Nude Leaking: from moralization and gendered violence to empowerment

Abstract

The “sphere of intimacy” is increasingly mediated by a socio-technical network inlaid with new meanings and readings in love and seduction games. In these affective-digital exchanges, nudes are essential in linking interest between partners, also setting spaces for power struggles and violence. This work aims to analyze the prevailing moralities, the emotional management, and the inclusion of the body in affirming autonomy and diversity identified in the statements of young people whose intimate contents were disseminated on the internet without their consent. We analyzed 20 videos of young YouTubers who had such an experience from the Critical Discourse Analysis perspective. The statements carry discursive forces of “venting”, “testimony”, and, above all, “counseling”. The narrated experiences highlight the dynamics of disseminating these intimate contents and how they differently affect the representations of face and social recognition of boys and girls. Handling suffering techniques vary between resignation in the face of patriarchal order and overcoming and autonomy discourses. We also highlight the initiatives of these young people in managing intimate images and a political stance on the use and expression of their bodies.