Feona Attwood is Professor of Sex, Communication and Culture at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. Her research is in the area of sex in contemporary culture; and in particular, in onscenity; sexualization; sexual cultures; new technologies, identity and the body; and controversial media.

She is the editor of Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Western Culture (2009) and porn.com: Making Sense of Online Pornography (2010) and the co-editor of journal special issues on Investigating Young People’s Sexual Cultures (with Clarissa Smith, Sex Education, 2011), Controversial Images (with Sharon Lockyer, Popular Communication, 2009) and Researching and Teaching Sexually Explicit Media (with I.Q. Hunter, Sexualities, 2009).

Her recent published work has focussed on pornography, regulation, sexual agency, new forms of leisure, and research methods. She is leading an international research network on onscenity, funded by the AHRC. She is writing about controversial images and contemporary debates about the sexualization of young people. Her current book projects are Sex, Media and Technology and (with Vincent Campbell, I.Q. Hunter and Sharon Lockyer) Controversial Images.

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Books
Sex, Media, and Technology.
Edinburgh University Press. Forthcoming.

Controversial Images.
(with Vincent Campbell, I.Q. Hunter & Sharon Lockyer). Palgrave. Forthcoming.

porn.com: Making Sense of Online Pornography. Editor. Digital Formations/Peter Lang. 2010.

Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Western Culture. Editor. I.B.Tauris. 2009.


Journal Special Issues
(with Clarissa Smith) Young People’s Sexual Cultures Issue. Sex Education. Forthcoming, 2011.

(with I.Q. Hunter) Researching and Teaching the Sexually Explicit Issue. Sexualities. 2009.

(with Sharon Lockyer) Controversial Images Issue. Popular Communication. 2009.


Journal Articles
(with Clarissa Smith) ‘Investigating young people’s sexual cultures; An introduction’,
Sex Education. Forthcoming, 2011.

(with Clarissa Smith) ‘Lamenting sexualization:
Research, rhetoric and the story of young people’s “sexualization” in the UK Home Office review',
Sex Education. Forthcoming, 2011.

‘After the Paradigm Shift: Contemporary Pornography Research’,
Sociology Compass. Vol. 5(1). 2011. pp. 13-22.

‘Sexualization, Sex and Manners’
Sexualities. Vol.13(6). 2010. pp.742-745.

'Call Girl Diaries: New Representations of Cosmopolitan Sex Work’,
Feminist Media Studies. Vol. 10(1). 2010. pp. 109-112.

(with Clarissa Smith) ‘Extreme Concern: Regulating “dangerous pictures” in the UK’,
Journal of Law and Society Vol. 37(1). 2010. pp. 171-188.
And also in Jane Scoular & Teela Sanders (eds.)
Regulating Sex/Work: From Crime Control to Neo-Liberalism?
Blackwell, 2010.

(with I.Q. Hunter) ‘Not Safe for Work: Teaching and Researching the Sexually Explicit’,
Sexualities. 2009. pp. 547-557.

‘Researching Media Sexualization’,
Sex Roles Vol. 61(3/4). 2009. pp. 288-289.

‘deepthroatfucker and Discerning Adonis: Men and Cybersex’,
International Journal of Cultural Studies Vol. 12(3). 2009. pp. 279-294.

‘Intimate Adventures: Sexblogs, Sexblooks and Women’s Sexual Narration’,
European Journal of Cultural Studies Vol. 12(1). 2009. pp. 5-20.

(with Sharon Lockyer) ‘The Sickest TV Show Ever: Paedogeddon and the British Press’,
Popular Communication Vol. 7(1). 2009. pp. 49-60.

(with Sharon Lockyer) ‘Introduction: Controversial Images’,
Popular Communication Vol. 7(1). 2009. pp. 1-6.

‘No Money Shot?: Commerce, Pornography and New Sex Taste Cultures’,
Sexualities Vol. 10(4). 2007. pp. 441-456.

‘”Other” or “one of us”?: The porn user in public and academic discourse’,
Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies Vol. 4(1).
http://www.participations.org/. 2007.
Translated and reprinted as ‘Portretul consumatorului de produse media-porno’ in
Man.In.Fest: Trimestrial de Cultura Spectacolului 2. 2008. pp. 31-33.

‘Sluts and riot grrrls: female identity and sexual agency’,
Journal of Gender Studies Vol. 16(3). 2007. pp. 231-245.

‘Sexed up: Theorizing the Sexualization of Culture’,
Sexualities Vol. 9(1). 2006. pp. 77-94.
Translated and reprinted as 'Sexed up. Naar een theoretish begrip van de seksualisering van onze cultuur' in Rudi Bleys et al. (eds.)
Seks en relaties anders bekeken, Antwerpen: Sensoa – Garant. Forthcoming, 2009.

‘”Tits and ass and porn and fighting”: male heterosexuality in magazines for men’,
International Journal of Cultural Studies Vol. 8(1). 2005. pp. 87-104.

‘What do people do with porn?’,
Sexuality and Culture Vol. 9(2). 2005. pp. 65-86.

