Call for papers
Emergent femininities and masculinities in 21st century media and popular culture
In the past few years, and in the aftermath of movements like #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite and the proliferation of celebrity culture, the call for greater diversity (either in terms of body aesthetics, disability, racial representation or sexuality and intimacy), together with a turn to ‘character’ and ‘resilience’ building, has brought the notion that ‘representation matters’ back to surface. Indeed, increasingly, diversity, character, resilience have become catchphrases that resonate across cultures and borders and serve not only as indicators of progress, but also as an aspirational frame for younger people.
Pointing at the possibility of reductive notions of the politics of representation, whereby the quantity of representation is automatically seen as a sign of progress- leading, for example, to queerbaiting or colourbaiting – here, we are interested in the ways in which femininity and masculinity are being constructed, dismantled or reinvented in the course of the 21st century in everyday life and/or in the media and popular culture.
We welcome contributions from scholars and young researchers who are interested in issues pertaining to gender, sexuality, race, identity construction and culture from a variety of analytical perspectives addressing (though not exclusively) the following:
• Body aesthetics, discipline and the construction of femininities and masculinities
• Digital intimacy and teenage girlhoods and boyhoods
• The construction of femininities and masculinities through social media
• Femininities and masculinities within ‘cancel culture’
• The rise of hate culture: toxic masculinity, misogyny, misogynoir, misandry, incel culture
• ‘New’ (?) femininities and masculinities in television and popular culture (e.g. in the productions of Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy; Shonda Rhimes, etc.)
• Aging, masculinity and femininity in popular film
• Influencer cultures and the promotion and marketing of genders
• Masculinity and femininity in the representation and consumption of sports
• The celebrification of motherhood and fatherhood
• Femininities and masculinities within celebrity culture
• Questions of intersections: race, ethnicity and gender
Abstract submission
We invite 400-word abstracts outlining empirical, theoretical or policy-orientated papers that address these or related issues. Abstracts should be accompanied by a 100-word bio of the presenter(s) together with contact details, all sent to Prof. Liza Tsaliki at Femandmasc.athens2022@gmail.com
Key dates
Abstract submission by 15 January 2022
Notification of decision by 20 February 2022
Selection panel
Liza Tsaliki, Professor at the Department of Communication and Media Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Sarah Banet Weiser, Sarah Banet Weiser, Professor of Communication, University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication
Danielle R. Egan, Fuller-Maathai Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies and Department Chair, Psychoanalyst, Connecticut College
Sean Redmond, Professor of Screen and Design, Department, SCCA Arts & Education, Deakin University
Brenda R. Weber, Provost Professor and Jean C. Robinson Scholar, Dept of Gender Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington
LOCAL ORGANISERS:
Liza Tsaliki, Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Dr. Despina Chronaki, Adjunct Lecturer & Researcher, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Olga Derzioti, PhD Candidate, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens