Perverse attraction: Idolatry, pornography, and the making of infrastructure

Cassandra Dana and Nathan Schneider 2024. Perverse attraction: Idolatry, pornography, and the making of infrastructure. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science. 59 (1), pp. 302-320. https://doi.org/10.16995/zygon.11013

TitlePerverse attraction: Idolatry, pornography, and the making of infrastructure
TypeJournal article
AuthorsCassandra Dana and Nathan Schneider
Abstract

The making of novel infrastructure often involves some kind of faith. This article considers a pair of experiments in the context of blockchain infrastructure led by entrepreneur Ameen Soleimani: MolochDAO and SpankChain, a grant fund and a sex-worker payments network, respectively. These enact a strategy we describe as “perverse attraction,” or the inversion of dominant moral hierarchies as a means of cultivating faithful practice around a still-incomplete infrastructural project. Although the technology at play is new, the strategy for advancing it reiterates the development of past infrastructures, from print cultures to the early internet. These precursors and the present case suggest that the strategy of perverse attraction, while occurring under the guise of empowerment, risks reinforcing the marginalization of its human participants.

JournalZygon: Journal of Religion and Science
Journal citation59 (1), pp. 302-320
ISSN1467-9744
0591-2385
Year2024
PublisherOpen Library of Humanities
Publisher's version
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.16995/zygon.11013
Web address (URL)https://doi.org/10.16995/zygon.11013
Publication dates
Published online02 Apr 2024

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