[Commlist] Global Media and China_Special Issue: Feminist Media Production and Beyond

*Global Media and China CFP Reminder*
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*Special Issue: Feminist Media Production and Beyond*
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*Guest Editors: Dr. Tracy Ying Zhang  (Communication and Media Studies, 
York University); *
*                          Dr. Alison Harvey (*Communications, Glendon 
College, York University*)*
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**Time Schedule:*
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*_—1 May 2022:_ *abstract proposals (title, 500 words outlining 
argument, theoretical framework, and methods with short bibliography)
Submit to Dr Tracy Ying Zhang ((tracyyzh /at/ yorku.ca) 
<mailto:(tracyyzh /at/ yorku.ca)>) and Dr Alison Harvey 
((alison.harvey /at/ glendon.yorku.ca) <mailto:(alison.harvey /at/ glendon.yorku.ca)>)

*_—June 2022:_ *notification of acceptance of accepted abstracts

*_—30 November 2022:_ *full paper submission

*—December 2022 - March 2023:* double-blind peer review
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*—April - June 2023:* revision

*—July - August 2023:* second round of double-blind peer review

*—August 2023:* revision

*—September - December 2023:* editorial final review

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*Overview: *

The underrepresentation of women in media-making, as well as their 
marginalization and discriminatory practices faced within the working 
environment have been well-documented across history in 
traditionally-studied industries ranging from broadcast television 
(Meehan, 2002, Ball & Bell, 2013) to film (Banks, 2009, Hill, 2016, 
Reynolds, 1998) to video game development (Consalvo, 2008, Prescott & 
Bogg, 2011). The obfuscation of women’s participation in cultural, 
creative, and technical fields, including in assembly and other forms of 
work typically overlooked in the literature (Nakamura 2011, 2014, Mayer, 
2011) cannot be disentangled from the historical association of 
femininity with consumption and the private, domestic sphere (Kearney, 
1998), and the devaluation of women’s production activities (White, 
2015). Feminist scholarship of media production activities, both within 
professional industrial contexts and in spaces beyond this such as new 
digital economies (Duffy, 2015), have highlighted the role of women in 
media work as well as the social, technical, economic, and political 
structures that contribute to the ongoing devaluation of women’s work.

This special issue seeks to extend this conversation and open up new 
horizons for research on feminist media production. At a time where the 
few high profile women in media making are held up as examples of change 
when the #MeToo movement and its ripple effects have highlighted ongoing 
pervasive issues, the moment is ripe for critical, intersectional, and 
transnational discussions of feminism and media-making. This is all the 
more pressing given the global fight against workplace-based sexism has 
waned in light of the exigencies of the Covid-19 pandemic. 
Paradoxically, within this context and an ever-expanding digital 
cultural economy, gendered inequality and employment precarity have 
become even more acute. At a virtual conference hosted by Women in 
Television and Film Canada in 2021, speakers noted the disproportionate 
impact of crises like COVID-19 on women and people of color in the 
media. Evidence shows that women are struggling with not only a shortage 
of employment opportunities but also challenges related to care 
responsibilities, mental health, and/or domestic violence (Boserup, 
McKenney, & Elkbuli, 2020,  Bradbury-Jones & Isham, 2020, Power, 2020, 
Seedat & Rondon, 2021). In tandem with this, scholars have noted how the 
proliferation of digital platforms offer content creators, including 
women, new avenues and tools to disseminate their works and connect with 
new audiences (Lauzen, 2021). This special issue seeks to explore 
women’s production cultures and practices, the subject-positions they 
entail, and the labour relations and policies they are entangled with.

We seek submissions from scholars in diverse fields to advance 
interdisciplinary dialogues on feminist media production. We are 
interested in empirical, theoretical, and historical contributions that 
address long-standing and emerging questions regarding the relationship 
between media production, gender, race, labor, embodiment, nationalism, 
surveillance capitalism, platform politics, neoliberalism, and 
reactionary politics.

Submissions that deploy intersectional feminist, decolonial, and 
anti-colonial approaches are especially welcome. We are also very 
interested in papers that explore approaches and methods for examining 
feminist media production in emerging and digital media. We encourage 
those considering submission to take a broad view of media production 
and a local perspective on these practices, as we are interested in case 
studies from different parts of the world. Relevant topics include, but 
are not limited to:

●Feminized and feminist media production activities

●Aspirational, affective and immaterial labor and precarity in media 
production

●Care, intimacy, and social reproduction in the context of media-making

●Racialization of women’s cultural work

●Inclusions and exclusions in media production training

●Internships, mentorship, and professionalization activities in media 
production

●Global mobility, migration, and women’s media production

●Craft, handmade, amateurism, and vernacular practices of media production

●Independent production, do-what-you-love, and passion discourse

●Female entrepreneurialism and the hustle in media-making

●Algorithmic shaping and data feminism approaches

**

*References*

Ball, Vicky & Bell, Melanie (2013.) “Working Women: Women’s Work: 
Production, History, Gender.” /The Journal of British Cinema and 
Television/, 10(3), pp. 547-562.

