Event: Queer and/ in Translation

Readers may be interested in this forthcoming event.

Critical Sexology is an interdisciplinary seminar series for psychologists, sociologists, psychoanalysts, medical doctors, literary and cultural studies scholars, philosophers, artists, lawyers, and historians with a critical interest in the construction and management of gender and sexuality in the medical, discursive and cultural spheres.

Established in 2002 by Iain Morland and Lih-Mei Liao, Critical Sexology has since held three seminars per year. All meetings took place in London until 2011, when "Critical Sexology up North" was launched. One in three yearly sessions is now held at a university in a northern location, with plans to introduce an annual Midlands session from 2014. The seminar series is currently co-organised by Lisa Downing (University of Birmingham), Meg Barker (Open University), and Robert Gillett (Queen Mary, University of London).

2-6pm, 7th December 2012
"Queer and/ in Translation"
 Venue: Arts Two, Room 316, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS 

Organised by Dr BJ Epstein (University of East Anglia) and Dr Robert Gillett (QMUL).

Speakers:

Dr BJ Epstein (Lecturer in Literature and Translation, University of East Anglia) "Neither Here Nor Queer: Translating Queer Literature for Children from English to Swedish"

Dr Heike Bauer (Senior Lecturer in English and Director of Birkbeck Interdiscplinary Gender and Sexuality Studies, Birkbeck, University of London) "Dead Wilde: Translation and the Emotional Undercurrents of Modern Queer Culture"

Clara Bradbury-Rance (PhD Candidate in Film, English and American Studies, University of Manchester) " 'This is So, So Real': Realising Lesbian Sex, Compromising Queer Space in Nathalie... and Chloe"

Respondent:

Dr. Emily Jeremiah (Director of German, Royal Holloway, University of London) *** (Abstracts and more detail can be found in the attached Word document.) (The seminar is open to all and entry is free. There is no need to register your intention to attend with the organisers.) 

http://www.criticalsexology.org.uk

Being Inappropriate: Teasing Out Some Issues

My post last week regarding online identities, specifically in relation to social media and Twitter seemed to resonate far more than I was expecting.  I thought aloud last week via Twitter that a conference of some sort might be an idea, but that was about it.  I tweeted earlier this evening - in response to a point by my excellent colleague, Chris Newman - that a 'conference' was a way of taking this forward but I had already planned on setting out some thoughts as a starting point for discussion.  So...here goes...

I've decided to knock together a small research bid to get some funding for some refreshments/pay for key speakers to travel etc.  Here's as far as my thoughts have taken me thus far with regard to the actual event:

• It should be a one day event, and should allow people sufficient time to travel the venue - and we can use my own Uni (make a change to have an event 'up North').
• The emphasis should be on discussion/exploring ideas rather than 'sit and listen'
• Nonetheless, there needs to be some sort of primer to discussion - how best is this achieved?  Some key speakers - HE leaders, academics, students?  Starting points for discussion?
• We should try and include students and those outside 'the Academy'
• Follow up discussion slot - possible at ALT and/or SLSA Annual Conferences in April next year?
• Tweeting would be encouraged?

What do you think?

Would you like to be involved in some way?

When's the best time to hold this?

Please add comments/tweet/email your thoughts!  

The North East Feminist Gathering (no men need apply)

Of possible interest to some NE-based readers...

The North East Feminist Gathering is a celebration of local feminism in all its multifaceted amorphous glory.

It aims to bring together the feminist, pro-feminist and femi-curious population of the North East through a series of workshops, discussions and artistic endeavours. A wonderful mix of theory, practical activism, debate, skills you always wanted to develop and interesting sessions to make you smile and rejuvenate your activism…

An event for women by women.

The weekend will culminate in an evening event for participants showcasing a line-up hand-picked from the regions fizzing creative underbelly.

Free crèche facilities – open arts space – film screenings in our feminist cinema space.

