Enacting moral panic through the paedophilication of the gaze

This article argues for the need to unpack the concept of moral panics to avoid reductive accounts that obscure diverse interpretations and lived experiences. Engaging the concepts of fear, visual culture, and the gaze, the notion of the paedophilic gaze is developed. Central to this framework is the invisibility of the paedophile. Drawing on four empirical cases of playgrounds, “mild nudity” in art, and a water sprinkler—the article shows how the moral panic of the invisible paedophile has moved into the everyday lives of children and adults. The article argues that Cohen’s concept of moral panic is not enough when a panic becomes institutionalized.