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Is This a Rape? Activism, Consent, and the Ethics of Looking in Emma Sulkowicz's Ceci N'est Pas Un Viol
Award Winner
Recipient of the 11th Annual Graduate Student Symposium Scholarship Award, Oral Presentations, Presidential Room - First Place (2018)
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Presentation Type
Oral Presentation (Electronic Copy Not Available)
Keywords
Sulkowicz, Emma. Ceci n'est pas un viol--Criticism and interpretation; Rape in art--Moral and ethical aspects;
Abstract
This essay is a rhetorical analysis of Emma Sulkowicz’s Ceci N’Est Pas Un Viol (or This is Not a Rape) website. The webpage consists of a short introduction, a list of probing questions, a video, and an open comment section. Throughout her introduction, Sulkowicz is explaining that viewers do not have her consent to watch her video, which is a supposedly accurate recreation of her rape. My argument is that just as the mere presence of a body does not entitle anyone to touch it, the existence of the video does not entitle anyone to watch it. Sulkowicz reclaims her power as a rhetor, as an artist, and as a rape victim by demanding that her body remain hers and hers alone. Building on the scholarship of Ariella Azoulay, Susan Sontag, and Judith Butler, I argue that ethical viewing practices need to be reconsidered, particularly with regards to images of rape. Additionally, consent needs to be reconceptualized to include the complex and often messy scenarios that take place in real life. Finally, this paper begins to deal with the question of what viewers ought to do when images, or in this case, videos, have the potential to do material violence both to the viewer and the subject of the image.
Start Date
3-4-2018 1:00 PM
End Date
3-4-2018 4:00 PM
Year of Award
2018 Award
Faculty Advisor
Catherine Palczewski
Department
Department of Communication Studies
Copyright
©2018 Abbie Shew
Embargo Date
3-30-2018
Is This a Rape? Activism, Consent, and the Ethics of Looking in Emma Sulkowicz's Ceci N'est Pas Un Viol
This essay is a rhetorical analysis of Emma Sulkowicz’s Ceci N’Est Pas Un Viol (or This is Not a Rape) website. The webpage consists of a short introduction, a list of probing questions, a video, and an open comment section. Throughout her introduction, Sulkowicz is explaining that viewers do not have her consent to watch her video, which is a supposedly accurate recreation of her rape. My argument is that just as the mere presence of a body does not entitle anyone to touch it, the existence of the video does not entitle anyone to watch it. Sulkowicz reclaims her power as a rhetor, as an artist, and as a rape victim by demanding that her body remain hers and hers alone. Building on the scholarship of Ariella Azoulay, Susan Sontag, and Judith Butler, I argue that ethical viewing practices need to be reconsidered, particularly with regards to images of rape. Additionally, consent needs to be reconceptualized to include the complex and often messy scenarios that take place in real life. Finally, this paper begins to deal with the question of what viewers ought to do when images, or in this case, videos, have the potential to do material violence both to the viewer and the subject of the image.