For further information and to register: http://www.nefeministgathering.com/

Event: Gender, Sex & Power: interdisciplinary dialogues

Gender, Sex & Power: interdisciplinary dialogues 
University of Hull Postgraduate Conference

Wednesday 21st November 2012 9.00am-6.30pm
Wilberforce Institution for the Study of Slavery & Emancipation (WISE)
Oriel Chambers, 27 High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE

The Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Hull hosts a biennial interdisciplinary Gender Research Conference for all taught and research postgraduate scholars with an interest in gender. We also encourage early career or postdoctoral scholars to participate. Our theme for this year is Gender, Sex & Power. This one-day interdisciplinary conference, funded through the Department of Social Sciences and Gender Studies programme at the University of Hull, draws together postgraduate scholars from across disciplines to explore the intersections of gender, sex and power through their research. The conference provides an important opportunity to discuss your research and network with researchers interested in issues of gender, sex and power from disciplinary and cross-disciplinary standpoints. University of Hull students can be awarded 10 PGTS credits for presenting a paper. We encourage papers from any relevant field, for example, anthropology, biology, cultural and media studies, criminology, drama, education, history, law, literature, philosophy, policy, politics, psychology, slavery studies and of course within gender studies and the social sciences.

Call for papers

The conference will offer a combination of thematic panels allowing participants to present formal papers of 15 minutes on a theme drawn from their research, and workshops allowing those who do not wish to present a paper to discuss and raise questions about aspects of their research in an informal discursive format.

Indicative Themes

Themes are mutable and papers will be located as deemed most appropriate. 1. Embodying Gender, Sex & Power Key words: representation; pornography; body modification; sexualised bodies; racialised bodies; abjected bodies; objectified bodies... 2. Gender, Sex & Power in Movement Key words: migration; diaspora; empire; global power structures; cosmopolitanism; postcoloniality, slavery, trafficking and sex tourism... 3. Gender, Sex & Power Through Time, Space & Relations Key words: narratives of lifecourse, families and intimate relations; emotions; memory; reproduction... 4. (De)Constructing Gender, Sex & Power through Science, Media & Technology Key words: knowledge production; technologies; science; new media; medicalised bodies... 5. Policing Sex & Gender Key words: structures of power, politics, policies, institutions, gender-based violence, conflict and crime, trafficking, prostitution... 6. Performing Gender, Sex & Power Key words: the power of performativity, narratives of representation, sex & gender as visual and representational power, performing masculinities, femininities, intersexualities...

Workshops

1. Do you work on gender outside of Gender Studies? How do we incorporate a gender analysis into our research and writing? What does gender analysis mean? 2. Crossing boundaries of gender and sexualities in research and writing: how does your personal standpoint impact on the research process? How do we research taboo?

Timetable:

Registration & Welcome: 9.00-9.30 Registration & tea/coffee 9.30-10.00 Welcome Address Morning Sessions: 10.00 - 12.00 Simultaneous Panels 10.00 - 11.00 Workshop 1 12.00 – 1.00 Lunch Afternoon Sessions: 1.00-3.00 Simultaneous Panels 1.30-2.30 Workshop 2 3.00 – 3.30 Afternoon Break (tea/coffee) 3.30-4.30 Plenary (performance event t.b.c.) Evening Session: 4.30-6.00 Key Note Speaker: Dr Meg Barker, Open University 6.00-6.30 Wine reception

Registration:

This event is heavily subsidised by the Department of Social Sciences & Gender Studies (GEMMA) programme at the University of Hull and places are limited. There is a £5 registration fee to secure attendance which is inclusive of refreshments, buffet lunch and wine reception. Send cash or cheques payable to The University of Hull with your registration form and abstract (if wishing to present) to: Dr Suzanne Clisby Director of Postgraduate Gender Studies University of Hull Hull, HU7 6RX s.m.clisby@hull.ac.uk Deadline for registration and submission of abstracts: Monday 1st October 2012

Event: KNOWING YOUNG PEOPLE: RESEARCH METHODS, YOUNG PEOPLE AND SEXUALITY

Knowing Young People 2: 19th September 2012. at Brunel University, Uxbridge.

KNOWING YOUNG PEOPLE: RESEARCH METHODS, YOUNG PEOPLE AND SEXUALITY:

The second of 2 day conferences on methods for researching youth sexualities - this time focussing on the politics of sexuality research with young people. Jointly hosted by the BERA Sexualities SIG, the Centre for Youth Work Studies and the Brunel Sexuality and Gender Research Centre.

The day features International Keynote Speaker: Dr Mary Lou Rasmussen, Monash University, Australia, whose paper will be entitled ‘Cool secularism? Reframing 'progressive' sexuality education’.

- For this second Knowing Young People event there is a chance to present your work in short papers of 15-20 minutes on themes of methodological, ethical, political or epistemological issues.

