A Dumb Question about “Revenge Porn”
So here’s my dumb question: Why in the world would anyone think it’s a good idea to send naked JPEG’s to a paramour in the first place? I realize young people might view the practice as a playful gesture of intimacy and trust, but isn’t that the whole point to having sex? Why is it necessary to top off that most private of acts with an unclad photographic memento? Back in “my day,” we didn’t have camera phones, texting, or the Internet, so it’s hard for me to understand why anyone would consider a candid of his or her privates an appropriate gift, much less deliver it via email or text. And yet, this has now become a “thing” (as former U.S. Representative and New York City Councilmember Anthony Weiner can attest; his multiple “sexting” scandals cost him his run for N.Y.C. mayor).
Sure, I had my
share of steamy romances back in those prehistoric, pre-tech times. And while we
ancient cave-dwellers didn’t know from today’s technology, we did have cameras.
Never in a million years would I have allowed a man to photograph me naked,
never mind take such a picture myself. For one thing, even on my youngest, thinnest
day, I was never that proud of my bare bod to want it captured on
film for posterity. But more to the point, even as a reckless twenty-something, some logical
crevice of my brain realized that sexual romances—no matter how passionate—tend not to last forever. (In fact, the hotter the sex, the more fleeting the
affair was apt to be.) I might have dug a guy enough to bring him home with me, but the
notion of letting him lord pictorial control over my butt and boobs was just
too great a risk. Why trifle with that all-too-prevalent male impulse to show
off such a trophy, or worse yet, willingly tender something that could
later be used to blackmail me? Those low-tech pitfalls have not changed from when I was
single, so why do today’s sexual partners so readily submit their nakedness
to the lightning speed and worldwide scope of Cyberspace?
In this age of instantaneous electronic dissemination, this tiniest bit of restraint would seem more obvious and essential than ever. But, then again, maybe I’m just too old and flabby to understand the temptation. Perhaps Anthony Weiner would care to explain it to me.
Tags: revenge-porn; sexting; anthony-weiner; communications-decency-act