Photographs of self-injury: production and reception in a group of self-injurers
Photographs of self-injury (SI) on the Internet, according to the literature and the wider media, spread and encourage self-destructive behaviour, although very little is known about these effects. A group of self-injurers was questioned about the reasons for producing and looking at
photos of SI, and were asked about their reaction to exposure of them. The informants confirmed that the effects were alleviating rather than the opposite, and the production of the images was often related to notions about memory and proof. To publish them was apprehended as a way of sharing
experiences with others and to give and/or receive help. Photographs of self-injuries were described as one resource of a SI community culture. Informants often emphasised that the outcome of watching these photos varies due to individual and situational differences. The results of the study
are inconsistent with unfounded presumptions about photographs of SI, which are replaced with a nuanced and contradictory picture.
Keywords: Internet communities; discourse; photography of self-injury; self-injury; situated knowledge
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Department of Art Science, School of Cultural Sciences,Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
Publication date: 01 June 2012
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