Privacy & Privates (I'm talking about nudes)
- Joanne Sally Mero
- Nov 30, 2017
- 2 min read
Nudity Disclaimer: this post has a photo of a bare butt. If you do not wish to see a photo of a bare butt, totally understandable. You can 1) exit this post or 2) not scroll all the way down. This is the top of the bare butt photo so you know where to stop. If you continue, you will definitely see a bare butt.
How have I gone through the whole semester without blogging about nudes? I don't know either! The time is now!
As our class winds down, we hone in on privacy and possible violation of that privacy. As mentioned in last week's blog post, Uncertainty Reduction Theory applies to relationships in which the desire to know another person/their intentions drives communication. In class we had a discussion about the difference between information-seeking and being creepy online. While the "creepiness" those answers differ from person to person, we all sort of agreed that "internet stalking" is a term that is now normalized. "Stalking" someone online may simply mean scrolling through someone's social media account, but "everyone does it" so it must be okay. (??) This got me thinking about paparazzi and real-life stalking.
If a person is taking photographs and following someone walking down the street, it's called stalking. However, if a famous person is walking and there are ten people taking photographs, it's suddenly okay because they're celebrities? I personally don't think so.
Earlier this month, well-known singer-songwriter Sia had an issue with paparazzi which she tweeted about. Someone was taking nude photos of her (which she was obviously unaware of) then attempted to sell them online. While some celebrities may be embarrassed of their nude photos, Sia took matters into her own hands and exploited herself before the paparazzi could.
Now, not everyone is as bold, brave, or badass as Sia is, but it really got me thinking about privacy and our personal fear of security. I'm not saying everyone should release the things they keep private, because I respect the privacy of myself and others. What I'm saying is there's power in privacy. If that privacy is violated for whatever reason, someone else may hold that power. But what's empowering is that even though Sia didn't have control of the photographer, she had the opportunity to take control and own it. That. That is taking media matters into your own hands.
As promised, here is the tweet of Sia's photo. (Bare-butt opposers, this is where your scrolling comes to an end.)
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