Please send an abstract of 150 words and a short bio to Pam Alldred in the first instance (Pam.Alldred@Brunel.ac.uk) for review by a small panel. Please send this by 13th August 2012.

 N.B: Successful abstracts will be notified by 31st August.

London Calling

Word reaches London of my planned visit...

I've had quite a few people talking about the need to come up to London.  Normally I dive down for meetings and have to dart back.  However, rather happily a variety of events have come together to give me an excuse for splashing out on a little expedition to England's Capital.

This exciting jamboree will be in May.  I'm going to be at a Law and Sexuality tweet-up on Wednesday 16 May (details, and info on indicating you'd like to go here) which is being organised by the excellent @ObscenityLawyer.  Anyone on twitter (or indeed thinking about it) interested in law and sexuality should come along for a few drinkies.

It's yet to be firmed up, but it looks like I'll be at a book launch on Thursday evening for an edited collection that I have a chapter on public sex in.  Details to follow once it's firmed up as I'm sure a small crowd will be welcomed.  I'm then off to the UCU LGB conference on the Friday to present a paper on (hetero)normativity and future directions for legal reform in England and Wales (some of you might be there!).

If anyone would like to get together during the day on Thursday or the Wednesday afternoon, let me know.  A day and a half of lunching, boozing and intellectual/debauched conversation would be ideal.  Otherwise, I shall have to be a tourist and float around galleries for a couple of days.  Give me a shout on Twitter if you'd like to meet up or drop me an emails at: chris.ashford@sunderland.ac.uk  

Event: Bodies of Law / Law and the Body

Regular readers, especially postgraduate students may be interested in this forthcoming event.

Bodies of Law / Law and the Body
An interdisciplinary conference for postgraduate and early-career academics in the area of law, gender and sexuality
Friday 30 March 2012 School of Law, University of Westminster, London, UK

 Law mediates various power structures and is interwoven with numerous other knowledges that participate in the construction, normalization and regulation of bodies, such as medicine, social media, religion and the nation-state. Numerous feminist legal scholars have commented on law’s intimate relationship to, for example, medical discourses, arguing that the shape of legal power has changed to more regulatory and disciplinary forms. Inevitably law’s relationship to bodies/states of embodiment alters as it takes on these increasingly pervasive roles. One might conclude that the notion of a space where the law will not intervene is a liberal fantasy, out of step with the reality of law’s operations. How, then, should law be evaluated and/or harnessed?

Our interdisciplinary one-day workshop aims to cover these and other issues pertaining to law and the body.

Event Details
Draft Programme and further information http://clgs-pecans.org.uk/news 

Venue: Room CLG.09, New Cavendish Site, 115 New Cavendish St, University of Westminster http://www.westminster.ac.uk/about-us/visit-us/directions/cavendish 

Registration and Fees Conference fees - £15 Includes lunch and refreshments

To register please click link and follow on screen payment instructions https://epayments.westminster.ac.uk/webpublicecs/newpay.asp Registration closes 20/03/12. Places are limited. For further information, please see our website at http://clgs-pecans.org.uk/ or contact Nikki Godden at n.m.godden@durham.ac.uk

CFP: Forbidden Fruits, Forbidden Histories

Postgraduate students and their supervisors may be interested in this call for papers:

Forbidden Fruits, Forbidden Histories. 
A postgraduate conference exploring LGBT in the Arts and Humanities.
11th July 2012.
Cardiff School of European Studies, Cardiff University, UK.

Call for Papers.

“I always find it sad not to pluck the delicious flower that we shall soon be unable to pluck. For then it would be fruit…and forbidden.”

Marcel Proust to Jacques Bizet. Lycée Condorcet, 1888.

Writing a hurried response to his friend in a classroom of the Lycée Condorcet in 1888, Marcel Proust recognised that his desire for those of the same sex was a forbidden one that went against social, moral and political convention. Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu (1913 – 27) has been widely recognised as a founding text by and for Queer Studies: whether it be the flamboyant characterisation of the Baron de Charlus or more subtle nuances visible in the narrator’s own curiosity, Proust’s explicit writings on homosexuality paved the way for a more open literary treatment of it. The beginning of the twentieth century witnessed experimentations in subject matter and slowly but surely, representations and portrayals of LGBT became more visible in European Literature and the Arts. At the same time as French authors such as Proust, Gide and Cocteau were transforming the literary canon, so too were their European neighbours, such as Thomas Mann with Tod in Venedig (1912) or Anna Elisabet Weirauch with her Der Skorpion trilogy (1919 – 31); or in Spain, Federico García Lorca with Oda a Salvador Dali (1926) and Luis Cernuda in La realidad y el deseo (1936), creating a much-needed cultural space for LGBT concerns. With the new millennium well underway, LGBT has continued to benefit from equality and diversity legislation together with an increasing and continued social acceptance.

Hosted by the Languages, Cultures and Ideologies Research Unit at Cardiff School of European Studies, the Forbidden Fruits, Forbidden Histories conference aims to highlight continuities and change within LGBT themes and motifs across a wide range of European cultural and social practices, seeking to highlight current academic research in, and facilitate discussions on the cultural presence of LGBT in Arts and Humanities research. The conference organisers warmly welcome abstracts for twenty-minute papers. Papers may focus on, but are not restricted to, Literature, Poetry, Visual Arts, Queer Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies. Topics may include histories of closeting; disguise and revelation; desire and consumption; metaphors of sexuality; sexuality legislation and the arts.

If you feel your research would complement the aims of this conference, please get in touch. An abstract of no more than 300 words should be submitted to Matt Berry (berrymj@cardiff.ac.uk) no later than February 14th 2012 for consideration by the conference’s steering committee.

Sexuality, Culture, and Society, 16th Summer Institute

Readers (with the cash!) might be interested in this event.

Sexuality, Culture, and Society (July 1 - 26, 2012) www.gsss.uva.nl/sis

The 16th Summer Institute is open to students with a focused interest in sexuality research or advocacy, including MA and PhD students and professionals from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in sexuality, HIV, or sexual health programmes and interventions. The open atmosphere and small scale of Amsterdam is experienced by both western and non-western students as a refreshing stimulant for active discussion of sexuality and culture.

GayStarNews Launches

GSN is a new gay (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) news, entertainment and lifestyle website. They say they have full-time and freelance journalists working for us around the globe (London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Shanghai) and will soon be offering 24-hour coverage for the first time in the gay media market.

It's headed up by Tris Reid-Smith and Scott Nunn.  Reid-Smith was previously editor of Gay Times and the Pink Paper whilst Nunn was previously a photographer with the MP Group which owns GT and the Pink Paper.

Gay Star News is in open ‘beta testing’ and getting good comments already. They are keen to hear feedback on the beta site and you can do that by emailing: feedback@gaystarnews.com.

They are also looking for tip-offs about stories and features you think they should cover.  Email: news@gaystarnews.com.

Contact them about advertising, sponsorship or affiliate opportunities by emailing scottn@gaystarnews.com.

Follow them on Facebook and on Twitter @gaystarnews. You can find full contact details and telephone numbers so you can stay in touch with us on our site at: www.gaystarnews.com/content/contact.

Studying Sexuality

There have been a couple of really interesting blogs on conferences on the theme of sexuality - and their strengths and weaknesses.  QRG writes about a recent 'Pornified' conference.  There are some interesting observations but it is limited by the fact QRG didn't actually attend.  There are difficulties in interpreting these things - perspectives and gender would have been slightly tweaked by my presence - I was invited to speak at one of these conferences but I've forgotten which - but I couldn't get funding to attend.  I suspect the same was true for a few others so it doesn't take much to skew these things.  Nonetheless, some interesting comments.

Of greater interest, and perhaps value is a post by Jane Fae on a sexology conference (which I'd also hoped to attend but once again, I find myself in a funding black hole).   Fae makes some really interesting observations about disciplines coming together - but this is in part a growing agenda from the funding bodies so it's not entirely 'organic'.  Nonetheless, some fascinating broad perspectives about what is going on in the academic discussion and exploration of sexuality.

CFP: Reconsidering Coming and Being ‘Out’? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Research in the 21st Century

Hoping to attend this conference myself.  One held a few years ago in Newcastle was brilliant:

A one-day conference for academics, researchers and activists conducting research on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans issues and / or lives. 18th May 2012, 10.30am – 4.30pm London South Bank University It has been 3 years since we gathered at Northumbria University for the „Becoming or Unbecoming‟ LGB and T research conference in November 2008. That conference was the second of its kind following “Lesbian and Gay Lives in Focus” conference in London in December 2000.

