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Revenge porn has become a new, terrifying post-break up concern. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, revenge porn is an ultimate betrayal of trust, showcasing to the world private, intimate moments between former couples. Consider it weaponized slut-shaming at its finest.
There is some hope, however: Several women are channeling their pain to fuel a counter-strike against their attackers. Emma Holten is one of them. After breaking up with her boyfriend, she was hacked and bombarded with hundred of emails and messages containing nude pictures. They were also posted online, which opened the floodgates to more abrasive emails from men who took pleasure in her violation. In her essay published on HystericalFeminisms.com, Holten writes that: “The absence of consent was erotic, they relished my suffering.”
There is no feigning ignorance with this form of online harassment. Revenge porn is a growing sub-genre of pornography that feeds into a seedy sense of entitlement amongst jilted men, many of whom feel women deserve to be treated this way. According to Holten: “These messages were from men all over the world. Teen boys, university students, nuclear-family dads. The only thing they had in common was that they were all men.”
It would have been easy for Holten to retreat and internalize the violent language against her. Instead, in collaboration with photographer Cecilie Bødker, she decided to strike back by publishing her own nude photos. By removing the lens of the male gaze, Holten reclaims her sexuality for herself.
“The pictures are an attempt at making me a sexual subject instead of an object. I am not ashamed of my body, but it is mine. Consent is key.” As a feminist, Holten is familiar with the stigma that feminism means being inherently anti-sexual. Part of her activism is reclaiming her body and her story from those that would shame her and others who have suffered.
As the legal and social battle against revenge porn continues, victories both inside and outside the courts have shown that we will not stand back and allow the treatment of women’s bodies as sexual commodities.
Image by Cecilie Bødker and Emma Holten
