Conventional Definition of Voyeurism
According to Kimberly Holland, voyeurism is defined as "an interest in observing unsuspecting people while they undress, are naked, or engage in sexual activities" usually without their consent. She draws a clear distinction between voyeurism itself and voyeuristic disorder, saying it becomes a cause for concern when people violate a person's expectation of privacy or when they cannot control their voyeuristic activities.
The connotation of the word "voyeurism" is usually more about sexual interest or desire of looking at someone else and getting pleasure from the action as suggested in a number of articles.
Extended Definition of Voyeurism
“We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their house and look in for a change.” (Stella, 00:09:05)
Although the definition of the word "voyeurism" from dictionaries and medical experts places emphasis on the sexual characteristic of it, we can think of it from a broader perspective. What does it mean to be voyeuristic? Can we all be voyeuristic to some extent?
“I’ll bet you that nine out of ten people, if they see a woman across the courtyard undressing for bed, or even a man puttering around in his room, will stay and look; no one turns away and says, ’It’s none of my business.’ They could pull down their blinds, but they never do; they stand there and look out.”
This is a quote by Hitchcock, from one of the extensive interviews carried out by François Truffaut. Hitchcock points out most people have voyeuristic tendencies, just as he implied in the film through the protagonist, Jefferies (Jeff), spending most of his time peeping out of the window.
Instinctive Desire to Observe Others - Why?
Just like Jeff in the film, I believe most humans have natural tendencies to be voyeuristic (peeping into others or simply being curious at others' lives) to different degrees. Humans are biologically programmed to be curious, and our natural curiosity is one of the critical traits that has helped our species to survive as we constantly look for new information to adapt to our environment. This human characteristic to be curious must play a big part in our sneaking-a-peak behaviors. Also, as technology has advanced and brought many modes of communication to the society, humans' peeping behaviors have also developed into many forms such as social media, which I will be exploring more in the later (Connection to the Contemporary World) part.
Widening our perspective on the term "voyeurism" to humans' peeping behaviors and adding more complicated nuance in the word, after all, we may be "all voyeurs to some extent" as Truffaut puts in the interview.
Comments