The Commentary and Criticism, Feminist Media Studies

Deadline: April 26, 2019

The broad expansion of the post-feminist media landscape of the past couple of decades brought about an increased visibility of spectacularised and idealised ideas of pregnancy – a romanticised “new momism” (Douglas and Michaels, 2004). Alongside these romanticised discourses, though, exist numerous examples of mediated pregnancies that sit outside of such glamorised and perfect representations of pregnancy. This context has also opened up new networked spaces for people to seek and offer support online in relation to pregnancy, as well as spaces to search for or share (self-)representations of pregnancy. The editors of Commentary and Criticism invite short essays that critically consider pregnancy and contemporary media. Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Media representations of pregnancy
• Pregnancy in the media industries
• Online users and communities’ uses of digital media related to pregnancy
• Celebrity pregnancies
• Mediated pregnancy in relation to diverse intersectionalities including: LGBTQ+, age, race, class, ability
• Audiences’ consumption of mediated pregnancy
• Pregnancy in the context of health communication or health policy in the media
• Onscreen pregnancy and genre
• Neoliberalism, pregnancy and media

The Commentary and Criticism section of Feminist Media Studies aims to publish brief (~1000 words), timely responses to current issues in feminist media culture, for an international readership. Submissions may pose a provocation, describe work in progress, or propose areas for future study. We will also consider book and event reviews, as well as contributions that depart from traditional academic formats. We encourage all submissions to strategically mobilise critique to also offer a productive contribution to both feminist politics and media studies. Submissions must go beyond mere description in order to be considered for publication in Commentary and Criticism.

Please submit contributions by 26 April 2019, via email to both Melanie Kennedy (mjk29@le.ac.uk) and Safiya Noble (safiya.noble@usc.edu).We also welcome questions and expressions of interest in advance of the deadline.

Submissions for Commentary and Criticism will not be correctly processed if submitted through via the Feminist Media Studies site, and should be emailed directly to Drs Kennedy and Noble using the email addresses above.

Please be sure to follow the Feminist Media Studies style and referencing guides, which can be found here.