Gender and Australian Celebrity Culture

This book explores how gendered ways of imagining Australia are reinforced and contested in celebrity representations and self-presentations, engaging with celebrities across a diverse range of fields and critically reflecting upon different forms of Australian fame and the media platforms and practices that sustain them. It also intervenes in ongoing debates in media and cultural studies, such as the politics and affordances of digital media, whiteness and Australias colonial histories, celebrity labour, and methodologies for celebrity studies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 228 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This groundbreaking collection is the first to explore Australian celebrity in a comprehensive and nuanced manner, taking into account both cultural and gendered specificities. It demonstrates how gendered ways of imagining Australia are reinforced and contested in celebrity representations and self-presentations. Gender and Australian Celebrity Culture delves into the lives and careers of celebrities from various fields, including actors, journalists, athletes, comedians, writers, and television personalities, and critically examines the different forms of Australian fame and the media platforms and practices that sustain them.

The authors in this volume engage directly with pertinent issues related to gender and sexuality, such as celebrity feminism, the generative capacity of feminist rage, normative femininity, its instability, hegemonic masculinities, and queerness, both in its visibility and invisibility. Contributors also intervene in a number of ongoing debates in media and cultural studies, including the politics and affordances of digital media, whiteness and Australia's colonial histories, celebrity labour, and methodologies for celebrity studies.

This timely collection urges scholars of celebrity to further explore the gendered nature of celebrity culture and to pay attention to local conditions of production and consumption. The book will be of immense interest to researchers and graduate students in cultural studies, television and film studies, digital media studies, critical race and whiteness studies, gender and sexuality studies, and literary studies.

In conclusion, Gender and Australian Celebrity Culture is a groundbreaking and essential contribution to the field of celebrity studies, offering a comprehensive and nuanced analysis of Australian celebrity culture in relation to gender and sexuality. It will be of great value to scholars and students alike, as it sheds light on the complex and multifaceted ways in which celebrities shape and are shaped by Australian society.

Weight: 440g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367681760