Social Sciences › Gender Studies

Gender, Feminism, and Media

Works Count: 49674

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This cluster of papers explores the intersection of neoliberalism, feminism, and postfeminist culture, with a focus on the influence of celebrity, social media, and digital activism. It delves into topics such as self-branding, sexting, gender dynamics, and the portrayal of femininity in contemporary media. The papers critically examine the impact of neoliberal ideologies on feminist movements and the evolving landscape of gender representation in the digital age.

Keywords

Neoliberalism; Feminism; Postfeminism; Celebrity Culture; Social Media; Sexting; Gender; Digital Activism; Self-Branding; Media Culture

19. The Second Treatise of Government

2016-12-31

John Locke

Introduction Making the Lives of Transsexual People Visible: Addressing the Politics of Social Erasure Sex Change, Social Change: Reflections on Identity and Institutions Transsexuals Behind Bars Beyond Image Content: Examining … Introduction Making the Lives of Transsexual People Visible: Addressing the Politics of Social Erasure Sex Change, Social Change: Reflections on Identity and Institutions Transsexuals Behind Bars Beyond Image Content: Examining Transsexuals' Access to the Media Inclusive Pedagogy in the Women's Studies Classroom: Teaching the Kimberly Nixon Case Statement for Social Service Agencies and Transsexual/Transgendered Organisations on Service Delivery to Transsexual and Transvestite Prostitutes Interview with Mirha-Soleil Ross Against Transgender Rights: Understanding the Imperialism of Contemporary Transgender Politics Conclusion.

Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology.

1984-01-01

C. Lynn Munro , Barbara A. Smith

classic collection of Black feminist writings returns to print-with a new preface Barbara Smith was voted one of the most influential Black women in the U.S. by Essence Magazine! Praise … classic collection of Black feminist writings returns to print-with a new preface Barbara Smith was voted one of the most influential Black women in the U.S. by Essence Magazine! Praise for Home Girls: survival of these women and their joy makes Home Girls very satisfying.-Essence A provocative and important new collection.-Ms. Pungent and varied, full of questions, convictions, and insights.-The Nation It is fitting that Home Girls also reflects and celebrates the difference, among the [thirty-three] Black feminist writers, critics, and theorists assembled from the United States and the Caribbean, among Black women of all colors, classes, and cultures. More importantly, it reflects and celebrates our connections.-The Women's Review of Books The pioneering anthology Home Girls features writings by Black feminist and lesbian activists on topics both provocative and profound. Since its initial publication in 1983, it has become an essential text on Black women's lives and writings. This edition features an updated list of contributor biographies and an all-new preface that provides a fresh assessment of how Black women's lives have changed-or not-since the book was first published. Contributors are Tania Abdulahad, Donna Allegra, Barbara A. Banks, Becky Birtha, Julie Carter, Cenen, Cheryl Clarke, Michelle Cliff, Michelle T. Clinton, Willie M. Coleman, Toi Derricotte, Alexis De Veaux, Jewelle L. Gomez, Akasha (Gloria) Hull, Patricia Jones, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Raymina Y. Mays, Deidre McCalla, Chirlane McCray, Pat Parker, Linda C. Powell, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Spring Redd, Gwendolyn Rogers, Kate Rushin, Ann Allen Shockley, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, Shirley O. Steele, Luisah Teish, Jameelah Waheed, Alice Walker, and Renita Weems. Barbara Smith is an independent scholar and was co-founder and publisher of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. She has been writer in residence and taught at numerous colleges and universities for over twenty-five years. The author of many books, articles, and essays, her most recent is The Truth That Never Hurts (also by Rutgers University Press).

Interaction Ritual Chains

2004-12-31

Randall Collins

Sex, smoking, and social stratification are three very different social phenomena. And yet, argues sociologist Randall Collins, they and much else in our social lives are driven by a common … Sex, smoking, and social stratification are three very different social phenomena. And yet, argues sociologist Randall Collins, they and much else in our social lives are driven by a common force: interaction rituals. Interaction Ritual Chains is a major work of sociological theory that attempts to develop a "radical microsociology." It proposes that successful rituals create symbols of group membership and pump up individuals with emotional energy, while failed rituals drain emotional energy. Each person flows from situation to situation, drawn to those interactions where their cultural capital gives them the best emotional energy payoff. Thinking, too, can be explained by the internalization of conversations within the flow of situations; individual selves are thoroughly and continually social, constructed from the outside in. The first half of Interaction Ritual Chains is based on the classic analyses of Durkheim, Mead, and Goffman and draws on micro-sociological research on conversation, bodily rhythms, emotions, and intellectual creativity. The second half discusses how such activities as sex, smoking, and social stratification are shaped by interaction ritual chains. For example, the book addresses the emotional and symbolic nature of sexual exchanges of all sorts--from hand-holding to masturbation to sexual relationships with prostitutes--while describing the interaction rituals they involve. This book will appeal not only to psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists, but to those in fields as diverse as human sexuality, religious studies, and literary theory.

Postmodernism and Gender Relations in Feminist Theory

1987-07-01

Jane Flax

Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?

1997-05-01

Cathy Cohen

Research Article| May 01 1997 Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics? Cathy J. Cohen Cathy J. Cohen Search for other works by this author on: … Research Article| May 01 1997 Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics? Cathy J. Cohen Cathy J. Cohen Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google GLQ (1997) 3 (4): 437–465. https://doi.org/10.1215/10642684-3-4-437 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Cathy J. Cohen; Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?. GLQ 1 May 1997; 3 (4): 437–465. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/10642684-3-4-437 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsGLQ Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © 1997 Mark Blasius1997 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Feminization of American Culture

1977-12-01

Beverly R. Voloshin , Ann Douglas

The Feminization of American Culture is a significant study of the domination of late nineteenth-century American culture by a feminine ethic and spirit. As religion lost its hold on the … The Feminization of American Culture is a significant study of the domination of late nineteenth-century American culture by a feminine ethic and spirit. As religion lost its hold on the public mind, clergymen and educated women, powerless in the male-dominated industrial society, banded together to have a profound effect on the only areas still open to their influence - the arts and literature. Ann Douglas explores their impact on the best-selling novels and magazines of the day to show how women exploited their feminine image and idealized the very qualities that kept them powerless: timidity, piety, narcissism, and a disdain for competition. The result was a far-reaching social preoccupation with banal melodrama which failed to address the real issues of the day. This is a major, polemical rethinking of the American past which seeks to explain values prevalent in today's popular culture by tracing them back to their roots in Victorian times.

Rape and the Inner Lives of Black Women in the Middle West

1989-07-01

Darlene Clark Hine

Instafame: Luxury Selfies in the Attention Economy

2015-01-01

Alice Marwick

The popular photo-sharing app Instagram has created a new breed of celebrities: the Instafamous. This essay examines the phenomenon—from Singaporean socialites showing off shoe collections to high school sophomores with … The popular photo-sharing app Instagram has created a new breed of celebrities: the Instafamous. This essay examines the phenomenon—from Singaporean socialites showing off shoe collections to high school sophomores with ten thousand followers—and its relationship to celebrity and tabloid culture.

Body Politics: Power, Sex, and Nonverbal Communication.

1979-07-01

Jean E. Veevers , Nancy M. Henley

A General Theory of Exploitation and Class

1982-12-31

John E. Roemer

Loving with a Vengeance: Mass-Produced Fantasies for Women

1983-01-01

Betsy Draine , Tania Modleski

Upon its first publication, Loving with a Vengeance was a groundbreaking study of women readers and their relationship to mass-market romance fiction. Feminist scholar and cultural critic Tania Modleski has … Upon its first publication, Loving with a Vengeance was a groundbreaking study of women readers and their relationship to mass-market romance fiction. Feminist scholar and cultural critic Tania Modleski has revisited her widely read book, bringing to this new edition a review of the issues that have, in the intervening years, shaped and reshaped questions of women's reading. With her trademark acuity and understanding of the power both of the mass-produced object, film, television, or popular literature, and the complex workings of reading and reception, she offers here a framework for thinking about one of popular culture's central issues.This edition includes a new introduction, a new chapter, and changes throughout the existing text.

The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism

2018-08-22

Catherine Rottenberg

Through an in-depth analysis of bestselling “how-to-succeed” books along with popular television shows and well-trafficked “mommy” blogs, <italic>The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism</italic> demonstrates how the notion of a happy work-family … Through an in-depth analysis of bestselling “how-to-succeed” books along with popular television shows and well-trafficked “mommy” blogs, <italic>The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism</italic> demonstrates how the notion of a happy work-family balance has not only been incorporated into the popular imagination as a progressive <italic>feminist</italic> ideal but also lies at the heart of a new variant of feminism. Embraced by high-powered women, from Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg to Ivanka Trump, this variant of feminism abandons key terms, such as equal rights and liberation, advocating, instead, for a life of balance and happiness. What we are ultimately witnessing, Catherine Rottenberg argues, is the emergence of a neoliberal feminism that abandons the struggle to undo the unjust gendered distribution of labor and that helps to ensure that all responsibility for reproduction and care work falls squarely on the shoulders of individual women. Moreover, this increasingly dominant form of feminism simultaneously splits women into two distinct groups: worthy capital-enhancing women and the “unworthy” disposable female “other” who performs much of the domestic and care work. This split, not surprisingly, transpires along racial, class, and citizen-immigrant lines. <italic>The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism</italic> thus underscores the ways in which neoliberal feminism forsakes the vast majority of women, while it facilitates new and intensified forms of racialized and class-stratified gender exploitation. Given our frightening neoliberal reality, the monumental challenge, then, is how we can successfully reorient and reclaim feminism as a social justice movement.

