[ecrea] CfP Deadline Approaching: Sex & Sexualities in Popular Culture

A brief reminder that the CfP deadline for the Sex and Sexualities in
Popular Culture Postgraduate Symposium is at the end of this week.
Details below. We look forward to your abstracts.



*_Sex and Sexualities in Popular Culture: Feminist Perspectives_*
_
_
_Call for Papers for a 1-day postgraduate symposium hosted by the
Digital Cultures Research Centre_

_Abstract deadline_: September 27th, 2015

_Conference date and location_: November 7th, 2015, Digital Cultures
Research Centre, The Watershed, Bristol

_Eligibility_: Postgraduate students (MA/MSc onwards) and creative
practitioners

_Send abstracts to_: (_milena2.popova /at/ live.uwe.ac).uk_
<mailto:(milena2.popova /at/ live.uwe.ac.uk)> and _bethanvjones@hotmail.com_
<mailto:(bethanvjones /at/ hotmail.com)>


Popular culture, as can be seen through the GamerGate controversy for
one example, has a profound impact on feminist issues and discourses.
Representations of sex and sexualities influence public
opinion and individual attitudes andperceptions. Discussions - in both
media and academia - are continuing to take place about the impact of
/Fifty Shades/, sexism and misogyny in computer game andcomic book
fandom, the sexualisation of girls and the sexual desires of both
youngand adult women. Moral panics abound surrounding /Fifty
Shades/ and the “irrational” behaviour of /One Direction/ fans, while
LGBTQIA+ identities and sexualities are often represented tokenistically
at best. Creative practitioners can easily come under fire for poor
representations of sex and sexualities, as evidenced most recently by
the reception of Joss Whedon's treatment of Black Widow in /The
Avengers: Age of Ultron/; equally they can be celebrated for their
efforts, as was the case with BioWare's inclusion of a consent
negotiation scene in /Dragon Age: Inquisition/.

This one-day symposium will open up debates and explore the nuances
of sex andsexualities within popular culture and will afford a platform
for postgraduate students (MA/MSc onwards) and creative practitioners
exploring these areas to meet peers, share work and learn from each
other. We aim to create a space safe for experimentation - both with new
ideas and with presentation formats. We therefore encourage a range of
submissions, including workshops, discussions, pecha kucha, as well as
the traditional 20-minute paper format.

_Possible topics include but are not limited to:_

- Representations of women's desire and sexualities in popular culture
- Non-cis- and heteronormative sexualities in popular culture,
especially beyond "gay and lesbian"
- Representations of sex work
- Infertility and sexual dysfunction
- Sexual intersections: race, disability, religion,
class and socioeconomic status, gender
- Sex and sexualities in gaming
- Sexual pleasure in popular culture
- Invisibility: (a)sexualities unrepresented
- Sex, sexualities and social media
- Sex and sexualities in fan and transformative works

Please submit a 300-word abstract and a 100 word bio to
(_milena2.popova /at/ live.uwe.ac).uk_
<mailto:(milena2.popova /at/ live.uwe.ac.uk)> and _bethanvjones@hotmail.com_
<mailto:(bethanvjones /at/ hotmail.com)> by September 27th, 2015.


Thanks
Bethan & Milena



Milena Popova
PhD Researcher
Digital Cultures Research Centre
University of the West of England, Bristol

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