Sexualized Labour in Digital Culture: Instagram Influencers, Porn Chic and the Monetization of Attention

The rise of digital technologies and social media platforms has been linked to changing forms of work, as well as the mainstreaming of pornography and a ‘porn chic’ aesthetic. This article examines some of the ways in which these themes coalesce, and interrogates the conceptual boundaries of sexualized labour, extending beyond traditional organizational settings and into Web 2.0. The study explores performances of sexualized labour on social media by analysing visual and textual content from 172 female influencers on Instagram. This article contributes to the literature on sexualized labour in three ways. First, by demonstrating how sexualized labour is enacted across various forms of influencer labour, and how this relates to the attention economy and monetization. Second, by developing the extant conceptualization of sexualized labour and introducing connective labour as a required element to mobilize sexualized labour. Third, by opening up a critical analysis of what is meant by ‘sexualized’ labour within a cultural context of pornographication

Familial and Individual Risk Markers for Physical and Psychological Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization Among College Students

Dating violence (DV) is a prominent problem among college students that can result in harmful physical and mental health outcomes. Though much research has focused on physical DV, fewer studies have examined psychological DV. As such, the current paper compared early/familial risk markers (e.g., child physical abuse, witnessing parental violence, and maternal relationship quality) and individual risk markers (e.g., alcohol use, marijuana and prescription drug use) for physical and psychological DV among college students. Data were gathered at two large public universities using pencil and paper surveys (N = 1,482). Bivariate results revealed more risk markers for men (e.g., more child physical abuse, more frequent drinking, more close friends who drink and more marijuana and prescription drug use) compared to women. Multivariate results showed that familial risk markers were generally most important for explaining physical DV victimization and perpetration whereas individual risk markers were more salient for explaining psychological DV victimization and perpetration. Findings highlight the contribution of both early/familial and individual risk markers for understanding psychological and physical DV victimization and perpetration among college students

Hand Cooling during Recovery from Exercise in the Heat: Cold Water Immersion vs. Dry Cold Negative Pressure

Areas of the body that are devoid of hair, such as the palms of our hands, efficiently dissipate heat through specialized blood vessels. Immersing the hands in cold water is said to benefit the process of heat exchange, but has been criticized for its ability induce cutaneous vasoconstriction. The use of dry cold negative pressure is proposed to bypass this reflex in order to increase constant heat dissipation. PURPOSE: To compare the effect of two different hand cooling modalities on core temperature when recovering from exercise in a hot environment. METHODS: Males (N=12, 21±2 yr, 64±15 kg, 174±6 cm) of average cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2Peak=37+3 ml.kg-1.min-1) participated in three heat trials (35.1±0.2°C, 42±1%RH,) where they exercised on a cycle ergometer at 65% VO2Peak until a desired core temperature (38.3°C), 95% of heart rate max, or until volitional maximum. During recovery from the heat trials, subjects underwent one of three hand cooling treatments for 10 min [cold water immersion (WTR), dry cold negative pressure (NEG), and a control with no hand cooling (CON)] in a balanced crossover design. In WTR trials subjects submerged one hand in cold (10°C) water, and in NEG the hand was placed in sealed cold (10°C) container (AVAcore CoreControl Pro) that provided negative pressure (-47 mm Hg). Heart rate (HR) and core temperature (rectal, Tre) were measured pre-/post-recovery cooling. Two way (cooling method x time) repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze recovery HR and Tre (α=0.05). RESULTS: The main effect for cooling method was not significant for both HR (WTR=117±12 bpm, NEG=113±9 bpm, CON=118±13 bpm)(p=0.1650) and Tre (WTR=37.7±0.3°C, NEG=37.8±0.2°C, CON=37.8±0.3°C)(p=0.3560) during recovery. As expected, the main effect for time was significant for both Tre (Pre=37.8±0.2°C, Post=37.6±0.2°C)(p=0.0040) and HR (Pre=135±13 bpm, Post=97±9 bpm)(p=0.0001) as both declined during recovery. The cooling method x time interaction (p=0.4280) did not demonstrate that Tre decreased differently between the three cooling modalities, but the cooling method x time interaction for HR was significant (p=0.0320) where the change in HR during recovery periods did differ significantly between the cooling modalities. The significant interaction was driven by the WTR treatment HR declining at a slightly quicker rate than NEG and CON. CONCLUSION: The use of WTR or NEG didn’t decrease Tre any more efficiently than CON, but recovery HR did decline at slightly greater rate in WTR compared to both NEG and CON. This could suggest that while WTR provided a similar Tre reduction as NEG and CON, it did so with a quicker reduction in heart work

