New publication: Coming to terms with sexualization
Not since the feminist pornography debates of the 1980s has there been such an outburst of discussion, research and publications about sexualized images of women and girls. The debate is now carried out by governments and other social actors, but to hail current attacks on sexualization as a belated victory for feminism is naive and problematic. Together with Liesbet van Zoonen, I wrote an article in which we contend that current sexualization policies involve academic analyses and political solutions which are cast in the discourse of liberal feminism and neoliberalism.
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Bimbo culture for the young
Although the societal debate about sexualization has somewhat quieted down, the notion of ‘bimbo culture’ still causes concern and critique. Theater producers Boogaerdt en Van der Schoot created an installation that can be seen as the nightmare of a sexualized visual culture gone mad. In a special setting, the audience is exposed to 105 minute horror peep show that five actrices perform live behind their backs. The show was on in Frascati, a small theater that also organizes theater discussions for a youn (under 27 audience). After Friday’s show, I participated in a debate about ‘Bimbo’ and bimbo culture. I explained how audiences make meaning and elaborated one the sexual morals of today’s youth.
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Protesteren door te leren
Volgende week wordt er in Utrecht, Groningen en Amsterdam actie gevoerd voor investeringen in het hoger onderwijs. In een 72 uur lange marathon zullen hoogleraren, docenten, politici en alumni de waarde van een vitale academische gemeenschap onderstrepen en ik ben een van die docenten. Op maandag 17 januari start de marathon starten in Utrecht, Amsterdam (PDF) is hekkensluiter op woensdag. Mijn college begint om 10.15 en gaat over wetenschappelijk kijken naar de discussie over seks in videoclips. De colleges zijn vrij toegankelijk. In Amsterdam worden ze gehouden in de Oudemanhuispoort, zaal D109.
Dirty dancing through the years
From Elvis shaking his hips to the dirrrty dancing of Christina Aguilera, young people’s moves on the dancefloor have been worrying parents for decades. The newest moral panic in the Netherlands is daggering, a way of dancing in which sexual movements are even more literally mimicked. I spoke with daily newspaper de Volkskrant and explained how sexually explicit dancing does not mean a sexually loose set of morals perse. Here is a PDF of the article.
Het zijn net meisjes
Om het schooljaar af te sluiten, studeerden tien meisjes van de Gunningschool een dansje in op Buttons van The Pussycat Dolls. Net als in de videoclip van deze burleske meidengroep, waren de danspasjes geïnspireerd op striptease: benen werden geopend en gekruist, handen gleden over borsten. Een voorbeeld van seksualisering van de maatschappij? Negen van de tien van deze meisjes identificeerden zichzelf als Moslim. Nog steeds seksualisering of er is meer aan de hand?
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Norms in girl culture
New publication out: ‘Kiezen om normaal te zijn: Normen en waarden in multiculturele meisjescultuur’, analysing the norms governing girls behaviour. It is in a special issue of Dutch language Pedagogiek on youth culture.
Gender and popular music
I was invited to speak on the IASPM Benelux meeting on gender and popular music. Drawing from my work with young girls talking about celebrities, I talked about identitication and disidentification, the process of liking and non-liking and girls’ identity work.
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Girls will be girls
Didactief, a magazine for schools featuring research and opinions, interviewed me about my dissertation. I explained how little has changed in girl culture the last twenty years, and how media hypes like sexualization do no justice to contemporary girl culture. You can read the full article here [PDF].
Girls want to be normal
Geassocieerde pers (that supplies content for several local newspapers) interviewed me about my dissertation. The article (see sample) was featured in 14 newspapers, including De Gooi- en Eemlander and De Gelderlander. I focus on agency and choice.
Good news is no news
Daily newspaper De Telegraaf (called right wing by some and the only Dutch tabloid by others) interviewed me about my dissertation. Had I concluded that sexualization was happening, I would have made front page. Instead, my conclusions that there is nothing wrong with contemporary girls landed me on the page ‘Vrouw’ (‘woman’). You can read the article [PDF], in which I talk mostly about normalcy.
Black and white schools
Local newspaper Het Parool spoke to me for three hours and published an elaborate interview about my PhD research. Several central topics are discussed, including the absence of horse crazy girls on my ‘black’ school and the differences between the elite in Amsterdams center and the disenfranchised in the outer neighbourhoods like the one where I did my observations. Photographer Jan van Dijk took this awesome photo (copyrighted) to accompany the interview.
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French kissing on the telephone
BNR, a news radio station, called me to briefly discuss my dissertation. The interview focused on girls french kissing. Unfortunately the fragment is no longer available.