Duration: 2 weeks
Proposals for contemporary chastity belts.
“Wearable technology…” Royal College of Art brief
Medieval chastity belts were objects of power and control – as symbolic and physically debilitating as shackles – and an indication of the then view of infidelity. However, women would often volunteer to wear these belts as a pledge of their fidelity to their husband and/or for fear of sexual assault.
The following are 5 proposals for devices that experiment with the notion of contemporary chastity belts: where(a)ware, time(a)ware, snap(a)ware, narc(a)ware, and risk(a)ware.
As sexual, social and emotional power-balances have changed, these devices embody an evolution from medieval objects: exploring various sensing and network technologies, rather than physical obstruction, in order for people to re-appraise their social/sexual behaviour.
Some of these devices are intended to be worn by people who are aware of their function; others provide opportunity for clandestine surveillance by jealous, concerned or paranoid people. These networked objects have a rudimentary awareness of certain things and can make other people and objects aware of what they sense. Many of them are able to alert people of certain events; by sending text messages, emails, taking photos, etc.
Where(a)ware:
“They know where they are and where they’re supposed to be…”
Time(a)ware:
“They know how long you’ve been…”
Narc(a)ware:
“They know when you’ve had too much…”
Narc(a)ware video (30 secs).
Narc(a)ware undergarments are aware of chemical instances and levels of toxic substances in the blood, sweat and bodily fluids of their users; (alcohol, rohypnol, ghb, etc.) if these levels rise too high – ALERT!
Soundtrack credit: DJ Shadow – “Mashin’ on The Motorway”
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
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