Women's Time

1981-10-01

Julia Kristeva , Alice Jardine , Harry Blake

Post‐feminism and popular culture

2004-11-01

Ángela McRobbie

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Bridget Jones's Diary appeared first as a weekly column in The Independent UK newspaper in 1996, its author Helen Fielding … Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Bridget Jones's Diary appeared first as a weekly column in The Independent UK newspaper in 1996, its author Helen Fielding then published the diaries in book form, and the film, Bridget Jones's Diary directed by Sharon McGuire, opened in 2001. The Daily Mail has the highest volume of female readers of all daily newspapers in the UK. Its most frequent efforts in regard to promoting a post‐feminist sensibility involve commissioning well known former feminists to recant, and blame feminism for contemporary ills among women, for example, Saturday August 23, 2003 has Fay Weldon on “Look What We've Done.” The caption then reads, “For years feminists campaigned for sexual liberation. But here, one of their leaders admits all they have created is a new generation of women for whom sex is utterly joyless and hollow” (pp. 12–13). By the normalisation of porn, or “ironic pornography” I am referring to the new popular mainstreaming of what in the past would have been soft core pornography out of reach of the young on the “top shelf.” In a post AIDS era, with sexual frankness as an imperative for prevention, the commercial UK youth media now produce vast quantities of explicit sexual material for the teenage audience, in recent years and as a strategy for being ahead of the competition this has been incorporated into the language of “cool.” With irony as a trademark of knowingness, sexual cool entails “being up for it” (i.e. lap dancing clubs) without revealing any misgivings, never mind criticism, on the basis of the distance entailed in the ironic experience. Anthony Giddens is architect of the Third Way politics which were embraced by New Labour in its first term of office; this polemic in turn drew on his earlier work titled Beyond Left and Right (Anthony Giddens , ). Likewise Ulrich Beck was connected with the Neue Mitte in Germany, though the German Third Way had rather less success than its UK counterpart.

Sexual Sensation Seeking and Sexual Compulsivity Scales: Validity, and Predicting HIV Risk Behavior

1995-12-01

Seth C. Kalichman , David Rompa

Two studies are presented that evaluate newly developed scales of sensation seeking and sexual compulsivity. Results showed that the scales were reliable and correlated with convergent and divergent measures in … Two studies are presented that evaluate newly developed scales of sensation seeking and sexual compulsivity. Results showed that the scales were reliable and correlated with convergent and divergent measures in expected directions in samples of both gay men (N = 296) and inner city low-income men and women (N = 158). Consistent with theories of sensation seeking, the scales corresponded to an attraction toward a range of sexual practices, including increased frequencies of unprotected intercourse and a greater number of sexual partners. As expected, sexual compulsivity was not related to variety and novelty in sexual practices, but was associated with lower levels of self-esteem and resistance to adopting sexual risk-reducing strategies. However, important differences were observed between the gay men and heterosexual samples; scales correlated with substance use only among gay men, and sexual compulsivity was related to a range of sexual practices only among heterosexuals. The sensation seeking and Sexual Compulsivity Scales were therefore reliable, appeared valid, and useful in predicting sexual risk behaviors.

Postfeminist media culture

2007-05-01

Rosalind Gill

The notion of postfeminism has become one of the most important in the lexicon of feminist cultural an alysis. Yet there is little agreement about what postfeminism is. This article … The notion of postfeminism has become one of the most important in the lexicon of feminist cultural an alysis. Yet there is little agreement about what postfeminism is. This article argues that postfeminism is best understood as a distinctive sensibility, made up of a number of interrelated themes. These include the notion that femininity is a bodily property; the shift from objectification to subjectification; an emphasis upon self-surveillance, monitoring and self-discipline; a focus on individualism, choice and empowerment; the dominance of a makeover paradigm; and a resurgence of ideas about natural sexual difference. Each of these is explored in some detail, with examples from contemporary Anglo-American media. It is precisely the patterned articulation of these ideas that constitutes a postfeminist sensibility. The article concludes with a discussion of the connection between this sensibility and contemporary neoliberalism.

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To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter

2011-05-01

Alice Marwick , danah boyd

Social media technologies let people connect by creating and sharing content. We examine the use of Twitter by famous people to conceptualize celebrity as a practice. On Twitter, celebrity is … Social media technologies let people connect by creating and sharing content. We examine the use of Twitter by famous people to conceptualize celebrity as a practice. On Twitter, celebrity is practiced through the appearance and performance of ‘backstage’ access. Celebrity practitioners reveal what appears to be personal information to create a sense of intimacy between participant and follower, publicly acknowledge fans, and use language and cultural references to create affiliations with followers. Interactions with other celebrity practitioners and personalities give the impression of candid, uncensored looks at the people behind the personas. But the indeterminate ‘authenticity’ of these performances appeals to some audiences, who enjoy the game playing intrinsic to gossip consumption. While celebrity practice is theoretically open to all, it is not an equalizer or democratizing discourse. Indeed, in order to successfully practice celebrity, fans must recognize the power differentials intrinsic to the relationship.

Empowerment/Sexism: Figuring Female Sexual Agency in Contemporary Advertising

2008-01-21

Rosalind Gill

This article argues that there has been a significant shift in advertising representations of women in recent years, such that rather than being presented as passive objects of the male … This article argues that there has been a significant shift in advertising representations of women in recent years, such that rather than being presented as passive objects of the male gaze, young women in adverts are now frequently depicted as active, independent and sexually powerful. This analysis examines contemporary constructions of female sexual agency in advertisements examining three recognizable `figures': the young, heterosexually desiring `midriff', the vengeful woman set on punishing her partner or ex-partner for his transgressions, and the `hot lesbian', almost always entwined with her beautiful Other or double. Using recent examples of adverts, the article asks how this apparent `agency' and `empowerment' should be understood. Drawing on accounts of the incorporation or recuperation of feminist ideas in advertising, the article takes a critical approach to these representations, examining their exclusions, their constructions of gender relations and heteronormativity, and the way power is figured within them. A feminist poststructuralist approach is used to interrogate the way in which `sexual agency' becomes a form of regulation in these adverts that requires the re-moulding of feminine subjectivity to fit the current postfeminist, neoliberal moment in which young women should not only be beautiful but sexy, sexually knowledgeable/practised and always `up for it'. The article makes an original contribution to debates about representations of gender in advertising, to poststructuralist analyses about the contemporary operation of power, and to writing about female `sexual agency' by suggesting that `voice' or `agency' may not be the solution to the `missing discourse of female desire' but may in fact be a technology of discipline and regulation.

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Celebrity and power: fame in contemporary culture

1997-09-01

Philip Marshall

Through a new introduction for this edition, Marshall investigates the viewing public's desire to associate with celebrity and addresses the explosion of instant access to celebrity culture, bringing famous people … Through a new introduction for this edition, Marshall investigates the viewing public's desire to associate with celebrity and addresses the explosion of instant access to celebrity culture, bringing famous people and their admireres closer than ever before. He explores the concept of the new public intimacy: a product of social media in which celebrities from lady Gaga to Barack Obama are expected to continuously campaing for audiences in new ways. The new introduction also details the development of celebrity studies and the need for research into the construction of persona in contemporary culture as the dimension of publicizing the self has expanded through online culture.

Celebrity Firms: The Social Construction Of Market Popularity

2006-01-01

Violina P. Rindova , Timothy G. Pollock , Mathew Hayward

We extend the concept of celebrity from the individual to the firm level of analysis and argue that the high level of public attention and the positive emotional responses that … We extend the concept of celebrity from the individual to the firm level of analysis and argue that the high level of public attention and the positive emotional responses that define celebrity increase the economic opportunities available to a firm. We develop a theoretical framework explaining how the media construct firm celebrity by creating a “dramatized reality” in reporting on industry change and firms' actions. Firms contribute to this process by taking nonconforming actions and proactively seeking to manage impressions about themselves.

Utopian Enterprise: Articulating the Meanings of<i>Star Trek</i>'s Culture of Consumption : Figure 1

2001-06-01

Robert V. Kozinets

In this article, I examine the cultural and subcultural construction of consumption meanings and practices as they are negotiated from mass media images and objects. Field notes and artifacts from … In this article, I examine the cultural and subcultural construction of consumption meanings and practices as they are negotiated from mass media images and objects. Field notes and artifacts from 20 months of fieldwork at Star Trek fan clubs, at conventions, and in Internet groups, and 67 interviews with Star Trek fans are used as data. Star Trek's subculture of consumption is found to be constructed as a powerful utopian refuge. Stigma, social situation, and the need for legitimacy shape the diverse subcultures' consumption meanings and practices. Legitimizing articulations of Star Trek as a religion or myth underscore fans' heavy investment of self in the text. These sacralizing articulations are used to distance the text from its superficial status as a commercial product. The findings emphasize and describe how consumption often fulfills the contemporary hunger for a conceptual space in which to construct a sense of self and what matters in life. They also reveal broader cultural tensions between the affective investments people make in consumption objects and the encroachment of commercialization.

THE CONCEPT OF FGM

1993-01-01

Masashi Koizumi

#Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures

2015-10-10

Adrienne Massanari

This article considers how the social-news and community site Reddit.com has become a hub for anti-feminist activism. Examining two recent cases of what are defined as “toxic technocultures” (#Gamergate and … This article considers how the social-news and community site Reddit.com has become a hub for anti-feminist activism. Examining two recent cases of what are defined as “toxic technocultures” (#Gamergate and The Fappening), this work describes how Reddit’s design, algorithm, and platform politics implicitly support these kinds of cultures. In particular, this piece focuses on the ways in which Reddit’s karma point system, aggregation of material across subreddits, ease of subreddit and user account creation, governance structure, and policies around offensive content serve to provide fertile ground for anti-feminist and misogynistic activism. The ways in which these events and communities reflect certain problematic aspects of geek masculinity are also considered. This research is informed by the results of a long-term participant-observation and ethnographic study into Reddit’s culture and community and is grounded in actor-network theory.

Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business

1988-09-01

Daniel Shanahan

(1988). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business. The Social Science Journal: Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 386-388. (1988). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business. The Social Science Journal: Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 386-388.

Post-postfeminism?: new feminist visibilities in postfeminist times

2016-06-23

Rosalind Gill

This article contributes to debates about the value and utility of the notion of postfeminism for a seemingly "new" moment marked by a resurgence of interest in feminism in the … This article contributes to debates about the value and utility of the notion of postfeminism for a seemingly "new" moment marked by a resurgence of interest in feminism in the media and among young women. The paper reviews current understandings of postfeminism and criticisms of the term's failure to speak to or connect with contemporary feminism. It offers a defence of the continued importance of a critical notion of postfeminism, used as an analytical category to capture a distinctive contradictory-but-patterned sensibility intimately connected to neoliberalism. The paper raises questions about the meaning of the apparent new visibility of feminism and highlights the multiplicity of different feminisms currently circulating in mainstream media culture—which exist in tension with each other. I argue for the importance of being able to "think together" the rise of popular feminism alongside and in tandem with intensified misogyny. I further show how a postfeminist sensibility informs even those media productions that ostensibly celebrate the new feminism. Ultimately, the paper argues that claims that we have moved "beyond" postfeminism are (sadly) premature, and the notion still has much to offer feminist cultural critics.

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Men Who Rape

1979-01-01

A. Nicholas Groth , H. Jean Birnbaum

Visibility labour: Engaging with Influencers’ fashion brands and #OOTD advertorial campaigns on Instagram

2016-08-30

Crystal Abidin

Influencer commerce has experienced an exponential growth, resulting in new forms of digital practices among young women. Influencers are one form of microcelebrity who accumulate a following on blogs and … Influencer commerce has experienced an exponential growth, resulting in new forms of digital practices among young women. Influencers are one form of microcelebrity who accumulate a following on blogs and social media through textual and visual narrations of their personal, everyday lives, upon which advertorials for products and services are premised. In Singapore, Influencers are predominantly young women whose commercial practices are most noted on Instagram. In response, everyday users are beginning to model after Influencers through tags, reposts and #OOTDs (Outfit Of The Day), unwittingly producing volumes of advertising content that is not only encouraged by Influencers and brands but also publicly utilised with little compensation. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among Instagram Influencers and followers in Singapore, this article investigates the visibility labour in which followers engage on follower-anchored Instagram advertorials, in an attention economy that has swiftly profited off work that is quietly creative but insidiously exploitative.

Alphas, Betas, and Incels: Theorizing the Masculinities of the Manosphere

2017-05-10

Debbie Ging

Since the emergence of Web 2.0 and social media, a particularly toxic brand of antifeminism has become evident across a range of online networks and platforms. Despite multiple internal conflicts … Since the emergence of Web 2.0 and social media, a particularly toxic brand of antifeminism has become evident across a range of online networks and platforms. Despite multiple internal conflicts and contradictions, these diverse assemblages are generally united in their adherence to Red Pill “philosophy,” which purports to liberate men from a life of feminist delusion. This loose confederacy of interest groups, broadly known as the manosphere, has become the dominant arena for the communication of men’s rights in Western culture. This article identifies the key categories and features of the manosphere and subsequently seeks to theorize the masculinities that characterize this discursive space. The analysis reveals that, while there are some continuities with older variants of antifeminism, many of these new toxic assemblages appear to complicate the orthodox alignment of power and dominance with hegemonic masculinity by operationalizing tropes of victimhood, “beta masculinity,” and involuntary celibacy (incels). These new hybrid masculinities provoke important questions about the different functioning of male hegemony off- and online and indicate that the technological affordances of social media are especially well suited to the amplification of new articulations of aggrieved manhood.

#MeToo and the promise and pitfalls of challenging rape culture through digital feminist activism

2018-04-29

Kaitlynn Mendes , Jessica Ringrose , Jessalynn Keller

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Bodies that Matter: on the Discursive Limits of 'Sex'

1994-01-01

Merl Storr

Reading the romance: Women, patriarchy and popular literature

1990-01-01

Judy Simons

Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept

2020-01-01

ر. و. كونيل , جيمس و. ميسِرشميت

Women, Men and Politeness

2013-11-26

Janet Holmes

Women, Men and Politeness focuses on the specific issue of the ways in which women and men express politeness verbally.Using a range of evidence and a corpus of data collected … Women, Men and Politeness focuses on the specific issue of the ways in which women and men express politeness verbally.Using a range of evidence and a corpus of data collected largely from New Zealand, Janet Holmes examines the distribution and functions of a range of specific verbal politeness strategies in women's and men's speech and discusses the possible reasons for gender differences in this area. Data provided on interactional strategies, 'hedges and boosters', compliments and apologies, demonstrates ways in which women's politeness patterns differ from men's, with the implications of these different patterns explored, for women in particular, in the areas of education and professional careers.

Feminist media studies

1994-11-01

Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex".

1995-05-01

Bryan S. Turner , Judith Butler

Status update: celebrity, publicity, and branding in the social media age

2014-04-22

Alice Marwick

Social media technologies such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook promised a new participatory online culture. Yet, technology insider Alice Marwick contends in this insightful book, only encouraged a preoccupation with … Social media technologies such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook promised a new participatory online culture. Yet, technology insider Alice Marwick contends in this insightful book, only encouraged a preoccupation with status and attention. Her original research-which includes conversations with entrepreneurs, Internet celebrities, and Silicon Valley journalists-explores the culture and ideology of San Francisco's tech community in the period between the dot com boom and the App store, when the city was the world's center of social media development. Marwick argues that early revolutionary goals have failed to materialize: while many continue to view social media as democratic, these technologies instead turn users into marketers and self-promoters, and leave technology companies poised to violate privacy and to prioritize profits over participation. Marwick analyzes status-building techniques-such as self-branding, micro-celebrity, and life-streaming-to show that Web 2.0 did not provide a cultural revolution, but only furthered inequality and reinforced traditional social stratification, demarcated by race, class, and gender.

Television, Audiences and Cultural Studies

2003-09-02

David Morley

Television, Audiences and Cultural Studies presents a multi-faceted exploration of audience research, in which David Morley draws on a rich body of empirical work to examine the emergence, development and … Television, Audiences and Cultural Studies presents a multi-faceted exploration of audience research, in which David Morley draws on a rich body of empirical work to examine the emergence, development and future of television audience research. In addition to providing an introductory overview from a cultural studies perspective, David Morley questions how class and cultural differences can affect how we interpret television, the significance of gender in the dynamics of domestic media consumption, how the media construct the `national family', and how small-scale ethnographic studies can help us to understand the global-local dynamics of postmodern media systems.Morley's work reconceptualises the study of `ideology' within the broader context of domestic communications, illuminating the role of the media in articulating public and private spheres of experience and in the social organisation of space, time and community.

Grooming Authoritarianism: Anti-Trans/Queer Panic as Pedagogy for Democratic Decline

2025-06-25

Aylon Cohen , Samuel Galloway | PS Political Science & Politics

Abstract We address the anti-trans/queer panic integral to the ascendance of authoritarian politics in America and respond by calling on all political scientists to “queer” political science by undoing the … Abstract We address the anti-trans/queer panic integral to the ascendance of authoritarian politics in America and respond by calling on all political scientists to “queer” political science by undoing the cisheteronormativity of the discipline. We contend that this is not the special obligation of LGBTQ scholars but all political scientists. In this we follow Eve Sedgwick’s orientation away from a “minoritizing” to a “universalizing” epistemological perspective that situates this responsibility relative to resisting democratic decline.

Kış Uykusu’nda Hınç ve Felsefi Bağlantıları

2025-06-25

Ahmet Oktan , Can Murat Demir | SineFilozofi

Bu çalışma, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’ın Kış Uykusu filmini, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Scheler gibi düşünürlerin kavramsallaştırdığı, karamsar ve hastalıklı bir ruhsal duruma tekabül eden, ressentiment kavramı bağlamında, felsefi bir yaklaşımla incelemektedir. … Bu çalışma, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’ın Kış Uykusu filmini, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Scheler gibi düşünürlerin kavramsallaştırdığı, karamsar ve hastalıklı bir ruhsal duruma tekabül eden, ressentiment kavramı bağlamında, felsefi bir yaklaşımla incelemektedir. Filmlerinde genel olarak orta sınıftan insanların içsel dünyalarının çelişkilerini, içinde bulundukları toplumsal bağlama ilişkin deneyimledikleri uyuşmazlıkları bir tür yabancılaşma biçiminde kuran Ceylan, bu filmde de sözü edilen yabancılaşmayı çeşitli başarısızlıklar, kin, nefret gibi karamsar temalarla bağlantılı olarak tasarlamaktadır. Bu kapsamda, filmin ana karakterleri olan Aydın, eşi Nihal ve kız kardeşi Necla’yı merkeze alan bu incelemede, bu karakterler arasındaki ilişkilerin gerilimli doğası ve çevrelerindeki insanlara karşı tutumları, hınç (ressentiment) ile olan bağlantıları ekseninde tartışılmaktadır. Filmde bu üç karakterin kötücül ilişki kurma biçimlerinin filmin ana izleğini oluşturduğu görülmektedir. Karakterlerin birbirleri ve diğer insanlarla bitmeyen hesaplaşmaları, karşılıklı varoluşsal mücadelelere dönüşmekte ve içsel dünyalarına ilişkin çeşitli problemler bu mücadelelerde yüzeye vurmaktadır. Çalışma, filmin karakterlerini kuran asıl unsurun, hınç olduğu savından hareket etmekte karakterlerin birbirleri ve etraflarındaki insanlarla olan ilişkilerini ve kendilerini inşa etme stratejilerini hıncın görünürleştiği alanlar olarak tartışmaktadır.

