Call for Book Chapters: “The Gendered Self: Media and its Global Representations”

Vernon Press cordially invites scholars to submit book chapter proposals for an upcoming scholarly volume on the representations of LGBTQ+ identities in the media, edited by Dr. Tamanna M. Shah.

Media and the entertainment industry have long been a source of inspiration and social impact. With portrayals of real-life events, the depiction of ‘the self’ in the media is now a potent vehicle for social and political change. While all identities experience vulnerability, there is little doubt that queer identities are sites of oppression and disparagement in popular media. In the media landscape, queer identities are simultaneously normalized and othered through visuals, text, and dialogues. Media, then, keeps the liminal space enriched with mixed understandings and portrayals. The objective of this volume is to go beyond a simple compilation of national cases. Rather, we would like to invite scholars to critically analyze and interact with media portrayals of queer identities to reflect on the entanglement of how these identities are represented across media platforms, and how they are imagined, experienced, negotiated, and practiced by the self, to accelerate the debate in a direction of positive sociocultural and political change. The purpose is to inform the audience of the constructive interactions of media and queer identities that emerge as models of acceptance and integration within the society. 

The book welcomes interdisciplinary contributions, employing a range of qualitative and quantitative explorations and systematic literature reviews among other innovative methods.

Topics can include but are not limited to:

• LGBTQ+ and digital activism
• LGBTQ+ and media representation
• OTT and the portrayal of LGBTQ+ identities
• LGBTQ+, alternative and mainstream media
• LGBTQ+ and social justice
• LGBTQ+, social inequalities, and social change
• LGBTQ+, social movements
• Nation-state and LGBTQ+ dynamics
• LGBTQ+, media and healthcare
• LGBTQ+, intersectionality, race

Prospective authors are kindly requested to submit their chapter proposals by November 20, 2023 (including a 300-word abstract, a 200-word bio note, and up to 5 keywords). Each proposal should provide a concise abstract outlining the main themes, methods, and objectives of the chapter. 

Proposal acceptance will be notified by December 01, 2023.

Contributors whose abstracts get selected will receive the Vernon Press submission guidelines to prepare a 6000-word chapter.

Full chapter submissions are to be delivered by April 01, 2024.

For further details and submission guidelines, please contact the volume's editor, Dr. Tamanna M. Shah at: shaht@ohio.edu