My History of Witchcraft lectures have been the most graphic in nature of my entire U of M career. Images of naked womyn appear in just about every lecture, and the occurrences of images depicting rape or other representations of violence against womyn do not fall far behind. Most of the images are historical artifacts from Early Modern Europe or are based off the time period. We’ve been taught that they are an accurate representation of attitudes towards the female body and womyn of the time period.

My professor makes an effort to contextualize each picture and provide us with the critical framework needed to analyze how each depiction describes social factors that help explain the witch hunts of Early Modern Europe. I get that these images aren’t meant to recreate or relive negative attitudes towards womyn, rather enrich our education by analyzing sources we have from the past. However, after each lecture, my criticism grows against the necessity to constantly be presented with pornographic and violent images in order to gain the aforementioned academic pursuits.

I think that the constant viewing of these images is having an inverse effect on how much empathy we have for the depicted womyn and the amount of contempt for Early Modern Europe assumption about womyn. It’s a pacifying effect. It’s not just that we lose the “shock value” of seeing 17th century porn, but we also lose the conception of the subjects as people for two reasons: (1) the original authorial intent of the images is meant to do so, and (2) more potently, we’re distanced from the reality of horrors that witch hunts created when we can see such painful images without even flinching.

I began to think of this class in the context of other Womyn’s Studies classes, where the content discusses similar events and phenomenon in which violence against womyn is prevalent. I hardly see atrocious images in classes- I think, under the assumption that it is out of respect for the student and for the dignity of such womyn who would be subjects of imagery. So, does the distance of a couple hundred years remove those assumptions?

It’s disturbing to me to feel less and less of my face cringing and heart cracking when I see images that suggest or explicitly show violent acts. I’m curious – is there a justification for these repeated viewings?

(Stock photo courtesy of sxc.hu)

3 Comments

• Aaron Bekemeyer says:

  October 25, 2011 at 3:25 pm

  Let’s say there were much stricter controls on how often students saw such images in class. Even so, professors studying this sort of thing would have to see these images all the time and spend a lot of time with them in order to study them. Do you think that that situation, too, is ethically problematic? Or is some small group of people obligated to “protect” people from these images, perhaps becoming desensitized to them while preventing others from becoming so?

  Reply
  • Lexie Tourek says:

    October 25, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    Two things – (1) My choice whether or not I view these images is very limited and trades off with whether or not I attend lecture or even look at lecture slides. (2) If I were to consciously decide to view 17th century pornographic images for personal or academic reasons, I would have a much stronger foundation for analysis (of any type) opposed to peripheral suggestions about how I view images.

    I disagree with your premise that professors studying these issues have to encounter sexually explicit and degrading images at constant, high rates. And, what I’m taking issue with is photographic images, paintings and drawings. I definitely think there’s a difference between this and encountering this material in other settings – for instance, a modern day example, interviewing human trafficking survivors. In a historical setting, maybe it’s reading personal accounts, diary entries, etc.

    I do think that there is the risk in anything we do/pursue of becoming desensitized to what was once emotional/elicited empathy. Perhaps, my critique isn’t of my professor’s decisions to show us these images, just my sad reconciliation that these processes are at work on us and have severe deterministic impacts for how we interact with others.

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    • Naomi says:

      October 25, 2011 at 11:07 pm

      I think that desensitization is an interesting concept. On the one hand, there is great value and importance in understanding past conceptions of women which very much inform today’s as well as for the inherent value of understanding the past. On the other hand, maybe there exists a point of no return at which overexposure to graphic material, though while necessary for complete understanding, becomes a detriment to understanding. Not every student takes such classes and not every class within women’s studies uses such graphic imagery. Furthermore, it is the student and professor’s decisions to view these Images, no one forces a professor into a particular field or a student into a particular class. I think that the ethical line has to be drawn when learning stops. When learning ceases because of desensitization, then that’s a problem for developing an understanding of society. Furthermore, it is not degrading to the dignity of the women who are portrayed in this artwork because it is being used to learn and help the position of women today, not to scoff at or take pleasure from.

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