Violence
CLICK HERE: A content analysis of Internet rape sites.
Open Access: No
Abstract
Research on pornography has distinguished between its violent and nonviolent forms. Analyses of the content of violent pornography have largely focused on readily available soft-core images in adult films and magazines. However, current research has not adequately addressed pornography on the Internet. We show that discussions about violent pornography are incomplete without an understanding of the Internet as a unique and rapidly expanding medium for disseminating images of sexual violence against women. This article attempts to fill that gap by examining violent pornography using a sample of 31 free Internet sites. Each site was analyzed for its portrayal of women victims, male perpetrators, and its story of rape. Please be advised that the analysis contains graphic descriptions of violence toward women found on Internet rape sites.
Relevance
The study focused “exclusively on pornography that is marketed as violent…[on] sites that include the words “rape” or “forced sex” in their title, text, or Internet address.” Among there findings were:
most of the sites “most do not address whether the images are of an actual rape” and some specifically “advertise their rape images as being real.”
Weapons are frequently depicted; victims are often tied, choked; “Other weapons used to restrain victims are cloth gags, handcuffs, chains, guns, knives, bats, whips, clothespins, and cages.”
“The age of the victim is an especially strong selling point for many of these sites,” which often describe the victims as “young,” “teen,” “schoolgirl,” or “lolita.” Often, various props are used to signify that the victim is school-aged.
“Although innocence is a dominant theme, several other victims are described with derogatory slurs, including “bitch,” “pussy,” “whore,” “slut,” “slave,” and worse.
“The vast majority of images show the face of the victim, while the perpetrator’s face is rarely visible. Typically the victim’s face has an open mouth, as if screaming or expressing pain.” In fact, “the pain caused to the victim is a primary selling point for the sites.”
Citation
Gossett, J. L., & Byrne, S. (2002). “CLICK HERE”: A content analysis of Internet rape sites. Gender & Society, 16(5), 689–709. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124302236992
