Sidsel Kirstine Harder forsvarer sin ph.d.-afhandling på Sociologisk Institut

Profilbillede Sidsel Kirstine Harder
Sidsel Kirstine Harder

Kandidat

Sidsel Kirstine Harder, Sociologisk Institut, Københavns Universitet

Titel

"Images with Nudity and Consequences"
Social Situations, Pleasures and Harms in Sexting, Image-Based Abuse and Pornography

Bedømmelseskomité

  • Lektor Poul Poder, Sociologisk Institut, Københavns Universitet (forperson)
  • Lektor Lara Karaian, Carleton University, Canada
  • Professor Stevi Jackson, University of York, UK

Vært

Ph.d.-programleder Bente Halkier

OBS! Indholdet og diskussionerne ved dette ph.d.-forsvar vil indeholde meget direkte sexuelt sprogbrug, billeder, og video. En stor del af dette vil være følelsesmæssigt og intellektuelt udfordrende at forholde sig til.

Tid og sted

25. marts 2022, kl. 13:00
Københavns Universitet, Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet, 
Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1353 København K, CSS 1.1.18.

Vær opmærksom på, at forsvaret foregår på engelsk.

Inden forsvaret kan ph.d.-afhandlingen læses i en trykt version på Sociologisk Institut, lokale 16.1.23.

Efter forsvaret er instituttet vært ved en reception i lokale 16.1.62

Resumé (in english)

This PhD-dissertation explains young adults’ digital exchange of sexual images as an everyday phenomenon by the application of a sociological framework consisting of mainly interactionist theories. By focusing on emotions, stories and scripts, I explain how digital sexual conduct is learned through both culture, interaction, and introspection.

I contribute by nuancing previous research through the analysis of multiple data: namely surveys, interviews with sexters and documents from recent Danish police cases of nonconsensual sharing of sexual images. I discuss the ethical reflections, which have been ongoing thoughout my research in the complex field of digital sexuality and abuse.

The five articles find that

  • pornography is filtered out of sexting but into image-based abuse
  • nonconsensual sharers (fail to) manage feelings of shame
  • the emotional dilemmas of digital bystanders have a key impact in digital exchange of sexual images.

My main findings demonstrate the nuanced meaning in young adults’ experiences with sexting and image-based sexual abuse, which combine pleasure and harm, shame and desire, the mundane and the risky. In responding to these new practices, I suggest that policy-makers integrate insights from porn studies, a focus on bystanders and experiment with restorative justice.