Feminism and Anti-Oppression

2025-06-25

Rachel Julian | Bristol University Press eBooks

Am I feelin’ myself? A focus group study of African American college students’ attitudes toward gender ideals in commercial rap music videos and their relevance for self-images

2025-06-25

Kim Eva Dankoor , Dionne P. Stephens , Tom ter Bogt | Current Psychology

Cultural expression and digital distinctions: Young female ratchet style picture sharing on Instagram

2025-06-24

Carla Barrio Romera , Albert García Arnau , Ángel Juan Gordo López | Current Sociology

This study investigates the phenomenon of the ‘ratchet style’ among young women on Instagram, exploring how this aesthetic, originally associated with urban, working-class subcultures, has transcended its roots and been … This study investigates the phenomenon of the ‘ratchet style’ among young women on Instagram, exploring how this aesthetic, originally associated with urban, working-class subcultures, has transcended its roots and been adopted by various social groups. We examine how the diversification of cultural interests and styles, driven by digitalization and social media, influences social distinction and mobility. Using a combination of Social Network Analysis and qualitative visual content analysis, we identify four distinct subtypes of the ratchet style: ‘Femininity Normative’, ‘Underground’, ‘Experimental’, and ‘Explicit’. Our findings reveal that, while the adoption of feminine ratchet style on Instagram may challenge traditional class hierarchies and offer opportunities for democratizing social positioning, it continues to operate within structured hierarchies of cultural consumption and visibility in Western societies. This suggests that, although social barriers persist in the digital era, markers of distinction have been repositioned.

Emotions and gender-based violence in Mexico

2025-06-24

Ana Josefina Cuevas Hernández , César González‐González | Emotions and Society

This article analyses the intersection between emotions and gender-based violence through the conjugal struggles Mexican women faced after marriage and cohabitation in their efforts to continue their education and have … This article analyses the intersection between emotions and gender-based violence through the conjugal struggles Mexican women faced after marriage and cohabitation in their efforts to continue their education and have a paid job. We aim to explore the social function of emotions in gender-based violence. The results suggest they play a vital role in the reproduction of gender mandates, gender inequality and the larger social structures that together conform to an emotional regime. Likewise, the results shed light on the fact that despite abuse seeks to subjugate women, it also triggers their agency and helps them to reconfigure and/or end the relationship. The analysis is based on a mixed-methods approach. The semi-structured interviews show the interplay between personal, situational, sociocultural and structural factors that fostered the abuse. The representative survey shows that gender-based violence is one of the causes of the breakup of the relationship. Both sets of empirical data come from research focused on intimacy and partner relationships carried out in two regions of western Mexico among three cohorts of the heterosexual adult population. The analysis seeks to relate the role of emotions to the basis of social action and claims they are a powerful theoretical lens for studying the dynamics of gender-based violence.

Gender and Power in Shaping the News: A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach of the Divorce Case between Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Haya Al Hussain in the BBC

2025-06-24

Alia Almehairi | Deleted Journal

The focal point of this research is to examine the role of gender and power in influencing the UK legal system by conducting a discourse analysis on the BBC news … The focal point of this research is to examine the role of gender and power in influencing the UK legal system by conducting a discourse analysis on the BBC news coverage of a royal divorce. BBC reported the case of Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum v Princess Haya [2021] in six articles and portrayed the context that Princess Haya was in “fear for her life” and needed rescue through the court. These articles focused on reporting Sheikh’s negative reputation by mentioning his alleged kidnapping of his daughter, Sheikha Latifa, against her will to flee from the country. Although Princess Haya was unfaithful to her husband, however, it was not mentioned; instead, their marriage was noted as forceful. This portrayal led to the judge’s decision in Princess Haya’s favor in both divorce and children’s custody. It shows the significance of media in defining the narrative about a person underpinned by the framing theory. Media can shape the narrative about court cases and influence ruling outcomes.

A Decolonial Feminist Reading of Nervous Conditions

2025-06-24

Maria Bojan | Philobiblon Transylvanian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research in Humanities

Connoisseurship from below exploring “informal” expertise in art on social media

2025-06-24

Anne-Sophie Radermecker | Journal of Cultural Economics

Women’s activism online in Italy: Claiming spaces, navigating misogyny, reimagining feminisms

2025-06-24

Eleonora Esposito , Silvia Semenzin | European Journal of Communication

This paper draws on a research study investigating technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) targeting feminist influencers – referred to as ‘influactivists’ – on Instagram in Italy. Using a feminist ethnographic approach, … This paper draws on a research study investigating technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) targeting feminist influencers – referred to as ‘influactivists’ – on Instagram in Italy. Using a feminist ethnographic approach, semi-structured interviews with four prominent influactivists reveal how digital platforms serve as both tools for empowerment and arenas for misogynistic abuse. These women face diverse forms of TFGBV, including harassment, verbal abuse, mass-reporting, hyper-sexualised attacks, and coordinated assaults by manosphere communities, media figures, and mainstream influencers, all aimed at silencing feminist voices and reinforcing resistance to gender equality. The study underscores the serious toll this violence takes on activists’ mental health, digital presence, and self-expression, often resulting in self-censorship. In response, influactivists deploy resilience strategies – such as digital self-defence, community support, and content moderation – although institutional backing from social media platforms remains minimal. The research also uncovers internal frictions within feminist digital activism, where neoliberal pressures and perfectionist standards complicate visibility and expose activists to increased scrutiny. Ultimately, the paper exposes the paradox of digital feminism: while online spaces enable feminist expression, they simultaneously magnify gendered vulnerabilities. Addressing these contradictions demands stronger networks of solidarity and systemic action to counteract online misogyny and sustain feminist political engagement.

Sisters, friends, strangers: queering the political discourse of love

2025-06-24

Ting Guo | International Feminist Journal of Politics

Under the influencer: Participatory culture and the rise of the viratoid

2025-06-23

Scott C. Jones , Emily Moorlock , Elizabeth Dempsey | Journal of Business Research

The Mental Health Impacts of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence on Tunisian Women

2025-06-23

Alexander P. Martin , Hanen Keskes , Nada Ben Jemaa +1 more | Violence Against Women

Using quantitative and qualitative research, this article advances an empirical examination of the pervasiveness and impact of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) in Tunisia. We identify that TFGBV can affect women … Using quantitative and qualitative research, this article advances an empirical examination of the pervasiveness and impact of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) in Tunisia. We identify that TFGBV can affect women of any demographic, including women without internet access, and all forms of TFGBV can potentially harm women's mental health and well-being. The article advances policy recommendations ensuring industry and social media providers enforce safeguards, promoting educational efforts on safe internet use and changing behaviors of potential perpetrators, and balancing raising awareness of existing reporting challenges with identifying and addressing current gaps in response mechanisms to reported violence.

Stardom and Celebrity

2025-06-23

Suzanne Leonard , Diane Negra | Routledge eBooks

Afterword

2025-06-23

Paula‐Irene Villa | Open Book Publishers

"¿De qué color es tu Bugatti?": Los gym bros y la narrativa neoliberal de la manosfera

2025-06-23

Rosa Márquez de la Orden | Comunicación y Género

En internet hay cada vez más influencers del fitness que utilizan el ejercicio físico para reforzar un ideal masculino basado en el control, la fuerza y el dinero como símbolos … En internet hay cada vez más influencers del fitness que utilizan el ejercicio físico para reforzar un ideal masculino basado en el control, la fuerza y el dinero como símbolos de estatus y poder. Se conocen popularmente como gym bros y el más famosos de habla hispana es el español Amadeo Lladós, con más de un millón de seguidores en sus redes sociales. El objetivo de este estudio es mostrar la conexión ideológica de los gym bros con la manosfera, para lo que se han revisado 25 videos publicados por Lladós en Instagram y revisados mediante la técnica del Análisis Crítico del Discurso. Los resultados muestran cómo sus narrativas comparten lenguaje y conectan con los ideales masculinistas y neoliberales de la manosfera.

Back-to-Nature with technologies of the self: A critical mixed methods analysis of aestheticized ideologies on Instagram

2025-06-23

Catherine Tebaldi , Alistair Plum | Discourse Context & Media

The Persistence of Sexual Scripts and Compromised Sexual Agency: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Songs “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and “Blurred Lines”

2025-06-23

Kirsten M. Greer , Kyla M. Cary , Jessica Nina Lester +1 more | Sexuality & Culture

Abstract Given the lack of formal sexuality education in the United States, adolescents often rely on media, such as music, for information about sexual behavior, including sexual consent. However, popular … Abstract Given the lack of formal sexuality education in the United States, adolescents often rely on media, such as music, for information about sexual behavior, including sexual consent. However, popular music lyrics may perpetuate expectations for sexual behavior and consent communication that reflect unequal power between men and women, as well as sexual coercion. In this study, we used critical discourse analysis to examine the lyrics of two popular songs that have sparked public discussion of sexual consent and sexual coercion, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and “Blurred Lines.” Grounded in sexual socialization and sexual script theory, we identified three recurring patterns within both songs, including: (1) Traditional Sexual Scripts, (2) Gendered Societal Expectations, and (3) Consent Miscommunication. Guided by our findings, we provide suggestions for educators to combat messages of traditional gendered norms, rape myths, and sexual coercion within music lyrics and incorporate media literacy into sexuality education.

“That Is Not It at All; That Is Not What I Meant, at All”: Gender and Communication in T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

2025-06-23

Jill Channing | Literature

T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock has long been examined through the lenses of modernist alienation and psychological paralysis. While previous scholarship has emphasized the poem’s … T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock has long been examined through the lenses of modernist alienation and psychological paralysis. While previous scholarship has emphasized the poem’s existential themes and innovative form, it has often overlooked the central role of gendered discourse in shaping Prufrock’s communicative anxieties. This article argues that Eliot critiques patriarchal norms by portraying Prufrock’s paralysis as a product of masculine performance anxiety—his fear of miscommunication, emasculation, and judgment in interactions with women. Drawing on contemporary sociolinguistic frameworks by Deborah Tannen and Jennifer Coates, the analysis reveals how Prufrock’s internal monolog reflects early 20th-century anxieties around shifting gender roles and expectations. By situating Prufrock within both the literary traditions and sociocultural tensions of Eliot’s time, the article offers a new interpretation of the poem as a subtle but powerful commentary on the constraints of patriarchal communication. This reading not only deepens our understanding of Eliot’s engagement with gender but also reframes Prufrock’s alienation as a socially constructed and gendered crisis.

