About
Feona Attwood is a distinguished academic whose work has significantly shaped the fields of media and cultural studies, particularly around issues of sexuality, gender, and digital culture. With a PhD in English and extensive teaching and leadership experience across institutions such as Sheffield Hallam University and Middlesex University, she has built a formidable academic profile that bridges both research and curriculum innovation. Her research interests span pornography, sexualization, intimacy, and the cultural politics of sex in media, with a distinct focus on how these subjects intersect with digital technologies and popular culture. Attwood has played an instrumental role in developing pioneering courses on gender and media and has supervised numerous PhD students, reflecting her deep commitment to mentoring and academic development. Her projects, often interdisciplinary in nature, have been supported by respected bodies including the ESRC and the Leverhulme Trust, underscoring the scholarly impact and public relevance of her work.
Attwood’s prolific publication record includes influential books like Mainstreaming Sex, Porn.com, and Controversial Images, along with journal articles in top-tier publications such as Sexualities, Feminist Media Studies, and Journal of Gender Studies. She has been a key figure in editorial roles, serving as a founding editor of Porn Studies, the first academic journal dedicated to the study of pornography, which has become a landmark in the field. Her work has been consistently concerned with rethinking the terms of public and scholarly debates around sex and sexuality, positioning her as a leading voice in contemporary discussions around sexual cultures and media. In addition to academic achievements, she has also contributed to public discourse through media appearances, consultancy work, and knowledge exchange initiatives. Attwood’s career is marked by her ability to navigate and connect scholarly research, teaching excellence, and public engagement, making her a highly influential figure in cultural and media studies.
FEONA ATTWOOD is a Professor in the Media Department at Middlesex 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), porn.com: Making Sense of Online
Pornography (2010) and (with Vincent Campbell, I.Q. Hunter and Sharon Lockyer) Controversial Images (in press) and the
co-editor of journal special issues on Controversial Images (with Sharon Lockyer, Popular Communication, 2009),
Researching and Teaching Sexually Explicit Media (with I.Q. Hunter, Sexualities, 2009), and Investigating Young People’s
Sexual Cultures (with Clarissa Smith, Sex Education, 2011).
Her recent publications have focussed on online culture, aesthetics, sex and the media, and public engagement.
She is leading an international research network on onscenity, funded by the AHRC and is at the start of an AHRC
Fellowship project. Her current book project is Media, Sex and Technology.
Skills & Expertise
Research supervision
Editorial management
Scholarly writing
Public speaking
Media consultancy
Course design
Cultural critique
Gender analysis
Research funding
Media and sexuality
Sexualization in media
Media literacy
Research Interests
Sexology
Sex
Media Culture
Sexuality studies
Pornography research
Digital culture
Sexualization discourse
Sex and media
Intimacy studies
Interdisciplinary research
Public engagement
Cultural studies
Sexual Cultures
Porn
Connect With Me
Experience
Professor
- Cultural Studies, Communication & Media
Professor
- Professor of Sex, Communication and Culture
Principal Lecturer
- 2005 - 2010: Principal Lecturer in Communication, Sheffield Hallam University 2000 - 2005 : Senior Lecturer in Media Studies, Sheffield Hallam University 1997 - 2000 :Lecturer in Media Studies, Sheffield Hallam University
Education
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)
Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)
Projects
Gender and Sexualization in Mainstream Media
Sex On Screen: Women, Technology and Sexualization
Investigating young people’s sexual cultures: an exploratory project with researchers, agencies and educator
Onscenity: Sex. Commerce, Media and Technology
Creating Content for Communities: Codex
Public engagement, sexual health and sexualization
Sex Myths and Sex Research
Beyond Concern: The implications of sexualization for the study of sex, the media and culture
2012 - 2013: AHRC funding:
‘Beyond Concern: The implications of sexualization for the study of sex, the media and culture‘ Fellowship funding, £70,427.
Conferences & Seminars (12)
Women, Sex and Media
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Researching and Teaching the Sexually Explicit: Ethics, Methodology and Pedagogy
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Investigating Young People’s Cultures
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Onscenity Research Network Launch
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Erotic Adaptations
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Sex and Regulation
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Porn Audiences
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Sex, Health, Media
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Sex, Activism and the Academy
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Sexual Cultures
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Bodies: Flesh, Performance, Media, Disgust and Desire
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IR 13.0 ‘Technologies’, Association of Internet Researchers Conference
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Publications (80)
This special issue of Sexualities emerged from a day school in May 2007,
organized by the editors and hosted jointly by De Montfort University
and Sheffield Hallam University, on ‘Researching and Te...
This article examines the history of the term ‘slut’ and the articulation of different meanings around it. It traces some of the ways in which the term has been appropriated in various popular culture...
In this article we discuss a large scale research project aimed at uncovering people’s everyday engagements with pornography. We focus on women aged 18–25; the only category of our participants in whi...
As we were pulling together this anniversary issue, the annual Pride in London
parade was disrupted by a group of anti trans protestors with banners and flyers
describing the trans movement as 'anti...
Despite the continuing prominence of a view of sex as a basic matter of ‘urges’ and
‘needs,’ evidence from all kinds of academic disciplines has shown that sexual
practices around the world and thro...
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