The 2012 Conference seeks to bring together academics, researchers and activists from across the country to look at the state of LGB and T research, to chart a way forward and to bridge the gap between academia and activism. It follows a commitment from UCU Congress 2010 to support such a conference every three years in order to promote L, G, B and T studies. Papers are sought in nine broad areas or categories and should address key issues within one of these areas/categories. The issues/topic identified in each category is not an exhaustive list and we encourage you to identify an issue/topic if it does not appear in your chosen category of discussion.

Education and Development Papers in this area can cover

• LGB and / or T issues in schools, colleges and universities, including as a workplace  
• visibility in the curriculum 
• working with the teachers 
• learning and development for LGB and / or T people throughout life 

Health, Wellbeing and Sport Health issues affect many LGB and T people and papers can address a wide range of health issues including

• age; 
• HIV, AIDS and other sexual health matters; 
• psychological dimensions of health,  
• LGB and / or T people as carers – both professional and within families and friendship networks;  wellbeing including fitness and spiritual health;  
• workplace wellbeing;  
• LGB and / or T in sport. 

Heritage and Action It is important to understand where we have been and how heritage informs activism;

• histories of activism; 
• heritage and memory projects;  
• lobbying efforts and campaigns. 

Households, Families and Relationships Papers can address all aspects of domestic life with a focus on

• experiences of caring from LGB and / or T households; 
• impact of diverse households on society; 
• how LGB and / or T people lived in households historically;  
• the diversity of relationships; 
• alternative family models; 
• LGB and / or T parenting including fostering and adoption. 

Homo and Trans phobia: Here we wish for papers to

• explore homo and / or trans phobias both in and out of the work place; 
• language issues; 
• attitudes;  
• challenging vs. preventing; 
• conceptualisation of homo and / or trans phobia and 
• exploring what if anything, homo and / or trans phobia has done for us  
• international comparisons and projects 

Identity: Identity is a wide area and papers can address

• both psychological and non-psychological perspectives; 
• in-depth identification from the perspective of the individual;  
• gender diasporas 

LGB and T People: Papers should explore who are we?

• people in the mainstream;  
• people on the margins; 
• people on the margins of the mainstream; 
• anthropological and sociological perspectives that includes a focus on equality groups age; disability; faith; gender; race ). 
• being counted – data collection and demographics 

Policy and Law Over the years leading up to the Equality Act 2010 equality and anti discrimination

• legislation shaped activism and experience 
• historical and international perspectives 
• hierarchies 
• emergence of rights and the implications for LGB and / or T people 
• crime, deviance, disorder, liberation and / or normality? 

Theory This area seeks to highlight new ways of thinking and theorising;

• rethinking and reconceptualising coming and being out and LGB and T experiences more generally; relationships between activism, socio-economics, queer and other identity related theories. 

Proposals (of no more than 500 words) should be sent by e mail to the conference co-ordinators (Antoine Rogers and Seth Atkin) e mail: arac@london.com More information including application form for the conference will be sent out at a later date. Deadline for Proposals is: 4pm Wednesday 29th February

CFP Sexualities Section of the American Sociological Association

Readers may be interested in this Call for Papers:

The Sexualities Section of the American Sociological Association invites you to be a part of the first national mini-conference on sexualities studies in sociology. This two-day (August 15-16) conference will precede the 2012 Annual Meeting of the ASA in Denver, Colorado.

 Crossing Boundaries, Workshopping Sexualities will bring together scholars working in the field of sexuality studies for an intensive two days of workshops, geared towards mapping and advancing the field, while building community and collective knowledge. To celebrate the vibrant life of the Sexualities Section, the conference also will include keynote panels by eminent sexualities scholars who will discuss the past, present, and future state of the field of sexualities research within sociology. 
This conference aims to unite junior and senior scholars working in related areas in an effort to share theoretical and methodological advances, create intellectual networks, and promote rich collaborations within the field of sexualities studies. More information: http://www.crossing-boundaries.org/

Homophobia and the Legal Profession

The Guardian carried a really interesting piece on Thursday from Alex Aldridge (check out one of his podcasts in my earlier blogpost here).  He notes that the judicial appointments committee (JAC) – the body founded in 2006 to enhance judicial accountability – has begun to monitor the sexuality of wannabe judges (it already monitors gender, ethnicity, age, professional background and disability). He also notes that the JAC is also increasing its engagement with the gay lawyer community through talks at LGBT legal events (yes, they do exist) and the publishing of case studies of gay judges.