Banks, Miranda J. (2009.) “Gender Below-the-Line: Defining Feminist 
Production Studies.” In /Production Studies: Cultural Studies of Media/, 
edited by Vicki Mayer, Miranda J. Banks & John Thornton Caldwell. 
Routledge, pp. 87-98.

Boserup, Brad., McKenney, Mark, & Elkbuli, Adel. (2020). “Alarming 
Trends in US Domestic Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” /The 
American Journal of Emergency Medicine/, 38(12), pp. 
2753-2755.<https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.04.077>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.04.077 
<https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.04.077>__

Bradbury-Jones, Caroline., & Isham, Louise. (2020). “The Pandemic 
Paradox: The Consequences of COVID-19 on Domestic Violence.” /Journal of 
Clinical Nursing/, 29(13-14), pp. 
2047–2049.<https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15296>https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15296 
<https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15296>

Consalvo, Mia. (2008). “Crunched by Passion: Women Game Developers and 
Workplace Challenges.” In /Beyond Barbie & Mortal Kombat: New 
Perspectives on Gender and Gaming/. Edited by Yasmin B. Kafai, Carrie 
Heeter, Jill Denner and Jennifer Y. Sun. Cambridge and London: MIT 
Press, pp 177-191.

Duffy, Brooke Erin. (2015). “The romance of work: Gender and 
aspirational labour in the digital culture industries.” /International 
Journal of Cultural Studies/, pp. 1-17.

Hill, Erin. (2016.) /Never Done: A History of Women's Work in Media 
Production/. Rutgers University Press.

Kearney, Mary Celeste. (1998). “Producing Girls: Rethinking the Study of 
Female Youth Culture.” In /Delinquents and Debutants: Twentieth Century 
American Girls’ Culture/, ed. Sherrie Inniss, New York: New York 
University Press, pp. 285-310.

Lauzen, Martha M. (2021). “Indie Women in a Pandemic Year: 
Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women in U.S. Independent Film, 
2020-21.” A report published by the Center for the Study of Women in 
Television & Film, San Diego State University. 
https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/indie-women-in-a-pandemic-year-behind-the-scenes-employment-of-women-in-u-s-independent-film-2020-21/ 
<https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/indie-women-in-a-pandemic-year-behind-the-scenes-employment-of-women-in-u-s-independent-film-2020-21/>

Mayer, Vicky. (2011). /Below the Line: Producers and Production Studies 
in the New Television Economy/. Duke University Press.

Nakamura, Lisa. (2011). “Economies of Digital Production in East Asia: 
iPhone Girls and the Transnational Circuits of Cool.” /Media Fields 
Journal,/ 2.

Nakamura, Lisa. (2014). “Indigenous Circuits: Navajo Women and the 
Racialization of Early Electronic Manufacture.” /American Quarterly/, 
66(4), pp. 919-941.

Power, Kate. (2020). “The COVID-19 Pandemic has Increased the Care 
Burden of Women and Families.” /Sustainability: Science, Practice and 
Policy/, 16(1), pp. 
67-73.<https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2020.1776561>https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2020.1776561 
<https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2020.1776561>

Prescott, Julie & Bogg, Jan. (2011). “Segregation in a Male-Dominated 
Industry: Women Working in the Computer Games Industry.” /International 
Journal of Gender, Science and Technology,/ 3, pp. 206-227.

Reynolds, Siân. (1998). “The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor: Women 
Editors in the French Cinema of the 1930s.” /Labour History Review/, 
63(1), pp. 66–82.

Riordan, Ellen. (2002). “Intersections and New Directions: On Feminism 
and Political Economy.” In /Sex & Money: Feminism and Political Economy 
in the Media/, edited by Eileen R. Meehan & Ellen Riordan. University of 
Minnesota Press, pp. 3-15.

Seedat, Soraya & Rondon, Marta. (2021). “Women’s Wellbeing and the 
Burden of Unpaid Work.” /BMJ/, 
374:n1972.<https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1972>https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1972 
<https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1972>__

White, Michele. (2015). /Producing Women: The Internet, Traditional 
Femininity, Queerness, and Creativity/. New York and London: Routledge.


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