The visual language of
virtual BDSM photographs in Second Life.
This article discussed the social semiotics of BDSM related photographs within Second Life, specifically user's profile pictures.
This article discussed the social semiotics of BDSM related photographs within Second Life, specifically user's profile pictures.
Most
of the findings were similar to those of BDSM photography within the
real world, with typical BDSM fashion, women most commonly taking the
role of of the submissive, and the photographs often having a more
sexual nature (though with the dominant always clearly in control).
They also contained objects commonly associated with BDSM, such as
whips and cages.
One of the biggest differences between real world BDSM photography and those found in Second Life was the usage of outside locations and bright light sources. Keeping with the 'taboo' feeling of the practice, traditional BDSM photography does not usually include either of these, however the photographs found in Second Life had an unusually high percentage of both. This suggests a much greater acceptance of the lifestyle, as practitioners do not have to 'hide in the shadows' (especially as all the photographs looked at were publicly available.). Interestingly, another article from the same author supported this, describing the amount of BDSM porn available, from mainstream magazines to vendors giving avatars the chance for their own BDSM photo shoot (Bardzell & Bardzell, 2006).
One interesting conclusion was that through the unavoidable nature of the power lying with the photographer and not the viewer, BDSM imagery offers dominance to to submissives in the sense that they can assert their identity and force the spectator to look at them in the way they desire. Similarly, according to dominants “...offer up their bodies to the objectifying gaze of the spectator.” (p. 19), which gives them less power than one would assume from their chosen role.
One of the biggest differences between real world BDSM photography and those found in Second Life was the usage of outside locations and bright light sources. Keeping with the 'taboo' feeling of the practice, traditional BDSM photography does not usually include either of these, however the photographs found in Second Life had an unusually high percentage of both. This suggests a much greater acceptance of the lifestyle, as practitioners do not have to 'hide in the shadows' (especially as all the photographs looked at were publicly available.). Interestingly, another article from the same author supported this, describing the amount of BDSM porn available, from mainstream magazines to vendors giving avatars the chance for their own BDSM photo shoot (Bardzell & Bardzell, 2006).
One interesting conclusion was that through the unavoidable nature of the power lying with the photographer and not the viewer, BDSM imagery offers dominance to to submissives in the sense that they can assert their identity and force the spectator to look at them in the way they desire. Similarly, according to dominants “...offer up their bodies to the objectifying gaze of the spectator.” (p. 19), which gives them less power than one would assume from their chosen role.
Though
an interesting article, I felt that it focused on describing only
basic trends within BDSM photography, which also can be found in real
world examples, and therefore lacked depth when discussing the most
interesting issues, such as the differing levels of openness for BDSM
between Second Life and reality, or on the issue of fluctuating power
between the dominants and submissives due to way in which they have
to communicate their roles according to what the interface allows.
References
Bardzell, S. (2010). Topping from the viewfinder: The visual language of virtual BDSM photographs in Second Life. Journal of Virtual World Research, 2 (4), 3-22
Bardzell, S. and Bardzell, J. (2006). Sex-Interface-Aesthetics: The Docile Avatars and Embodied Pixels of Second Life BDSM. Retrieved from http://www.ics.uci.edu/~johannab/sexual.interactions.2006/papers/ShaowenBardzell%26JeffreyBardzell-SexualInteractions2006.pdf
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