JenniCam in Context

Jennifer Ringley is broadly remembered, and celebrated, as the first camgirl monetizing the promises of realness of authenticity in networked connections (fast-forward to the current influencer economy). Taking a media archaeological approach where phenomena are interpreted not as signs of things to come but rather as indicative of the horizons of possibility that once were,

Paasonen’s talk inquires after Jennicam in context: the technological and social environments where it emerged, three decades ago, and the specific kind of internet celebrity that Ringley coined.

How can you participate? Join us in person or online (starting at 10:30am) by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube. 

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca

Susanna Paasonen

Susanna Paasonen is a professor of media studies at the University of Turku, Finland, and most recently the coauthor of Hot Connections: Why Sexual Platforms Matter (with Jenny Sundén and Katrin Tiidenberg, MIT Press 2026).

Supported by DIGS, Milieux, Speculative Life-Machine Agencies, CISSC, COMS Concordia, Institute of Network Cultures, PLSM