AUTONOMY UNDER ALGORITHMIC CONTROL: GENDERED POWER RELATIONS AND SEXUALIZED COMMODIFICATION IN THE PLATFORM ECONOMY

Ramos-Zaga F.A.; Aguirre-Lanegra A.J. · Revista Direito e Sexualidade (2026) · DOI: 10.9771/rds.v7i0.70310

Resumen

The rapid expansion of digital platforms has intensified the objectification and sexualized commodification of the female body by intertwining algorithmic architectures, extractive economic logics and cultural narratives that reconfigure longstanding inequalities while normalizing exploitation through rhetorics of autonomy. Within this context, the aim of the article is to critically examine this contemporary reconfiguration by addressing the structural, technological and symbolic mechanisms that shape the production, circulation and consumption of sexual content. To this end, a comprehensive analysis of feminist, sociological and media studies literature was conducted, integrating insights from digital political economy, platform studies and contemporary ethical philosophical frameworks. The analytical strategy combined historical genealogy, technological critique and normative evaluation from intersectional feminist perspectives. The findings indicate that platform economies amplify historical patterns of objectification through algorithms that privilege sexualized content, foster emotional self-exploitation and shift economic risks onto creators, while empowerment narratives obscure structural precarity and corporate dependency. The study also shows that soft coercion, sustained by persuasive technologies and surveillance systems, imperceptibly shapes preferences and decisions, constraining effective autonomy and producing engineered consent. In conclusion, the phenomenon of digital sexualized commodification underscores the need for regulatory frameworks oriented toward algorithmic transparency, labor protection and the strengthening of critical capacities that can counteract the erosion of relational autonomy and support broader horizons of social justice within digital capitalism. Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Instituciones: Universidad Privada del Norte