, Subjectivity, Nudity, Obscenity, Internet. * Received January 31, 2015, approved March 24, 2015. Translated by Miriam Adelman. Reviewed by Richard Miskolci. ** Professor in the Graduate Program in Communication (PPGCOM) and the Department of Media and Cultural Studies of the UFF, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
[email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-4449201500440171 172 Self-exposed nudity on the net Over the last few decades, the boundaries around what kinds of images can be legitimately shown in public have been redrawn, particularly where sexuality and women’s naked bodies are concerned (Sibilia, 2008). Increasingly distant from the typical 19th and 20th centuries forms of modesty and including fields that range from advertising and video clips to the visual and performing arts and the self-portraits that multiply through the social networks of the web, showing naked bodies seems to be the latest fashion. Furthermore, a wide range of women are taking up a certain kind of activism spurred by the younger generations, exhibiting their nudity in the name of a multiplicity of “noble” causes, whether ecology, reproductive rights, freedom of expression or respect for cultural difference.