The ability of x-rays to reveal images of the hidden body prompted fascination but also fear. Many people worried that the penetrating gaze of the x-ray was indecent, threatening the modesty and privacy of women in particular. This prompted sales of protective clothing impenetrable to x-rays; manufacturers claimed that with this clothing
women could feel confident that their bodies would remain safely hidden. This paper examines the role that this threat to privacy played (or in fact failed to play) in early attempts to set safety standards for medical x-rays. We find that the definition of safety
that came to dominate in this case was not representative of the fears of all users.
The Surveillance Studies Centre
c/o David Murakami Wood
Department of Criminology
University of Ottawa
Canada