Feminism and Anti-Oppression

2025-06-22

| Bristol University Press eBooks

Naiset, suljetut huoneet ja saaret

2025-06-21

Hannele Sand | AVAIN - Kirjallisuudentutkimuksen aikakauslehti

Artikkelissani käsittelen Anni Kytömäen Kivitasku-romaanin (2017) sukupuolittuneena näyttäytyvää tilallisuutta intertekstuaalisuuden näkökulmasta. Teoksessa naishahmot haluavat paeta ahtaista tiloista, kuten huoneesta tai talosta, eristäytyneelle tai eksoottiselle saarelle. Analysoin Kivitaskussa esiintyviä alluusioita angloamerikkalaiseen … Artikkelissani käsittelen Anni Kytömäen Kivitasku-romaanin (2017) sukupuolittuneena näyttäytyvää tilallisuutta intertekstuaalisuuden näkökulmasta. Teoksessa naishahmot haluavat paeta ahtaista tiloista, kuten huoneesta tai talosta, eristäytyneelle tai eksoottiselle saarelle. Analysoin Kivitaskussa esiintyviä alluusioita angloamerikkalaiseen kirjallisuuteen, jossa ahtaista tiloista vapautumisen motiivi on keskeinen, sekä alluusioita Kalevalan tarinaan Ainosta. Tarkastelen Kytömäen romaania osana naisten kirjoittamaa, sukupuolittuneita rakenteita tutkivaa ja mielten särkymistä tematisoivaa traditiota ja kysyn, miten teos hyödyntää ja muuntelee tätä perinnettä. Yhtäältä teos kuvaa tekstienvälisten kytkösten kautta ahtaina näyttäytyviä sukupuolittuneita rakenteita. Esitän kuitenkin, että romaani toisaalta rakentaa naisten vapautumisen ja toimijuuden merkityksiä intertekstuaalisten yhteyksien ja saaria yhdistävien esinemotiivien ekfrasiksen kautta. Nämä merkitykset liittyvät erityisesti kirjoittamisen välittämään yhteisöllisyyteen.

Dialogue on creator and wanghong studies: Conceptual challenges and global approach

2025-06-20

Jian Lin , David Craig | International Journal of Cultural Studies

This dialogue between communication scholars Lin and Craig explores the conceptual and terminological challenges inherent in “creator and wanghong studies,” particularly regarding the global diversity and local specificity of the … This dialogue between communication scholars Lin and Craig explores the conceptual and terminological challenges inherent in “creator and wanghong studies,” particularly regarding the global diversity and local specificity of the emerging creator and wanghong cultures. Both scholars critique the inadequacy and ambiguity of established terms, noting that industry, academia, and creators themselves often resist or redefine these labels due to their loaded connotations. Furthermore, the dialogue analyses the growing role of state intervention in global and Chinese creator economies, with comparative cases in China, Southeast Asia, the US, and Latin America reflecting diverse trajectories, as further framed by and indicating the rise of platform nationalism. Emerging trends such as live or social commerce, performative and platformized authenticity, and the precariousness of creator labor are discussed as central to creator economies. The authors ultimately call for a global but locally grounded epistemological approach, integrating ethnographic depth and comparative frameworks, to better understand how creators and wanghong, platforms, and followers, amongst other stakeholders, mutually constitute changing media landscapes.

2000 SONRASI TÜRK SİNEMASINDA KADINA ŞİDDETİN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

2025-06-20

Dilara Kazancı | Karadeniz Uluslararası Bilimsel Dergi

2000’li yılların başlangıcı bir yandan kadınlara yeni hukuksal hakların tanındığı, diğer yandan kadına yönelik şiddet, kadınların iş gücüne katılımı gibi sorunların öne çıktığı bir dönem olmuştur. Kadınlar için toplumsal açıdan … 2000’li yılların başlangıcı bir yandan kadınlara yeni hukuksal hakların tanındığı, diğer yandan kadına yönelik şiddet, kadınların iş gücüne katılımı gibi sorunların öne çıktığı bir dönem olmuştur. Kadınlar için toplumsal açıdan hem olumlu hem de olumsuz değişimleri barındıran 2000 ile 2016 yılları arasına odaklanılan bu çalışmada, kadına yönelik şiddetin izleyici sayısı milyonları aşan popüler Türk filmlerinde nasıl sunulduğunun çözümlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda gişe rakamlarına göre en fazla izleyiciye ulaşan 100 film içerik (doküman) analizi yöntemiyle değerlendirilmiştir. Filmlerde kadın karakterlerin maruz kaldığı fiziksel, duygusal, cinsel ve ekonomik şiddet türleri incelenmiş ve davranışsal göstergeler üzerinden kodlanarak analiz edilmiştir. Filmlerde karakterlerin şiddet gördükleri ya da uyguladıkları mekanlar, ‘kamusal alan’ ve ‘özel alan’ ayrımıyla belirlenmiştir. Araştırmanın sonuçları, 100 filmin 83’ünde kadın karakterlerin, fiziksel, duygusal, cinsel ve ekonomik şiddet türlerinden bir veya birkaçına maruz kaldığını göstermiştir. İncelenen filmlerde en yaygın biçimde temsil edilen şiddet türünün duygusal şiddet olduğu belirlenmiştir. Duygusal şiddet %80’lik oranla, fiziksel (%38), cinsel (%14) ve ekonomik şiddetin (%7) toplamından (%59) fazladır. Filmlerde kadın karakterlere şiddet uygulayan kişiler sıklıkla partnerleri (%25) ya da eski partnerleri (%13) olmuştur. Kadınlara şiddet uygulayan kişiler arasında, erkek iş arkadaşlarının (%13) ikinci sırada gelmesi dikkat çekmiştir. Kadınların kamusal alanlarda şiddete maruz kalma oranlarının (%41) özel alanlara (%21) göre daha yüksek olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Kadınların maruz kaldıkları ve uyguladıkları şiddet karşılaştırılmalı olarak incelendiğinde cinsel ve ekonomik şiddet oranlarındaki farkların, duygusal ve fiziksel şiddet oranlarındaki farklara göre daha yüksek olduğu görülmüştür.

Abstract: Maternity, Fertility and Loss in Contemporary Memoir

2025-06-20

Paula RUSTARAZO GARZÓN | Deleted Journal

Kidfluencers, public relations and human rights: An exploration of the impact on the human rights of children as social media influencers within public relations and promotional practice

2025-06-19

Catherine Archer , Kate Mirandilla Delmo | Public Relations Inquiry

In this article we explore the human rights of children as important stakeholders in public relations (PR) practice by examining the phenomenon of social media influencer children, commonly termed kidfluencers. … In this article we explore the human rights of children as important stakeholders in public relations (PR) practice by examining the phenomenon of social media influencer children, commonly termed kidfluencers. Children’s human rights in the digital realm have been a focus for the United Nations and those researching from media, communications and law disciplines, but have largely been ignored by PR scholarship. Given social media influencer relations is now an important part of PR practice, and a multibillion-dollar global industry, the need for more research on the genre from a PR perspective is apparent. Our research, using the UN (Human) Rights of the Child as a framework, and examining publicly available media reports on the topic of kidfluencers, uncovers key areas of concern for children working as kidfluencers, and for PR practitioners working with these children. We argue for more focus on children as stakeholders in PR research and suggest that PR practitioners and organisations need to put children at the centre of their thinking.

DOMINATION, DECEPTION, AND DESTRUCTION: TOXIC MASCULINITY IN DELIA OWENS' WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

2025-06-19

I Gusti Ayu Mahatma Agung | CALL

The study examines how toxic masculine behaviors are represented in the novel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Using Makhanya's (2023) theory on the hazardous effects of masculinity as … The study examines how toxic masculine behaviors are represented in the novel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Using Makhanya's (2023) theory on the hazardous effects of masculinity as a framework, the study focuses on the various forms of toxic masculinity and their impacts on the characters. The findings reveal four types of toxic masculine behaviors in the novel: overcompensation through risky behavior, ineffective conflict resolution strategies, domestic abuse and power dynamics, and sexual assault. Among these, domestic abuse and power dynamics emerge as the most dominant form. The analysis highlights how male characters embody these harmful traits to assert dominance and control, perpetuating cycles of violence and trauma. In conclusion, toxic masculinity operates as a deeply rooted cultural problem, reinforcing patriarchal structures and leaving lasting emotional scars on its victims. This portrayal demonstrates that toxic masculinity is not merely an individual flaw but a systemic issue that perpetuates control, violence, and the silencing of women in both private and public spheres.

Hi Mama! Daycare apps and the mediatization of parenting and care work

2025-06-19

Jessica Baldwin-Philippi , Margaret Schwartz | Media Culture & Society

Daycare management apps – marketed to care centers as a way to streamline operations and improve parent-caregiver communication – have quickly moved from relative obscurity in 2016 to near-omnipresence in … Daycare management apps – marketed to care centers as a way to streamline operations and improve parent-caregiver communication – have quickly moved from relative obscurity in 2016 to near-omnipresence in center-based childcare. These apps mediate the work of caregiving and are thus a growing aspect of the nexus of cultural anxieties about how to manage reproductive labor, parenting, and gendered expectations of mothering. In this paper, we engage in a close reading of five major daycare apps in the US – Brightwheel, Lillio (formerly HiMama), My Bright Day, Procare, and Tadpoles – to investigate how they structure the experience and labor practices of both parenting and non-parent caregiving. As such, we read the app interfaces as material practices through which parents and caregivers grapple with the contradictions of the care crisis and contemporary conditions of parenting. Throughout this article, we attend to the ways that the technological imaginary unfolds in a specific site within the broader context of caregiving in the United States, ultimately arguing that these apps reflect and reaffirm caregiving practices that align with practices of so-called intensive or transcendent parenting.

Digiqueer criminology and the new LGBTQ+ visibility

2025-06-19

Justin R. Ellis | Crime Media Culture An International Journal

This article examines the technosocial drivers of partisanship over LGBTQ+ sexual politics. In liberal democracies, disclosure of non-heterosexual identity has grown, and same-sex marriage has been enacted in a growing … This article examines the technosocial drivers of partisanship over LGBTQ+ sexual politics. In liberal democracies, disclosure of non-heterosexual identity has grown, and same-sex marriage has been enacted in a growing number of jurisdictions. At the same time, LGBTQ+ people in many jurisdictions are experiencing renewed censure and criminalisation. This new LGBTQ+ visibility is defined by a contradictory connectivity between technology, queer identity, and justice. Contradictory connectivity provides safe online spaces to explore sexual identity, but which are encompassed by ambivalent human and algorithmic decision-making that can repackage LGBTQ+ stereotypes to old and new audiences. The global reach of the convergence of stereotypical media framing with algorithmic discrimination has produced complex, anti-LGBTQ+ threats from a loose coalition of previously disparate, revanchist ideologies who take a very narrow, ‘traditional’ view of family, sex, procreation, and gender. Creators of this misinformation can amplify its reach through light-touch digital platform moderation under the auspices of unqualified freedom of speech. It is at this intersection that LGBTQ+ identity has become ensnared in the attack on democracy through incoherent and destabilising messaging. Big tech’s experiment with generative artificial intelligence is set to further amplify anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation. Digiqueer criminology seeks to deepen understanding of this relationship between digital knowledge, justice for LGBTQ+ people, and geopolitics.

The Intellectual Dark Web and the Legitimation of Sexism and Racism as “Heterodoxy”

2025-06-19

Catherine Tebaldi | Routledge eBooks

They aren’t all named Karen: digital dating in a racist (or white man’s) world

2025-06-19

Kayla Patterson , Eric Filice , Rasul A. Mowatt +1 more | World Leisure Journal

Gender euphoria as a pathway to authentic trans embodiment: a thematic analysis of Reddit users’ experiences

2025-06-19

Em Jun Eng Mittertreiner , Emilie Lacroix | International Journal of Transgender Health

It’s all in the delivery: pregnancy in American film and television comedy

2025-06-19

Megan Vladoiu | Journal of Gender Studies

Cyberspace (S)exiles

2025-06-19

Margarita M. Castromán Soto | Cambridge University Press eBooks

Hardcore Confrontations

2025-06-19

Nora Amin | Theater

When memes become forms

2025-06-19

Javier Toscano | Digitale Gesellschaft

Die Medienpraxeografie als Methode der Meme Studies

2025-06-19

Kevin Pauliks | Digitale Gesellschaft

Kan vi sidestille nymaterialismen og queerteori?

2025-06-18

Philip Højme | Norsk filosofisk tidsskrift

Using spoken word and theatre in gender-based violence education with adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago

2025-06-18

Lucy M. Evans , Gabrielle Jamela Hosein | Research in Drama Education The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance

Negotiating Womanhood in the post-socialist China: A critical discourse analysis on Chinese Women’s Rejection of Being Defined

2025-06-18

Tian-Zhi Gong Feng Xu | Frontiers in Humanities and Social Sciences

This research aims to explore and analyse women’s roles defined in People’s Daily in the post-socialist China. Combining the quantitative corpus analysis with qualitative analyses using critical discourse analysis (CDA), … This research aims to explore and analyse women’s roles defined in People’s Daily in the post-socialist China. Combining the quantitative corpus analysis with qualitative analyses using critical discourse analysis (CDA), it examines the underlying grounds of Chinese women’s rejection of these roles mediated for them in the mainstream newspaper. This research provides a micro level analysis of the presentation of women’s roles in the post-socialist China depicted in the mainstream newspaper People’s Daily, underpinning the drive behind; at the same time, a macro level empirical evidence for the reasons of Chinese women’s rejection from the gender perspective. Approaching women’s silent rejection of the roles defined by the official mouth in China is a nascent field yet to be explored.

History ‘for the gram’: AI beauty and the vintage, analogue, and ‘throwback’ celebrity

2025-06-18

Marissa Spada | Celebrity Studies

Metafiction and representation of gendered identity in Gillian Flynn's 'Gone Girl'

2025-06-18

Soheila Farhani Nejad | English Studies at NBU

This study examines the interplay of gender stereotypes in crime narratives through the lens of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. Flynn's novel challenges traditional portrayals of women in crime fiction, positioning … This study examines the interplay of gender stereotypes in crime narratives through the lens of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. Flynn's novel challenges traditional portrayals of women in crime fiction, positioning them not merely as victims but as complex anti-heroines capable of orchestrating elaborate criminal plots fueled by vengeance and psychological manipulation. The paper highlights the metafictional elements in Gone Girl, where the author employs self-conscious storytelling to critique societal expectations surrounding gender roles. By intertwining themes of media representation, domesticity, and the neoliberal notion of choice, the paper underscores how Flynn's narrative structure critiques the commodification of female identity and the performative aspects of gender roles and identity. Ultimately, the study posits that Flynn's work serves as a thought-provoking commentary on the power dynamics inherent in the representation of gender in contemporary media culture, revealing the complexities of identity as shaped by societal constructs.

“WTF (Where's the Feminism)”

2025-06-18

Linda Hoeptner Poling , Karen Keifer‐Boyd | Routledge eBooks

Mapping the Neo-Manosphere(s): New Directions for Research

2025-06-17

Vivian Gerrand , Debbie Ging , Joshua M. Roose +1 more | Men and Masculinities

In a digital ecology that is increasingly conducive to social harms, misogynist ideology operates across a spectrum of primarily online actors known colloquially as ‘the Manosphere’. The manosphere and its … In a digital ecology that is increasingly conducive to social harms, misogynist ideology operates across a spectrum of primarily online actors known colloquially as ‘the Manosphere’. The manosphere and its associated red pill philosophy has now been around, in its current transnational and highly networked form, for over a decade. Yet the manosphere, particularly in the context of Covid-19, influencer culture and the affordances of new social media sites, has evolved rapidly in this time, and scholarship has yet to adequately capture these developments. This paper begins with a stocktake of contemporary literature on the manosphere and its core themes, before evaluating the evolving status of this online ecosystem of anti-women actors. It advances our theoretical comprehension of the neo-manosphere and its likely future directions by identifying and evaluating the four key developments which distinguish it from the earlier manosphere; namely migrations to new platforms, mainstreaming and monetization, ideological and ethnic diversification, and overlap with other extreme ideologies, most of which are driven by recommender algorithms.

“¡Que vienen los bolcheviques!”. Caricaturas políticas y el cine como medios ideológicos para propagar el Primer Susto Rojo

2025-06-17

Eva Gómez Fernández | Anuario electrónico de estudios en Comunicación Social Disertaciones

Este estudio explora la propaganda anticomunista estadounidense de 1919, mostrando cómo las caricaturas políticas y el cine mudo funcionaron como herramientas para moldear y manipular la opinión pública en un … Este estudio explora la propaganda anticomunista estadounidense de 1919, mostrando cómo las caricaturas políticas y el cine mudo funcionaron como herramientas para moldear y manipular la opinión pública en un período de intensa agitación social y política. El análisis de contenido lleva a varios resultados. A través del uso de símbolos como la bandera roja y el casco en forma de bomba, esta propaganda fomentó un temor exacerbado hacia el comunismo y vilipendió las ideologías progresistas, asociándolas deliberadamente con el caos, la traición y la amenaza a la estabilidad social. Las representaciones exageradamente negativas de los radicales, junto con la promoción de milicias locales sobre fuerzas de policía centralizadas, reflejan una resistencia a los ideales de igualdad social y la reafirmación de valores tradicionales y patriarcales en la cultura estadounidense. La influencia de ideologías como el angloisraelismo y los prejuicios raciales y antisemitas reforzaron una xenofobia latente que impregnaba esta propaganda, mientras que la demonización de las mujeres que desafiaban roles tradicionales manifestaba una oposición a la modernización y al avance del feminismo. Este estudio ofrece así una perspectiva crítica sobre los mecanismos de manipulación en el contexto actual, ilustrando cómo estos instrumentos de propaganda siguen influyendo en la percepción pública de amenazas ideológicas.

Analysing opinion voices in Portuguese newspapers: Who fights for feminists versus who is afraid of feminists?

2025-06-17

Carla Cerqueira | European Journal of Communication

The paper discusses who are the voices in the opinion pieces on #MeToo in the Portuguese mainstream press. It starts from the idea that opinion spaces are fundamental for conveying … The paper discusses who are the voices in the opinion pieces on #MeToo in the Portuguese mainstream press. It starts from the idea that opinion spaces are fundamental for conveying different points of view in society and for strengthening democratisation and gender justice. It reflects on existing hierarchies and calls for the importance of a ‘place of speech’ that can bring the voices of women and feminists to the centre of the discussion about harassment and sexual violence. This analysis helps to refocus attention on the sphere of media production.

From Academia to Algorithms: Digital Cultural Capital of Public Intellectuals in the Age of Platformization

2025-06-17

Lucas L. H. Wong | Social Sciences

Scholars traditionally hold influential positions due to their cultural capital, derived from academic degrees, scholarly publications, and professional credentials. However, the rise of digital platforms has disrupted this hierarchy, placing … Scholars traditionally hold influential positions due to their cultural capital, derived from academic degrees, scholarly publications, and professional credentials. However, the rise of digital platforms has disrupted this hierarchy, placing scholars into new roles as online public intellectuals who engage in political advocacy and mobilize knowledge through public discourse. This transformation calls attention to how public intellectuals’ visibility and influence have become entangled with platform logics, leading to a reconsideration of “digital cultural capital”. Drawing theoretical insights from critical platform studies, celebrity studies, and marketing research, this article conceptually addresses three questions: (1) how traditional cultural capital transforms digitally; (2) how public intellectuals accumulate digital cultural capital; and (3) what are the risks of knowledge mobilization on platforms? This article proposes that traditional academic credentials are no longer sufficient to maintain public intellectuals’ influence, whereas visibility metrics—such as views, likes, shares, and follower counts—emerge as a digital form of “cultural capital from below”. Public intellectuals, thus, must engage in “code-switching” to navigate platform-mediated knowledge mobilization. Nevertheless, the populist tendencies embedded in cultural capital from below and the platform algorithms that enable it risk marginalizing less visible knowledge forms. Eventually, this article calls for future empirical research on how digital cultural capital and code-switching operate across geopolitical contexts, particularly within marginalized communities shaped by distinct platform logics and populist dynamics.

Education for the “Freebies” Generation: Teenage Mothers in the Classrooms

2025-06-17

George Asante , B Samuel | American Journal of Youth and Women Empowerment

With barely half a decade remaining to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda, and as part of the promise to equitable, inclusive, and … With barely half a decade remaining to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda, and as part of the promise to equitable, inclusive, and quality education for all (SDG 4.5), the effective and efficient practices of girl-child education and empowerment are recognized. In qualitative case study fieldwork in the Ayensuano District in the Eastern Region of Ghana, data from 83 assistant headteachers during a workshop/conference on Child Labour Issues and Safe School Environment was gathered through unstructured discussion or interview. This was to better understand teachers’ and parents’ talk on basic education for teenage mothers in the light of Ghana’s Inclusive Education Policy. The discussion discloses interesting perspectives from teachers and parents about adolescent mothers in the classrooms such as the uncritical behaviour of a “freebies” generation, the needless pampering of teenage mothers or expectant mothers which will be a form of insult to unmarried/childless/infertile teachers., the poorly resourced nature of our schools to cater for them, an addition to the already large workload of teachers, and a negative form of influence on ‘good’ or ‘morally upright’ students. Could these perspectives fit the “progressive” description of Ghana’s Basic Education, the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.5, the Era of Leaving No Child Behind, and the hope of building the World We Want?