I remain concerned that many of these efforts are London based and as Aldridge highlights in his piece, even in London, homophobia appears evident, so how fares gay lawyers in the so called 'provinces'?

He also notes the growing number of law firms now included in Stonewall's index of gay-friendly employers (six in the recent list).  Whilst this is probably a sign of progress, I remain deeply critical of this survey as a box ticking exercise.  Have an LGBT group - excellent.  The survey doesn't take account of how often such a group meets, or how vibrant it is (instead terms of reference and other such worthy documents are produced).  It's a human resources dream, good at forms, and writing policies, you're in.  This is, of course, better than nothing but a more rigorous process is needed if we want to see real demonstrable change.  In case, you think I'm being too cynical, check out the 2012 workplace equality index criteria here.

Aldridge also notes the regular complaint among legal LGBT groups that they are dominated  dominance  by 'a certain type of confident gay man'. Apparently, just 30% of the Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association (LAGLA) members are female.

Check out the full piece here.

Follow Friday: Kevin Poulter

Oh dear, two works into term and my blogging goes pear shaped.  A very late Follow Friday special shout out this week goes to @kevinpoulter an openly gay London based employment lawyer.  Poulter was also one of the founders of the Gay Employment Lawyers Network.  Get following Kevin and say hello to him.

Being a 'Gay' Lawyer

Many thanks to Kevin Poulter who alerted me to this podcast on Alex Aldridge's blog.  It features Bar Professional Training Course graduate Adam Fellows, who was called to the bar in July, debating LGBT networks and other issues affecting gay lawyers with Kevin Poulter, one of the founders of the Gay Employment Lawyers Network. Alex Aldridge poses questions in between pouring the wine.

It's fascinating discussion, revealing for those who don't already know the existence of LGBT lawyer groups and how they operate, but more importantly it offers a really honest insight into the realities of being an LGBT lawyer.  I was really struck by the comments from (I think) Adam Fellows who notes the importance of the potential to meet clients/instruct barristers as part of an LGBT social event when one accounts for time.  A social event per se is less attractive.  I find this aspect of lawyering rather depressing but it's entirely unsurprising to see it creep into these LGBT networks.

It also serves to 'professionalise' sexuality - to create a new idea of the 'gay lawyer' (I wonder how those who identify as 'bisexual' or 'open minded' or indeed 'queer' fit into these networks) who profits from these networks but I wonder how much diversity is squeezed out in this space.  I am assuming that discussing a civil partnership is a nice conversation, but is someone able to describe an orgy at the local sauna? Of course not you might say, but I am conscious of the number of city-based lawyers who - I am told - regularly consume illegal chemical substances and this is socially acceptable.  So, this does speak to the 'norms' of gay lawyering.

I'm also curious about the gender angle - and the extent to which the experiences of lesbian lawyers match those of their gay male counterparts.  I rarely here lesbian lawyers in these discussions.

Towards the end, the discussants suggest that sexuality is just a label and doesn't really matter but then also comment that a judge would be less likely to come out because any unpopular judgment would be editorialised by the Daily Mail (and presumably other media publications) as 'the gay judge'.  This would seem to suggest that labels really do matter, and underlies the importance of being open about ones sexuality.  The failure to connect these two points by the speakers is rather interesting.

The lawyers in this podcast are based in London and I wonder if LGBT lawyers in say the north east of England would say similar things.  I'd love to hear from others in comments about their own experiences  - either as LGBT lawyers, trainees or students who have been on placements/mini pupillages.

Listen to the podcast in full here.

(Pictures from top to bottom: Alex Aldridge, Kevin Poulter, Adam Fellows)

CORRECTION:  Kevin tells me it was him who commented on client aspect of networking rather than Adam.  Sorry guys!

Blendr Benders?

I watched the launch of Blendr - the 'straight' version of the popular App Grindr with interest (read more on the launch here).  I confess that I am a long standing Grindr user (is there some sort of help group?) but it's fascinating to see how this app  - which is, let's be honest, about hunting for sex, be re-marketed for a straight audience.  Heterosexuals it seems, want to 'network' and 'date' rather than seek out the nearest available sexual outlet.  It would have been interesting to see it launched as a genuine 'straight' version of Grindr rather than this spin, although it will be interesting to see how it is actually used and what the gender split of users is.  A whole new app for students to play with during workshops, tutorials and lectures.

