The Voyeur

 Illustration by Joe Shuster

The voyeur takes the imperial gaze to its erotic conclusion. By watching lovers fuck, he exercises his power to probe and master bodies and assign meaning to otherwise insignificant sexual activity. 

The voyeur is always a solitary figure, watching in private and unbeknown to at least one of the parties observed. Crucially, he has no desire to join in. For his pleasure derives exclusively from the fact that, like a god, he has learnt the art of what Nietzsche terms immaculate perception.

For the voyeur, the greatest thing is to look at life without desire and not stare, as a dog does, with its tongue hanging out.