Viral Times, Paranoid Masculinities
AI, Nerds, and Technological Contamination
in Journal of Bodies, Sexualities, and MasculinitiesSearch for other papers by Jernej Markelj in
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Abstract
In this article I develop the concept of paranoid masculinities, which seeks to provide a theoretical lens for analyzing defensive push-back of hegemonic male identities against what they regard as the undermining forces of emasculation. Building on the work of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, this concept offers a historically situated account of masculine identity, which is conceptualized as dynamic, relational, and based on affectivity. The historical context that the concept seeks to account for is here characterized as the age of universal contagion, which is defined by escalating rhythms of capitalist economy intensifying circulation and contact of people and commodities. The concept of paranoid masculinities is developed through examining the transition from human-operated cars to AI-powered vehicles, which are perceived as contaminating hegemonic masculinity, and thus paranoidly resisted.
Contributor Notes
Jernej Markelj (PhD, Cardiff University) is a lecturer in new media and digital culture at the University of Amsterdam, and a researcher on the Social Contract in the 21st Century project at the University of Ljubljana. His work has been published in edited books such as Deleuze and The Global Pandemic and Clickbait Capitalism, and in academic journals like Convergence, New Media & Society and The Journal of Media Art Study and Theory. He is researching the intersection of media and affect to investigate themes of contagion, addiction, and control. Email: j.markelj@uva.nl; ORCID: