Photographs of the young/young photographers: Generation and the generative power of digital images

Abstract

'Sexualized' digital images of the young, photos which purport to be of the young and photographs taken by the young present new philosophical and policy challenges of the kind Foucault described in his definition of 'problematics': a combination of the history of ideas and the history of mentalities. This article sets out to describe and analyse 'problematics' associated with the reception of, and public debate about, notable digital images in order to demonstrate the multiple ways in which new technologies are revealing relationships of power and creating the conditions of possibility for policy change in Australia. Among the cited instances are the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Skype incident and the YouTube Australian Football League (AFL) 'nude photo' scandal; the fight against the distribution of illegal images by the Australian Federal Police (AFP); the generative impact of the 'Henson case'; and young photographers' groups hosted by web communities. All Australian images made, and photography practices referred to, took place between 2008 and April 2011. Earlier feminist approaches to photographic images are tested against newer questions emerging from the use of digital technologies.