Soft-Core Urbanism / Hard-Core Violence

Lecture by Nicole Kalms, Program of Interior Architecture, Monash School of Architecture and Design, Melbourne, Australia.

The mainstreaming of pornography in public spaces of late capitalist cities, and the proliferation of “porno chic” consumer culture, shapes social space. This mode of “hypersexualized violence” is not distinct or isolated but works systematically to produce a spatial culture of violence.

The lecture discusses sexualized representation in the city – in the form of billboards and social media devices as amplifications of other, more overt forms of sexual violence against women. In doing so, it contributes to the complex nexus of sexualized culture, feminist theory and urban space.

Nicole Kalms‘ research interest are in the field of contemporary urbanism and feminism, she works currently on a research project and book titled Hypersexual Urbanism. In 2015 Nicole will lead the Interior Architecture program at Monash University with a focus on cross-disciplinary approaches to design media and spatial theory.