Clarissa Smith

Sexualised Masculinity: Men’s Bodies in 21st Century Media Culture explores evolving portrayals of masculinity in contemporary media, focusing on the increasing eroticisation of the male body.This book examines how traditional and digital media – from films and television to social media platforms and fashion – have transformed the ways masculinity is represented and perceived. Through a wide array of case studies, it highlights how male bodies are now sites of erotic value, challenging long-standing norms and expectations. By exploring both global and local media, John Mercer and Clarissa Smith provide insights into the shifting landscape of gender and sexuality, offering a critical perspective on how masculinity is consumed, performed, and commodified in today’s world.This book is essential for students and scholars in fields such as gender studies, media studies, cultural studies and social history, and is particularly relevant for those interested in understanding the intersections of masculinity, media and sexuality in the 21st century.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Sexualised Masculinity: Men’s Bodies in 21st Century Media Culture explores evolving portrayals of masculinity in contemporary media, focusing on the increasing eroticisation of the male body.This book examines how traditional and digital media – from films and television to social media platforms and fashion – have transformed the ways masculinity is represented and perceived. Through a wide array of case studies, it highlights how male bodies are now sites of erotic value, challenging long-standing norms and expectations. By exploring both global and local media, John Mercer and Clarissa Smith provide insights into the shifting landscape of gender and sexuality, offering a critical perspective on how masculinity is consumed, performed, and commodified in today’s world.This book is essential for students and scholars in fields such as gender studies, media studies, cultural studies and social history, and is particularly relevant for those interested in understanding the intersections of masculinity, media and sexuality in the 21st century.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Game of Thrones was an international sensation, and has been looked at from many different angles. But to date there has been little research into its audiences: who they were, how they engaged with and responded to it. This book presents the findings of a major international research project that garnered more than 10,000 responses to an innovative 'qualiquantitative' questionnaire. Among its findings are: a new way of understanding the place and role of favourite characters in audiences’ responses; new insights into the role of fantasy in encouraging thinking about our own world; and an account of two combined emotions – relish and anguish – which structure audiences’ reactions to controversial elements in the series.

Game of Thrones was an international sensation, and has been looked at from many different angles. But to date there has been little research into its audiences: who they were, how they engaged with and responded to it. This book presents the findings of a major international research project that garnered more than 10,000 responses to an innovative 'qualiquantitative' questionnaire. Among its findings are: a new way of understanding the place and role of favourite characters in audiences’ responses; new insights into the role of fantasy in encouraging thinking about our own world; and an account of two combined emotions – relish and anguish – which structure audiences’ reactions to controversial elements in the series.

This is a concise and accessible introduction into the concept of objectification, one of the most frequently recurring terms in both academic and media debates on the gendered politics of contemporary culture, and core to critiquing the social positions of sex and sexism.Objectification is an issue of media representation and everyday experiences alike. Central to theories of film spectatorship, beauty fashion and sex, objectification is connected to the harassment and discrimination of women, to the sexualization of culture and the pressing presence of body norms within media. This concise guidebook traces the history of the term’s emergence and its use in a variety of contexts such as debates about sexualization and the male gaze, and its mobilization in connection with the body, selfies and pornography, as well as in feminist activism.It will be an essential introduction for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Gender Studies, Media Studies, Sociology, Cultural Studies or Visual Arts.

This is a concise and accessible introduction into the concept of objectification, one of the most frequently recurring terms in both academic and media debates on the gendered politics of contemporary culture, and core to critiquing the social positions of sex and sexism.Objectification is an issue of media representation and everyday experiences alike. Central to theories of film spectatorship, beauty fashion and sex, objectification is connected to the harassment and discrimination of women, to the sexualization of culture and the pressing presence of body norms within media. This concise guidebook traces the history of the term’s emergence and its use in a variety of contexts such as debates about sexualization and the male gaze, and its mobilization in connection with the body, selfies and pornography, as well as in feminist activism.It will be an essential introduction for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Gender Studies, Media Studies, Sociology, Cultural Studies or Visual Arts.

Sexuality is an integral part of our lives, and our identities. But how do we study it? Written in a lively and accessible style, Studying Sexualities aims to introduce students to the critical study of sexuality, taking a look at the major theories, media representations, and cultural practices. After having carefully explained the key theoretical and empirical debates on the subject – outlining Foucauldian Constructionism, Psychoanalysis, and Queer Theory - the authors draw on their own original research to address timely topics related to gender, sexuality, and popular culture. Contemporary examples used within the book include discussions of sex shops, cybersex, and sex toys, the TV series Sex and the City, Will and Grace and The L Word, and the immensely popular Twilight books. Studying Sexualities is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students on Cultural, Media, Film, or visual Studies, or Sociology and Sexuality courses, who are interested in researching the fascinating complexities of sexuality today. NIALL RICHARDSON is a lecturer at the University of Sussex, and CLARISSA SMITH and ANGELA WERNDLY are lecturers at the University of Sunderland, UK. This book is the culmination of their considerable teaching and writing experience within the field of sexualities. Their specific research interests include feminism and popular culture, queer theory, the body and consumption.

Sexuality is an integral part of our lives, and our identities. But how do we study it? Written in a lively and accessible style, Studying Sexualities aims to introduce students to the critical study of sexuality, taking a look at the major theories, media representations, and cultural practices.After having carefully explained the key theoretical and empirical debates on the subject – outlining Foucauldian Constructionism, Psychoanalysis, and Queer Theory - the authors draw on their own original research to address timely topics related to gender, sexuality, and popular culture. Contemporary examples used within the book include discussions of sex shops, cybersex, and sex toys, the TV series Sex and the City, Will and Grace and The L Word, and the immensely popular Twilight books.Studying Sexualities is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students on Cultural, Media, Film, or visual Studies, or Sociology and Sexuality courses, who are interested in researching the fascinating complexities of sexuality today.NIALL RICHARDSON is a lecturer at the University of Sussex, and CLARISSA SMITH and ANGELA WERNDLY are lecturers at the University of Sunderland, UK. This book is the culmination of their considerable teaching and writing experience within the field of sexualities. Their specific research interests include feminism and popular culture, queer theory, the body and consumption.

We usually think of women as the victims of pornography rather than its consumers. Whether appearing in films, peering provocatively from the pages of magazines, or posing on explicit Web-sites, women are considered the dehumanized objects of unseen lascivious male viewers. But in her controversial new book One for the Girls!, Clarissa Smith debunks this myth and challenges women to read, watch, and enjoy pornography on their own terms. Focusing on the British magazine For Women, Smith looks at its readers’ responses to male pinups and erotica and explores the intricacies of women’s unique reactions to pornography.“Clarissa Smith has achieved something special with her new proffering from her masculinities repertoire. Smith’s text is groundbreaking, multidisciplinary and—equally importantly—extremely readable. It is the last point perhaps that really sets this work apart, as One for the Girls has a great deal to offer both the specialist academic and the general reader. Clarissa Smith’s accessible style allows readers with little prior knowledge of critical theory, cultural studies or the 1980s pornography debate, to not only understand these discourses, but to develop a strong grasp of their impact in this context.”—Michelle Parsons, Transition Tradition