‘Inside Out: Men on the Home Front’,
Journal of Consumer Culture Vol. 5(1). 2005. pp. 87-107.

‘Fashion and passion: Marketing sex to women’,
Special Pleasure and Danger Revisited Anniversary Issue,
Sexualities Vol. 8(4). 2005. pp. 395-409.
Translated and reprinted as ‘Mode und Leidenschaft: Frauen und die Vermarktung von Sex’, in
Zietschrift fur Sexualforschung Vol. 9(2). 2006. pp. 118-132.

‘Pornography and Objectification: Re-reading “the picture that divided Britain”’,
Feminist Media Studies Vol. 4(1). 2004. pp. 7-19.

‘Reading Porn: The paradigm shift in Pornography Research’,
Sexualities Vol. 5(1). 2002. pp. 91-105.

‘A very British carnival: women, sex and transgression in Fiesta magazine’,
European Journal of Cultural Studies Vol. 5(1). 2002. pp .91-105.
Reprinted in Anita Biressi & Heather Nunn (eds.)
(2007) The Tabloid Culture Reader. McGraw Hill/Open University: pp. 103-112.

'Same old Story? The Tale of Diana, Princess of Wales',
Journal of Gender Studies Vol. 8(3). 1999. pp. 313-322.

'Who's Afraid of Little Red Riding Hood? Fairy Tales and the art of Female Impersonation', Thamyris Vol. 6(1). 1999. pp. 95-105.

'Weird Lullaby: Jane Campion's The Piano',
Feminist Review Vol. 58(1). 1998. pp. 85-101.


In Books
'Art School Sluts: Art, Porn and Aesthetics'
in Darren Kerr & Claire Hines (eds.)
Hard To Swallow:Reading Pornography On Screen.
Wallflower Press. Forthcoming, 2010.

‘Through the Looking Glass? Sexual Agency and Subjectification in Cyberspace’
in Christina Scharff & Rosalind Gill (eds.)
New Femininities? Postfeminism, Neoliberalism and Identity.
Palgrave. 2011. pp. 203-214.

'Sex and the Citizens: Erotic Play and the New Leisure Culture',
in Peter Bramham & Stephen Wagg (eds.)
The New Politics of Leisure and Pleasure.
Palgrave. 2010. pp. 82-96.

‘Younger, paler, decidedly less straight: New Online Porn Producers’
in porn.com: Making Sense of Online Pornography.
Digital Formations/Peter Lang. 2009. pp. 88-104.

‘Introduction: Porn Studies: From Social Problem to Cultural Practice’
In porn.com: Making Sense of Online Pornography.
Digital Formations/Peter Lang. 2010. pp. 1-13.

‘Conclusion: Towards the Study of Online Porn Cultures and Practices’
In porn.com: Making Sense of Online Pornography.
Digital Formations/Peter Lang. 2010. pp. 236-243.

‘Dirty Work: Researching Women and Sexual Representation’
in Roisin Flood & Rosalind Gill (eds.)
Secrets and Silences in the Research Process: Feminist Reflections.
Routledge. 2009. pp. 177-187.

‘The Sexualization of Culture’
in Feona Attwood (ed.)
Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Culture.
I.B.Tauris. 2009. pp. xiii-xxiv.

(with Samantha Holland), ‘Keeping Fit in Six Inch Heels: The Mainstreaming of Pole Dancing’
in Feona Attwood (ed.)
Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Culture.
I.B.Tauris. 2009. pp. 165-181.

‘Sexualization of Mainstream Media’,
in Vincent N. Parrillo (ed.) Encyclopedia of Social Problems Vol. 2.
2008. Los Angeles: Sage: 848-849.

‘Pornography and the Internet’
in Katharine Sarikakis & Daya Thussu (eds.)
Ideologies of the Internet: Concepts, Policies, Uses.
Hampton Press. 2006. pp. 179-193.


Invited Papers
'Alternative and Critical Ethnographies: The Case of Online Sex’
MeCCSA, Salford, January 2011.

‘The Spectre of Sex: Sexualization, the Media, and the Academy’
Sociology Departmental Seminar Series, University of Essex, November 2010.

‘Pornography’
Sex and the Law Conference, Sheffield, September 2010.

‘Cougars and Tweens: Gender, Age and Sexualization’
University of Sunderland, April 2010.

‘The Sexualization Debates’,
ESRC Seminar Series: ‘Complicating the Debate about Pornification’,
Institute of Education, London, January 2010.

‘Shock and Horror: New Extreme Images Online’
Media Research Seminar Series, University of Brighton,
Brighton, November 2009.

‘The Sexualization of Culture?’
MediaFest 09: Women in the Media, National Media Museum,
Bradford, October 2009.

‘Sex and Sexualization’,
The Rules of Attraction, Culturgest,
Lisbon, November 2008.

‘Sluts and Sexual Agency’,
Annual Gender Network Seminar, Leeds Metropolitan University,
Leeds, September 2008.

‘The New Sex Crimes: Electronic Obscenity and Censorship’,
ICA, London, January 2008.

