My Body, My Choice

On Sept. 1, 2014, a vicious wave of attacks on privacy raced 
through the Internet at a speed known only to those fluent in 
hacker jargon and computer programming. Hundreds of nude and 
suggestive photos of high-profile female celebrities, which 
had been allegedly acquired through a major hack, were leaked 
on the websites 4chan and Reddit. Over 100 celebrities such as 
Kate Upton, Jennifer Lawrence and Arianna Grande became instant 
victims, as hackers stole personal photos from their cell phones.

The public’s reaction to the scandal seemed to move in stages. 
First, they believed that this breach of privacy seemed so 
impossible that upon hearing the rumors, they raced to their 
smartphones and computers to see if it was true. Most of the 
public clicked and tapped until they found what they thought 
could not really exist, and in this way the public also 
violated the privacy of over 100 high-profile female 
celebrities.

When people realized the pictures were real, more posts began 
to flood news outlets and public Internet forums. The most 
popular comments ran along the lines of “how did they do it,” 
“I can’t believe she took nude photos” or for the less 
computer savvy, “where can I find the photos so I can see for 
myself?”

As the “Ohmigod, no way” stage of the public’s reaction began 
to die, a more rational response began to grow and spread 
among the masses. The details of the incident had become 
clearer; only women had been targeted and had their privacy 
grossly violated. The time had come to stop viewing the 
hacking as simply an unheard of, entertaining scandal and 
to start getting angry that the rights of so many women had 
been infringed upon with such widespread sexual harassment.

Actress Lena Dunham, whose phone was not hacked, pleaded with 
her fans to react to the photos with integrity through a 
series of tweets. She wrote, “The way in which you share your 
body must be a CHOICE. Support these women and do not look at 
the pictures,” as well as “Remember, when you look at these 
pictures you are violating these women again and again. It’s 
not okay.”

Fortunately, it was not long before a lot of the public started 
to follow Lena’s lead and react similarly. Now it was Reddit’s 
turn to blush and peek at the loss of its reputation and 
credibility forever.

In an ill-thought-out attempt to win back the public’s favor, 
these websites decided to donate the profits they had made on 
the pornographic photos to charities. First, because Jennifer 
Lawrence had once donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation 
(PCF), Reddit decided to do the same. Much to its embarrassment, 
PCF responded to the donation by issuing the following public 
statement: “We would never condone raising funds for cancer 
research in this manner. Out of respect for everyone involved, 
and keeping with our own standards, we are returning all 
donations that resulted from such posts.”

Reddit was not deterred by this. They immediately began to 
transfer the rejected donation money to the charity water.org. 
Not only were these dirty funds rejected again, but Reddit’s 
donation page was shut down and will eternally read, “You have 
changed 0 lives to access with safe water.”

This perv-shaming is something that we should see more. A lot 
of people’s initial reactions were right to judge the hackers 
for infringing on something so private, but it cannot hurt to 
remember that the celebrities who took the suggestive and nude 
photos of themselves are not in the wrong — not in the least 
bit. It is not illegal or uncommon for people to take sexy and 
suggestive photos of themselves. As Lena Dunham said, “the way 
in which you share your body must be a CHOICE.”

The celebrities targeted in this hack did not have the intention 
of sharing their bodies with the entire Internet community. The 
photos were their personal belongings, which were stolen from 
them and unethically and illegally shared with the rest of the 
world. Nothing makes this ok, and it is my hope that the hackers 
will be forced to own up to their crimes.

thanks for reading,
stay classy! xx

Previously published in The Fordham Ram.