Via Jen Lois and the Romance Scholar Listserv, here's the text of an email from Adrienne Trier-Bieniek:
I am under contract to deliver "Fan Girls and
Media: Consuming Culture" to Scarecrow Press in the late summer of 2014.
I am in need of contributors for two chapters which are outlined below
along with a brief description of the book. If you are interested,
please send me a brief abstract (200-300 words) and CV by
Oct. 1st. Submissions can be sent to
adrienne.mtb@gmail.com. Those with PhD's or who are in the process of defending a completed dissertation will be given primary consideration.
Thank you!
Adrienne
********************
Description of chapters in need of authors:
Please note these are just ideas for the chapters. They can be developed in any way which best fits the author's focus.
Chapter 3: Gender, Novels and “Chick Lit”
While the specifics of the chapter will be left to the contributor
solicited to write it, this chapter will focus on the ways women who
read are often regulated to “fans of chick lit.” While many women
writers present female characters who represent the lives
and experiences of many women, (Jennifer Weiner specifically comes to
mind), literature is often devalued when it is being consumed by groups
of women. Looking at media coverage of women who read a series like
Twilight or 50 Shades of Gray, (generally characterized
as read by “women of a certain age” who lust after the fantasy of a
younger man), there is a clear gender stereotype of women who read.
Chapter 6: Strong Female Characters Created by Men
This chapter will focus on the ways female characters are received by
female audiences when the creator and mastermind behind a character is
male. This chapter is inspired by the characters created by men such as
Joss Whedon (the creator of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, director of the new Avengers movies). Because media is
dominated by male directors, agents, writers, producers etc, there is a
need to understand why strong women created by men resonate with
(particularly) female audiences.
Overview of the Book
This edited volume examines the ways gender stereotypes
inform the creation and consumption of popular entertainment and media.
The common assumption that “Women don’t go to movies”, “Women are not
funny” or “Women don’t like science fiction” continues
to be a driving force in the creation of popular entertainment and has
contributed to a culture where, particularly, complex female characters
are rare. These assumptions also affect female fans of media because
the focus on female consumers centers on traditional
femininity. As a result too few scholars have yet to focus on the
impact of gender in media consumption, leading to a limited portrait of
what male and female fans are looking for. This deficiency leads to an
enforcement of gender stereotypes. For example,
American popular culture commonly characterizes women as fanatical
followers of novels such as Fifty Shades of Grey and films like
Twilight, both commercially driven franchises whose popularity (and
revenue) derives from assumptions about women’s desires to
be rescued by men. In contrast, with female-driven media where women
are presented as empowered, labels such as “chick lit” are applied,
diminishing any legitimacy for the medium. Additionally, the culture of
mass-market entertainment treats audience members
to a never-ending parade of male action stars or men in leading (often
dominating) character roles. Women, on the other hand, still largely
function as passive characters in film and fiction novels, with reality
television compounding the subordination of
women by framing them as constant “frenemies.” Behind all of this is
the assumption that women will watch whatever men enjoy and men only
enjoy uber-masculinity in their media.
This book examines diverse ways media consumption is being
challenged and the impact this confrontation can have on addressing
gender stereotypes. Each contributor will offer a chapter on a topic
related to media and society with a focus on gender
and audience consumption. In each essay, contributors contest the
argument of media moguls and academics alike that male viewers dominate
media far too much for it to appeal to girls and women (i.e. the fantasy
genre, stand-up comedy or comedic films, ComicCon
and comic books); explore the ways cultural patriarchy dismisses
women’s pleasures in certain genres (e.g., chick lit); or diminish
women’s experiences (e.g., women on reality television.) There are also
chapters dedicated to understanding men who write female
characters, and the response this garners from fans, as well as how
women who are seemingly the “anti-heroine” are reflective of the
multi-layered experiences of women. The chapters will be written by
contributors and will be original for this text.
In 2013 it sometimes seems as though when it comes to historical romances, only a duke will do. In contemporaries it helps if a hero's got fifty shades of greenbacks.