‘Strike a Pose: Feminism, Neo-Burlesque and the New
Culture of Sexual Display’,
Feminist Neo-Burlesque Symposium, Central School of Speech and Drama,
University of London, October 2007.

‘Hot and Radical: Women, the Internet and Alternative Porn’,
Women and Pornography Seminar, University of Sunderland, June 2007.

‘No Fauxxx: Queer Alternative Porn Online’,
Media, Technology and Sexuality Symposium, University of Sussex, June 2007.

‘Young people and pornography’,
Pornography Think Tank/Sex Education Forum, Leicester, April 2007.

‘No Fakes: Alternative Porn and Postfeminist Media Culture’,
University of Aberystwyth, February 2007.

‘Intimate Adventures: Women, Sexblogs and Erotic Memoirs’,
University of Bath Seminar Series, Department of Psychology, Bath,
February 2007.

‘purple-haired, pale and pierced: the aesthetics of altporn’,
University of Sussex Seminar Series, Department of Media and Film,
Falmer, December 2006.

‘New Femininities and the sexualization of mainstream culture’,
ESRC Seminar Series, New Femininities: Postfeminism and Sexual Citizenship,
Open University, Milton Keynes, April 2006.

‘The ethics and challenges of researching online sex chatrooms’,
Leeds Metropolitan University Gender Network, Leeds, April 2005.

‘Researching Cybersex’,
University of Sunderland, March 2005.


Conference Papers
‘Sexy Mothers: Constructing the MILF and Yummy Mummy’
MeCCSA, Salford, January 2011.

‘Obscenity, Onscenity and Contemporary Panics around Sex’
Moral Panics in the Contemporary World, Brunel, London, December 2010.

‘Smart Sex Culture: the rise of the new porn professionals’
Association of Internet Researchers 11.0, Gothenberg, Sweden, October 2010.

‘Girls Gone Skank: The Monstrous Body of the Sexualized Girl’,
Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, June 2010.

‘Extreme Style and Sensation’,
Talking Dirty: Sex and Cinema,
Leeds, November 2009.

‘altpornification: Porn Cultures and New Online Sex Media’,
Porn Cultures,
Leeds, June 2009.

‘Disdain, Disgust and Guilty Pleasure: Reading Trinny & Susannah’,
The Big Reveal 2: Lifestyle TV,
Brighton, May 2009.

‘Going to Extremes: Understanding New Online Pornographies’,
Good Sex, Bad Sex, Interdisciplinary.Net,
Budapest, May 2009.

‘”Playing in Fantasyland”? Cybersex, Gender and Play’,
Association of Internet Researchers 8.0,
Vancouver, October 2007.

‘Porn for Ladies’,
(C)lick me once more: a manifestation,
Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, June 2007.

‘One track minds: Women and sexblogs’,
Christina Conference on Women’s Studies/European Gender and ICT Conference,
Helsinki, March 2007.

‘Reading the readers: representing the consumption of sexually explicit media’,
MECCSA, Lincoln, January 2005.

‘Fashion and passion: Marketing sex to women’,
Sexualities/Pleasure and Danger Revisited,
Cardiff, June 2004.


Grants and Awards
2010 - 2012: AHRC funding:
‘Onscenity: Sex. Commerce, Media and Technology’ Research Networking.

2008 - 2010: British Academy funding:
‘Investigating young people’s sexual cultures: an exploratory project with researchers, agencies and educators’.

2007 - Present: University funding.

2006 - 2007: AHRC funded study leave of one year:
‘Sex On Screen: Women, Technology and Sexualization.’

2005 - 2006: University funding.

2003 - 2004: University funded study leave of one semester:
‘Gender and Sexualization in Mainstream Media’.


Professional Memberships
MECCSA: Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association

ECREA: European Communication Research and Education Association

A.O.I.R: Association of Internet Researchers

FWSA: Feminist and Women’s Studies Association


Events
(with Jane Arthurs, I.Q. Hunter, Julian Petley & Clarissa Smith)
Sex and Regulation Seminar
British Academy, London, February 2011.

(with Jane Arthurs, I.Q. Hunter, Julian Petley & Clarissa Smith)
Onscenity Research Network Launch
Birkbeck College, London, July 2010.

(with Clarissa Smith)
‘Investigating Young People’s Cultures’ Symposium,
University of London Union, January 2010.

(with Clarissa Smith)
‘Investigating Young People’s Cultures’ Workshop,
Women’s Library, London, September 2009.

(with I.Q. Hunter)
‘Researching and Teaching the Sexually Explicit:
Ethics, Methodology and Pedagogy' Day School,
De Montfort University, May 2007.

(with Rosalind Brunt & Rinella Cere)
‘Women, Sex and Media’ Seminar MECCSA WMSN,
Sheffield Hallam University, December 2006.


Reviewing and Editorial Work
Reviewer: Publishers
MIT Press
Palgrave
Polity

Reviewer: Journals
International Journal of Cultural Studies
Journal for Cultural Research
Communication, Culture and Critique
Sexualities
Feminism and Psychology
Feminist Media Studies
Men and Masculinities
Social Semiotics
Sociology Compass
Sociology

Editorial Board
Sexualities
Transgressive Culture