Call for papers: Looking Both Ways: Bisexuality and the Media A Special Double Issue of the Journal of Bisexuality
Guest Editors: Dr. Keith Dorwick, The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Dr. Jonathan Alexander, The University of Cincinnati
Today, with the explosion of new forms of mass media, from webcams on the Internet to periodicals delivered on CD-ROM to online editions of newspapers, the number and locations of representations of bisexuality and other forms of queer sex has also climbed. Too, with more forms of media that allow for various levels of privacy, the explicit nature of those representations range from the very public, such as Sharon Stone's infamous bisexual killer (Basic Instinct, 1992); to the less public, as with cable deliveries of representations of bisexual; to the entirely private (presumably), such as bisexual porno sites that deliver full length adult films via broadband connections through such technologies as Ethernet and DSL.
This special double issue of the Journal of Bisexuality, scheduled to appear subsequently in book form, is seeking papers that will tackle media representation of bisexuality from recognized theoretical schools and perspectives (including but not limited to feminism, queer studies, Marxism, reader response, deconstruction and other recognized theory); material that lacks a theoretical underpinning is not acceptable, though personal narratives that do include such a perspective and fusions of various theoretical schools will be considered. “Media” can refer to any of the number of ways that mass representations are made and disseminated: movies, television, the Internet, the Web, etc.
Thematic issues that we encourage for exploration include privacy issues, censorship, thrusting of images and sound upon the unwilling viewer or hearer, the roles libraries play in the electronic delivery of adult materials, rural vs. urban understandings of the depiction of bisexual or bi- erotic acts, the representation of the tensions between bisexuals and other queers, the concerns of the differently abled, of church and religion, economics, politics of identity, community formation, bi-eroticism, bi- curious and questioning youth, polyamory, non-monogamy, inter-generational sex and sexualities and so much more. In particular, the editors will welcome essays that consider the ways that media represents bisexuals who maintain membership in more than one minority community: gay men married to women, lesbians who have straight sex, the disabled, queers of color, bisexuals who are celibate by choice, etc.
Special Topic Session: Putting the "B" in LGBT Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association October 20-22, 2005 Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Bisexuality is often overlooked in contemporary discussions of queerness, which assume that bisexual same-sex desire is identical to gay or lesbian desire. This panel will explore the unique perspective that bisexuals bring to the conversation, and will examine literary representations of bisexuality. Topics may address, but are not limited to:
*"Outing" bisexual literary characters *Reclaiming bisexual figures *Same-sex desire by figures traditionally understood as heterosexual *Sybarite? Aesthete? ... or Bisexual?" *The Bisexual "Agenda": What is the impact of a bisexual character or author's point of view?
Papers on any aspect of LGBT matters are welcomed and will be considered. Presentations should be limited to 20 minutes in length. Please submit short abstracts via email (Microsoft WORD [.doc] attachment) or regular mail to:
Lewis H Whitaker Department of English Georgia State University University Plaza Atlanta, GA 30303
email: lhwhitaker.gsu.edu
trans
History of Science Workshop, HPS Cambridge, 1/6/05 In this week's shopping spree, Leon A. Rocha is going to discuss non-grammatical gender issues in:
Transsexualism and gender identity disorder
This Wednesday, 1st June, 1 pm, seminar room 1.
There is no reading material for the session, but the following websites will be useful for orientation:
http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/transsex/policy.htm UK Department for Constitutional Affairs, Government Policy Concerning Transsexual People
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/gender/dsm.htm Gender Identity Disorder, from Fourth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