Mutating a Better Man

2025-06-16

Huw Nolan , Jo Coghlan | M/C Journal

Introduction Michael Gracey's Better Man (2024) presents an innovative biographical representation of British pop star Robbie Williams through a radical visual strategy—depicting its subject as a CGI primate rather than … Introduction Michael Gracey's Better Man (2024) presents an innovative biographical representation of British pop star Robbie Williams through a radical visual strategy—depicting its subject as a CGI primate rather than through a human actor. Filmed in Australia and partially funded by the Australian Government, the film follows a relatively standard biopic narrative tracing Williams’s trajectory from his Stoke-on-Trent childhood through his tumultuous Take That tenure to solo stardom, mapping his struggles with addiction, familial relationships, and mental health crises. What distinguishes Better Man from conventional biopics is its deliberate disruption of mimetic representation, employing technological transformation not merely as stylistic choice but as conceptual foundation. This article argues that Williams's digital animalisation reconfigures the relationship between celebrity subjectivity and media representation by constructing him as an inherently Posthuman entity—simultaneously human memory and technological artefact. By rejecting the conventional biopic approach that prioritises mimetic resemblance through casting and makeup, Better Man positions itself as a meta-commentary on the constructed nature of celebrity representation, raising significant questions about identity, mediation, and the increasingly blurred boundaries between human agency and technological simulation. The film's primate depiction operates across multiple registers: as technological intervention demonstrating how digital effects transform biographical representation beyond approaches seen in recent films like Elvis (2022) and Rocketman (2019); as metaphorical framework extending Williams's self-description as a "performing monkey" into a comprehensive visual system; and as epistemological strategy potentially creating a “virtual cuckoo”, where hyperreal representations systematically displace authentic understandings of real-world subjects (Nolan et al. 189). Drawing on Posthumanist theory (Haraway; Hayles; Braidotti) and contemporary approaches to celebrity construction (Turner Approaching; Marshall Power), our analysis examines three distinct yet interconnected transformations: technological mutation through digital spectacle, where Williams becomes a hybrid human-technological construct at the production level; metaphorical mutation through animalisation, where his representation is filtered through animal semiotics; and perceptual mutation through synthetic representation, where these artificial constructions cognitively reshape how audiences understand and remember Williams. Through this analytical framework, we demonstrate how Better Man serves as a critical text illuminating the increasingly unstable nature of celebrity identity in our hypermediated era, where boundaries between human and non-human, authentic and artificial, become progressively permeable. Synthetic Stardom: Technology, Spectacle, and the Posthuman Celebrity Mutation The first mutation in Better Man transforms Williams's human identity into something distinctly Posthuman through digital intervention. Posthumanism fundamentally questions boundaries between human and non-human entities, unlike transhumanism's narrower focus on technological enhancement (Hayles 3-6). As Haraway argues in 1985 in her influential A Cyborg Manifesto, traditional divisions between human/animal, organism/machine, and physical/non-physical have collapsed into hybrid identities that challenge established ontological categories. The Posthuman subject emerges through this technological integration, characterised by "distributed cognition" and fluid, hybrid forms that transcend conventional human limitations (Hayles 3). Williams's digital representation exemplifies this theoretical framework, creating an identity that exists simultaneously as human memory and technological construct. Better Man embraces this Posthuman mutation by representing Williams through extensive digital imagery. The film's use of motion capture visual effects facilitates this transformation, embedding and building the digital-ape-Williams within archival footage and performances (Debruge). The result is an identity explicitly composite and technologically mediated—both historically grounded and digitally mutable. This technological mutation produces a celebrity identity that exists as a digital construct, always open to reconfiguration, reflecting how information patterns can potentially detach from material embodiment to create new hybrid forms beyond more conventional means of mediated celebrity artifice (Marshall Power). This technological mutation corresponds with scholarly understandings of celebrities as cultural products continuously transformed through media intervention. Celebrity is not merely an individual's accomplishment, but a discursive construction developed and sustained through media technologies and audience perceptions (Marshall Power). Williams's narrative in Better Man explicitly says the quiet part loud, demonstrating constructedness by intertwining authentic biographical events with overtly artificial spectacle. The digital techniques employed destabilise any claims to singular authenticity, positioning celebrity identity as fluid, shifting, and continuously mutating through technological reproduction. This constant mediation creates a unique relationship while simultaneously revealing the artificial constructs underlying celebrity status—a phenomenon where contemporary celebrity culture increasingly relies on technologies that obscure distinctions between original and reproduction, authenticity and artifice (Gamson 16). The Spectacle, as theorised by Debord, refers to the dominance of representation and image over lived reality—an alienation where authentic experience is replaced by mediated simulations (12). Better Man literalises this Spectacle through immersive visual effects and overt aestheticisation of Williams's personal narrative. The hyperrealistic re-imaginings of his musical performances serve not merely as nostalgic evocations but as mediated representations that transform their original context. Through this Spectacle-driven narrative, Williams himself undergoes a mutation into a spectacular commodity—a persona continuously remoulded to sustain audience engagement. The film constructs a hyperreal Williams—a simulation born from the interplay of memory, technology, and narrative that mutates beyond his original human form. Debord's concept of Spectacle is particularly relevant to understanding Williams's representation because it illuminates how the film transforms biographical events into commodified visual experiences. When Williams’s mental health crises and substance abuse struggles are rendered through spectacular primate imagery, these deeply personal experiences become aesthetic objects for consumption. Better Man continues to reveal how contemporary celebrity culture functions such that “humanity continually destroys our irrational yet actually existing relationships and replaces them with a synthetic copy” (Debord 24). This mutation through Spectacle finds resonance in the conception of celebrity as a public negotiation of private lives (Marshall Persona 157). The biopic's integration of synthetic visuals and cinematic fantasy, specifically the digitised depictions of Williams's public breakdowns and personal struggles, positions the Spectacle of mutation as central to contemporary celebrity narratives. Williams's identity is thus encoded within these spectacularised representations, forming a cultural object continually renegotiated and transformed through digital platforms and consumed by spectators who help create a new identity (sensu Lindemann). Yet, audiences are forced into a familiar position of “purgatory”, torn between believing the biopic and understanding the Posthuman fantasy (Marshall Persona 9) Posthumanist ideals of continuous adaptation and mutable embodiment characterise contemporary digital existence across society, not merely celebrity representation (Braidotti 64-67). While digital persistence now constitutes a fundamental condition of networked life, Better Man dramatises and commodifies this universal phenomenon through Williams’s spectacular transformations. His digital mutations throughout the film represent not ontologically unique experiences but commercially intensified versions of everyday digital persistence. The film's technological spectacle presents Williams transcending temporal boundaries through synthetic reproduction, yet this transcendence reflects an amplification of widely accessible digital afterlives rather than an exclusive privilege of fame. Contemporary visual technologies enable digital persistence where individuals exist perpetually in mediated forms, with celebrities like Williams representing the hyperbolic, high-production extreme on this continuum (Levitt 20-21). The digital Williams exemplifies not exceptional immortality but accelerated mutation—a mediated identity unbound from biology, infinitely reproducible and adaptable, distinguished primarily through its cultural visibility, circulation power, and commercial potential rather than its fundamental technological nature. His digital persistence differs from ordinary digital traces primarily in scale and deliberate construction rather than in kind. Beastly Fame: Mutation through the Animal-Human Divide The second mutation evident in Better Man operates through a remarkable cinematic choice—the literal depiction of Robbie Williams as a CGI primate rather than using a human actor. This is not merely metaphorical but an actual representational strategy wherein Williams's celebrity identity undergoes literal animalisation within established semiotic systems. Animal representation functions as a powerful signifier within semiotic systems (de Saussure 65-70), where the relationship between signifier (the primate image) and signified (Williams's celebrity identity) creates meaning through cultural convention rather than inherent connection. As Barthes demonstrates in his analysis of cultural mythology, these signifiers carry connotations that extend beyond literal meaning to invoke broader cultural narratives and ideological frameworks (133-152). The monkey/ape imagery carries deliberate symbolic weight accumulated through cultural narratives. The film's approach originated from Williams’s frequent reference to himself as a "performing monkey" and a desire to approach yet another music biopic through "a different lens" (Paterson). However, the implications extend far beyond this initial inspiration, raising questions about how the film deploys this potent symbolism. As one online review noted, “like, I was aware that the character had the face of a chimpanzee, but he was also cheeky, charming and charismatic — like Williams” (Watson). This suggests the animalisation functions partly to capture perceived personality traits, potentially simplifying Williams into easily digestible characteristics associated with performing primates – charm, cheekiness, perhaps even an animalistic lack of agency. Regardless of directorial intent, these animal signifiers establish mediated metaphorical frameworks through which the audience processes celebrity identity separate from the actual person (Nolan et al.). This literal transformation creates a layered representation where Williams exists simultaneously as a human celebrity and an animal figure. By depicting him as a less evolved primate, the film invokes deeply rooted cultural associations—performance, imitation, vulnerability, aggression, and primitive drives—that can reshape how viewers perceive his humanity and interpret his identity and story, focussing on spectacle and simplified metaphor over nuanced personhood. The animalisation of Williams connects to Haraway’s concept of "simian orientalism", where primates have historically functioned as boundary objects between nature and culture, serving as mirrors through which humans define themselves (10-15). In Better Man, this boundary-crossing representation positions Williams as neither fully human nor fully animal, but as a mutated, hybrid figure that challenges conventional categories. This hybridity is particularly significant in the context of celebrity culture, where stars have traditionally functioned as idealised human specimens rather than cross-species constructs (Keswani). By rendering Williams as a primate, the film disrupts this tradition, suggesting that contemporary celebrity increasingly operates through Posthuman transformations that transcend biological categories while simultaneously reinforcing the myth of primates. Williams’s animalisation represents one point along a spectrum of human-animal hybridities that includes subcultural practices like furry fandom (Bernstein et al.) and digital transformations like Posthuman holographic animal filters in Years and Years (Lewis). These phenomena share a cultural preoccupation with boundaries between human and animal identities, though they manifest through different contexts and purposes. Furry communities participate in Posthuman identity expression through deliberate community-building and self-expression (Bernstein et al.), while Better Man employs animalisation as a narrative technique within commercial filmmaking (Paterson). The distinction highlights how similar Posthuman imagery operates differently: identity exploration versus biographical storytelling. The animalisation in Better Man reflects broader patterns where the celebrity becomes a cultural text open to transformation (Turner Approaching). The animal body becomes a site where celebrity identity is mediated through established cultural symbolism. This transformation risks creating a “virtual cuckoo”, where such hyperreal representations ultimately displace authentic understanding (Nolan et al. 189). The celebrity-as-animal representation infiltrates cultural consciousness as a Posthuman spectacle, potentially overtaking genuine comprehension of the human. Importantly, this process operates regardless of whether the film itself fully recognises the complex semiotic system it employs, or the subsequent displacement of truth. Simulated Celebrity: Epistemological Displacement and Hyperreality The third major transformative mutation in Better Man operates through epistemological displacement, a process whereby artificially enhanced representations fundamentally alter the conditions through which audiences understand Williams’s celebrity identity. This transformation differs from both technological mutation and metaphorical framing as it concerns not merely representation but the cognitive frameworks through which Williams’s identity exists in the cultural imagination. This transformation operates through a process of simulation where representations generate their own reality detached from their origin (Baudrillard 1-7). A virtual cuckoo displaces authentic understanding by manipulating human-focussed supernormal stimuli using synthetic representations (Nolan et al.189). Like the cuckoo laying eggs in another bird's nest, these hyperreal representations infiltrate cultural consciousness, ultimately shaping public perception more powerfully than direct engagement with the original subject. Williams’s digital primate functions as a powerful mnemonic device that becomes a dominant framework through which audiences process his biographical narrative. This effect extends beyond visual novelty to fundamentally reconfigure how his celebrity identity is constructed, circulated, and consumed. By rendering him in Posthuman form, the film simultaneously claims to reveal essential truths about his experience while acknowledging the constructed nature of all celebrity representation. The "celebrity-commodity" circulates independently of the actual person, reshaping cultural understanding as an elaborate sign system continuously reframed and reinterpreted by a changing cultural landscape (Turner Economy 193; Marshall Persona). In Better Man, past, present, and imagined versions of Williams coexist and commingle, characteristic of postmodern temporalities (Jameson). This collapse of linear temporality through technological transformation enables the film to function across multiple cultural registers, inserting its synthetic vision into ongoing discourses about Williams’s legacy. Biopics typically evoke sympathy (Smith Jr. 227), and the CGI Williams uses the extant semiotic systems to shorthand many of the stimuli necessary for eliciting desired emotions, all filtered through animal representation. This memorable abstraction risks overshadowing more complex realities of embodied celebrity (and animal) subjectivities. By literalising the myth of Williams’s self-described "performing monkey" identity (Watson), Better Man deliberately exposes the manufactured nature of celebrity representation through its conspicuous artifice. This visual approach employs a form of selective transparency, acknowledging fictional components precisely to reinforce the perceived truthfulness of its unacknowledged constructions. Rather than undermining the film's truth claims, this partial disclosure strengthens audience trust in the narrative's unforegrounded elements. The biopic thus exemplifies how "mythology is camouflaged with abstractions" such as celebrity, truth, and biopic authenticity (Rothwell 170), using transparent fiction to construct a more compelling impression of authenticity. The manipulation of truth claims reflects a contemporary understanding of identity construction. For public figures especially, identity manifests not as a stable essence but as a networked assemblage—a dynamic configuration emerging from countless connections, portrayals, disclosures, and interpretations (Braidotti 69; Lindemann). Within this framework, personal identity operates fundamentally as a "social practice" rather than an intrinsic property, continuously negotiated through interactions with others and cultural frameworks (Lindemann 222-223). Better Man thus intervenes directly in this assemblage, inserting a visually arresting component that reconfigures Williams’s public persona by transforming how audiences perceive, remember, and integrate his biographical narrative into cultural memory. This cinematic representation becomes another node potentially reshaping his cultural legacy through its mediated contribution. Williams’s engagement with this technological mutation demonstrates his participation in the Posthuman construction of his celebrity identity. Rather than merely being subjected to transformation, Williams becomes an agent in his own mutation, collaborating in creating a Posthuman version transcending conventional biographical representation. This collaboration highlights how contemporary celebrity increasingly functions through "intercommunication" between public persona and private self, where technological mediation does not simply obscure authenticity but fundamentally reconstitutes its meaning in a hypermediated context (Marshall Persona 39). Conclusion Better Man reconstructs celebrity identity through its radical visual mutation strategy. By transforming Williams into a digital primate, the film exposes the fundamentally unstable nature of contemporary fame, creating a representation that exists simultaneously as human narrative, technological simulation, and cultural symbol. This mutation operates across three critical dimensions that collectively transform our understanding of celebrity: technologically, Williams becomes a Posthuman hybrid through digital spectacle; metaphorically, his animalisation reconfigures how audiences interpret his experiences through established primate symbolism; and perceptually, synthetic representation reshapes cognitive frameworks through which we comprehend his identity. These interconnected transformations reveal how contemporary celebrity functions not as fixed essence but as perpetually mutable form, continually reconfigured through technological mediation. Gracey's animalisation strategy serves dual purposes with significant implications: while effectively visualising fame's dehumanising aspects, it simultaneously risks reducing Williams's complex personhood to simplified animal drives. This tension demonstrates how Posthuman celebrity representation inherently involves trade-offs between conceptual clarity and biographical complexity. The film ultimately distinguishes itself not through its biographical content but through its formal demonstration of celebrity as ongoing mutation—fame operating through technological intervention that transforms human subjects into cultural commodities while paradoxically claiming to reveal authentic essence. Better Man thus provides critical evidence of our evolving relationship with identity itself—neither fully embodied nor entirely virtual, but continuously mutable and technologically mediated. Through Williams’s digital transformation, we witness contemporary identity operating through processes of constant technological manipulation that transcend embodied reality. Irrespective of reality, one can always be a better man. Acknowledgments We thank Ashleigh Prosser, Kirstin Mills, and Lorna Piatti-Farnell for their editorial oversight, and the anonymous reviewers whose feedback considerably improved our argument and theoretical clarity. Our appreciation extends to the PopCRN community and all Pop Culture researchers for cultivating a scholarly environment where research thrives as a field worthy of serious academic enquiry. References Barthes, Roland. Mythology. London: Vintage, 2009. Better Man. Dir. Michael Gracey. Paramount Pictures, 2024. Bernstein, Penny, et al. "Furries from A to Z (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism)." Society & Animals 16.3 (2008): 197-222. Braidotti, Rosi. The Posthuman. Cambridge: Polity, 2013. Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. Trans. Ron Adams. Cambridge: Unredacted Word, 2021. Debruge, Peter. "‘Better Man’ Review: Robbie Williams Biopic Would Be a Snooze, But for the Wild Choice to Depict Him as a Chimp." Variety, 2025. De Saussure, Ferdinand. 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