*CFP: Problematizing Postfeminism * *(SCMS 2015, Montreal, March 25-29, 2015)* *Panel Convenors: Jessalynn Keller (Middlesex University London) and Maureen Ryan (Northwestern University)* Over the past decade feminist media studies scholars have described popular media culture as indicative of a “postfeminist sensibility” (Gill 2007), characterized by a disavowal of feminist politics (McRobbie 2009) and the dominance of neoliberal discourses that promote individualism, success in the capitalist marketplace, heterosexual romance, and consumer citizenship to women and girls. According to this scholarship, these postfeminist media texts are pervasive and far-reaching, ranging from “chick flicks” (Negra 2009; McRobbie 2009) and makeover television (Weber 2009) to celebrity brands (Winch 2013) and self-made YouTube personalities (Banet-Weiser 2012). However, over the past two years feminist politics have become increasingly prevalent within popular media cultures, complicating the logic that feminism is in retreat. This visibility can been mapped across a range of media texts; Beyonce’s 2013 self-titled album, Lena Dunham’s HBO television hit Girls, and Tavi Gevinson’s website Rookie are only a few examples. Indeed, the mainstreaming of discussions of gender and feminism across media further highlights this shift, with media coverage of rape culture and online misogyny, the #YesAllWomen campaign, and the lack of strong female film characters producing public discourse that transversed mainstream and alternative media. Postfeminism falls short of adequately accounting for these complicated politics, as well as the internal dynamics of various forms of feminisms currently visible across media culture. In this panel, we ask: What might these media texts that explicitly engage with feminism suggest about femininity, feminist politics, and the work of media studies scholars? Where does postfeminism fall short in its attempts to diagnose popular media culture? How might media texts function as a useful lens to better understand emerging feminisms? We are seeking papers that historicize, interrogate, and/or problematize postfeminism as the dominant framework with which to understand gender politics within our current media culture. In particular, we are interested in papers that attempt to suggest new modes of feminist media analysis at both the theoretical and empirical levels. Papers may address but are not limited to the following topics: *Representations of feminisms *Feminism, capitalism, neoliberalism and media industries *Historicizing feminism and post-feminism in media texts *Digital feminisms, including campaigns such as #YesAllWomen and #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen * Mediated responses to rape culture and other feminist issues * Feminist celebrities and celebrity media cultures * The production of feminist connectivities and solidarities through media *Feminism in irony, disavowal, and/or other negative affects Please submit an abstract between 250-400 words and a brief bio to Jessalynn Keller ([log in to unmask]) and Maureen Ryan ( [log in to unmask]) by Monday, July 21st. Successful submissions will be notified by Monday, July 28th. -- Maureen E Ryan Screen Cultures Program Department of Radio/Television/Film Northwestern University ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.ScreenSite.org