Quiet Riot Girl offers a really interesting insight into this development.  Coming from a queer perspective, QRG challenges some of the assumptions that we might have regarding potential users.  Check out the post in full here.

Pornified? Sexualisation of Culture Conference

Readers may be interested in details of the following London event:

Pornified? Complicating debates on sexualisation of culture, CONFERENCE, Institute of Education, LONDON, December 1st and 2nd, 2011

Sexualisation of Culture Conference

*Call for Papers*

Complicating debates about the 'sexualisation of culture': An International Conference
Institute of Education, London, 1 & 2 December 2011

Are we seeing the sexualisation of culture?
Has pornography become mainstreamed and normalised in 21st-century Western societies?
How do practices associated with sexualisation play out across different spaces, sites, subjectivities, cultural groups and generations?
Can we move beyond the moral panic/libertarian dichotomies that seem to dominate debates on 'sexualisation'?
This international conference will interrogate 'sexualisation', exploring sexual politics across key social and cultural spheres. We encourage papers that explore the multiple meanings of sexualised cultures, across social generations, cultural groups and within and between different sites -- for example workplaces, schools, leisure spaces, intimate sexual relationships and online culture.

Our goal is to create a space for dialogue that spans disciplinary, theoretical, political and national boundaries. We are keen to include practitioners, members of NGOs, policy makers and other stakeholders in the conference as presenters and participants. We will also be holding a student networking session for postgraduates, postdocs and researchers working in this area. We are committed to ensuring diversity in participation across geographical location, race, ethnicity and sexual and gendered identities.

Keynote Speakers

Susie Orbach, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer, London, UK
Sue Jackson, Department of Psychology, University of Wellington, New Zealand
Mireille Miller-Young, Feminist Studies University of California Santa Barbara, USA
Leonore Tiefer, PhD, author, educator, researcher, therapist and activist, New York City, USA

Plenary Panel

Onscenity Network, including: Feona Attwood, Communication, Sheffield Hallam University, UK and Clarissa Smith, Media Studies, University of Sunderland, UK

———————————————

We are interested in a diverse range of formats and welcome proposals for papers, performance pieces, roundtables, posters, and workshops. We anticipate a standard allocation of 20 minutes per presentation and 80 minutes per session, however, we are open to proposals that suggest alternative uses of time – please state this clearly in your submission.

Please use the abstract form (pdf) to submit a 200 word abstract summarising your presentation/session (rationale and content), or a 500 word abstract for symposium or workshop (including timing and format).

Download: Call for Papers Flyer (pdf)

———————————————

Closing date for abstracts: 30 June 2011 | Send submissions to Richard Bull: r.bull@ioe.ac.uk

Summer School: Queer Temporalities

Some readers may be interested in the University of Manchester's sexuality summer school. Registration and more details can be found at this link.

The Sexuality Summer School 2011 draws upon the success of its previous years, embracing an interactive learning model that combines intensive workshops, discussion panels, lectures and student-lead seminars in order to construct a supportive research community over the course of four days. This year the conference turns towards the idea of Queer Temporalities, bringing together researchers from diverse fields including English Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Media Studies, Performance Studies and many others to discuss and critique representations and understandings of gender, sexuality and queerness as they relate to concepts and constructions of the temporal.

For more information, please e-mail SexualitySummerSchool@gmail.com

Gaydar in Youth Drive

You've probably noticed my blogging is starting to drop off a bit. I'm desperately behind with a book and in order to avoid my publisher chopping my balls off I'm focusing my efforts on writing at the moment. That said, I wanted to share the latest move by the networking site (i.e hook-up site) Gaydar.

Gaydar.co.uk became the definitive place to create an online gay identity and arrange a quick fuck but which seems to have been displaced in recent times by newer sites such as fitlads - particularly among young gay guys. Young gay guys inevitably pull in older gay guys and as more and more of Gaydar's features have vanished behind a pay wall in recent years, the site needs to keep pulling in people who will pay to spend hours of their life sitting online waiting for their dream slim smooth twinky guy to message for a quick fuck (...or so I imagine...). How, the guys at Gaydar must have thought, can we get them to keep giving us their money? Then someone had an idea - target the students- give them free membership!

And so it came to pass...meet GaydarU, the site for students aged between 18 and 23 to join the site. Like student banking, thwe hope is no doubt that they will stick with the site when they graduate and cough up to access everything. In the meantime, the vultures will be re-incentivised to keep paying to circle.