It is essential to define imperial masculinity as a new form of masculinity that derives from creating a negative differentiation with homosexuality, sodomy, non-white, non-Christian beliefs, and all things that do not fit into society's perfect image of manliness.
The "empire" that Mirzeoff refers to is much different than what we traditionally think of in terms of the political sense of the word. The "empire" that he speaks of comes from the works of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, who claim this modern empire to be one without borders, territory, or a center of power but rather one guided by global capital and marked by the rise of globalization and constant, cross-border communication. The 'embodied spectacle,' as in the paper's name, is the use of sodomy as a negative deviation from all things proper and civil, specifically with the means of enforcing imperialism. This embodied spectacle is the object of the empire. '
As seen in the Abu Ghraib photos, sodomy was never consensual; it was done to instill inferiority. The American soldiers saw the Iraqi prisoners as less than human, and forcing them to do non-heteronormitive, and non-christian acts were their way of treating them as such. They took these photos as a record of their dominance. The specific photograph of the male and female soldiers standing and smiling behind the pile of naked bodies perfectly exemplifies this assertion that heteronormity and whiteness are dominant and the oriental and homosexual are the deviant.
Two soldiers pose over a pile of naked bodies in Abu Ghraib prison.
Both Mirzeoff and Sontag interestingly note that sodomy takes much of its form from pornography and that the nature of pornography leads to the acceptance of these photos. Mirzeoff notes pornography's desire to make everything visible. In pornography, there is always the ‘money shot,' a moment that would otherwise be invisible or concealed. In terms of the sodomy in the Abu Ghraib photographs, the photographs aim to make the "deviance" of the Iraqi inmates visible by replicating common photography angles and that same classic porn 'money shot.' This time, with a negative differentiation from straight imperial sexuality. It is also important to note that similar to the desires that porn brings, the desire to see such violence is a big part of American culture. Mirzeoff mentions the Lynchings of African Americans as a time in American history when the violence, torture, and even murder of non-white bodies were seen as entertaining and a "secret pleasure.” Even in modern American culture sodomy is enforced at different levels through hazing culture, churches, schools, and in prisons. This is kept alive by the idea that power is something that is not owned but excercised and that the exercise of power is what keeps it alive. Sodomy is so deeply ingrained in American culture and history that many times people don’t even question the normalcy of it, as Sontag notes, especially in military interrogations of people who our entire American society has deemed 'dangerous' and 'terrorists' post 9/11.
On the left, a picture from Abu Graib prison of sodomy and forced sexual activities. On the right, a photo of hazing rituals from Kappa Delta Phi fraternity at Penn State University.
How did the photos of Abu Ghraib lose relevance and become 'invisible' to America? Sontag discusses the politics that erased this part of America's history. The Bush administration shifted the gaze away from themselves and their policies and onto the individual soldiers who carried out the torture– however, the administration did not call it that. However, it comes down to the fact that we know that there is something to see, but we do not feel authorized to look.