MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

*Bieber in Bondage: The Pirated Self *is a close reading of a selection of memes in which Justin Bieber has been placed in bondage or fetish gear. These particular collages were blogged and reblogged on Tumblr. Therefore, the provenance and authenticity of these images is lost in the flotsam and jetsam of the Tumblr platform (which has been playfully described as the internet vomiting on itself.) A common thread accompanying these images is that bloggers and viewers express various degrees of belief in the authenticity. They, also, engage in dialogue of their desires and distaste for Bieber.

This essay is framed by Baudrillard’s notions of radical thought as explained in The Perfect Crime and of gender formation as explained in the essay “Transsexuality.” In “Transsexuality”, he declares, “Since it is no longer possible to base any claim on one’s own existence, there is nothing for it but to perform an appearing act without concerning oneself with being—or even with being seen. So it is not: I exist, I am here! But rather: I am visible, I am an image—look! look!”

The desire to be seen by professional and amateur performers opens a field in which self-determination of public identity becomes secondary to aleatory manifestations of identity. In my close reading of multiple Bieber memes, I examine the ways that these collectively produced images undermine and bolster the network of public identities. The ambiguity of positions in the images reveals the instability of legitimate and authorized identity formations, which demand to be seen. Ultimately, the readers’ attention to these images skitters across various digital platforms until it dissipates. For those who are trying to garner celebrity or followers, any images of them serves their purpose no matter how degrading or out of character.