Consent

Integrated Internet Whoredom has a couple of posts about the problem of coercion and consent in erotic photography. The posts are here and here.

When a photographer and a model agree to do a shoot, either it's a standard type of shoot in which the details don't have to be discussed, or the model and photographer discuss the shoot ahead of time. This gives the model time to think over the shoot and decide whether she's comfortable with it. Once she arrives for the shoot, she knows what to expect and she's given her informed consent.

It's the model's ability to evaluate the shoot ahead of time that makes her consent meaningful. When we have to make complex decisions on the spur of the moment, we frequently make bad decisions. This is generally recognized in any situation where you have to make a decision that has important consequences. A doctor doesn't expect you to make a decision on elective surgery in five minutes. No one expects you to sign a contract on a house that you saw for the first time fifteen minutes ago. Car salesmen will often try to pressure you into making a quick decision, but car salesmen have a reputation for unethical behavior.

Models usually want the shoot to go well, and are willing to take direction from the photographer. During the shoot, they make spur of the moment decisions about their responses to the photographer's requests. Some of these spur of the moment decisions may be bad decisions, but it doesn't matter because the important decisions about the overall nature of the shoot have already been made. Under these circumstances, a bad decision may result in one or two bad pictures, but the consequences aren't likely to be any worse than that.

Supposing the photographer wants to do something that he knows the model isn't likely to agree to? One way to get around the barrier of consent is to force the model to make important decisions on the spur of the moment. This greatly increases the chances that she will make a bad decision, i.e. a decision that she wouldn't have made if she had had a chance to think it over. This can be particularly effective if the importance of the decision isn't immediately obvious. For example, a photographer may ask a model to do something that puts her in a position in which it becomes difficult to say no to further requests, or puts her in a position in which she feels afraid to refuse further requests. If she is in a position where it is difficult to leave, the photographer can do things that would otherwise have caused her to end the shoot by leaving.

The problem with these tactics is that they don't result in consent. Informed consent requires that the model has had time to think over any important decisions. Free consent requires that she made her decisions without fear or coercion. Even if a model doesn't raise strong objections, there's still no consent. Any time someone has to make an important decision without time to think it over, their consent is forced and not free.

Some photographers value spontaneity. They want to make requests that the model isn't expecting so that they can get the model's unmediated response. This may be fine if it is discussed with the model ahead of time, and if there are limits to the spontaneity and the model is told what those limits are. The photographer has to remember that if a request is unexpected, any response is spontaneous, including a refusal. And since the circumstances limit the model's ability to give free, informed consent, the model should have the chance to look over the photographs made during the shoot and request that some photographs be destroyed. If she doesn't have several days ahead of time to decide if she's comfortable with the shoot, she should have several days afterward. Consent requires time to think the shoot over.