Bootstrapping the Meanings of Each & Every

The universal quantifiers "each" & "every" have similar truth conditions, but differ slightly in representation. "Each" often has an individual-based representation, while "every" has a set-based representation. In this study, we investigate not only how learners might arrive at these representations, but also whether or not there may be signal in the distributional differences in parents' speech that kids may use to learn the meanings of "each" & "every". To do this, we conducted a corpus investigation of child directed speech, that included the quantifier's "each" and "every", in the CHILDES corpus

“Extreme" porn? The implications of a label

Despite its prevalence, the term ‘extreme’ has received little critical attention. ‘Extremity’ is routinely employed in ways that imply its meanings are self-evident. However, the adjective itself offers no such clarity. This article focuses on one particular use of the term – ‘extreme porn’ – in order to illustrate a broader set of concerns about the pitfalls of labelling. The label ‘extreme’ is typically employed as a substitute for engaging with the term’s supposed referents (here, pornographic content). In its contemporary usage, ‘extreme’ primarily refers to a set of context-dependent judgements rather than absolute standards or any specific properties the ‘extreme’ item is alleged to have. Concurrently then, the label ‘extreme’ carries a host of implicit values, and the presumption that the term’s meanings are ‘obvious’ obfuscates those values. In the case of ‘extreme porn’, this obfuscation is significant because it has facilitated the cultural and legal suppression of pornography

Sex self-help books: hot secrets for great sex or promoting the sex of prostitution?

Authors of current sex self-help literature often adopt pseudo-feminist language in their work, and frequently claim that it promotes women's interests. A number of commonly recommended sex self-help books were analysed to test this notion. A critical feminist analysis of the texts suggests that far from promoting women's pleasure and sexual empowerment, this literature promotes the (active) sexual servicing of men by women. Drawing on previous feminist work in this area, it is proposed that current sex self-help literature should therefore be understood as advocating the sex of prostitution as an ideal for women to follow in their heterosexual relationships

The Country Fire Authority as an 'Extremely Gendered Organisation'

Conference Theme: Reflections, Intersections and Aspirations, 50 years of Australian Sociolog

The politics of pornography and pornographication in Australia

The pornographication of culture in the West is becoming an increasingly acknowledged trend in both the mass media and the academy (Attwood 2002, 2006; Maddison, 2004; McNair, 2002). For more than a decade, cultural commentators, journalists and scholars have been noting changes in the accessibility and acceptability of pornography, as well as the ways in which pornography and pornographic imagery are fragmenting and blurring into traditionally non-pornographic forms of popular culture. These trends, often referred to as the mainstreaming of porn (Dilevko & Gottlieb, 2002; Dines, 1998; McNair, 1996; Sørensen, 2003), or “porn chic” (Duits & van Zoonen, 2006; Jeffreys, 2005; McNair, 1996, 2002), take a variety of forms. The mainstreaming of pornography has been documented in areas as diverse as popular music, higher education, clothing and fashion, high art, sport and technology (Dilevko & Gottlieb, 2002; Jeffreys, 2005, p. 67-106; Levy, 2005; McNair, 1996, 2002; Maddison, 2004). At this time, however, pornographication is still relatively there are not yet any academic texts dealing specifically with pornographication in Australia. Furthermore, public discussion and media coverage of pornographication in Australia is largely obscured by debates regarding the sexualisation of children. This paper will consider the current strengths and weaknesses of the growing international academic literature on pornographication before analysing the framing of related debates in Australia through an examination of recent media coverage on pornographication and the sexualisation of children. It will be argued that the public debates on ‘sexualisation’ in Australia must be seen in the context of pornographication and should be broadened to include a discussion of potential harms to the status of women