Conceptualisations of age, sexuality and gender in European media

In the introductory chapter of the book ‘Gender and Sexuality in the European Media. Exploring different contexts through conceptualisations of age’ (Routledge, 2021), Sara De Vuyst, Despina Chronaki, Cosimo Marco Scarcelli and Sergio Villanueva Baselga explore the relationship between gender, sexuality, age and media in Europe. The book is a collection of academic work that sheds light on this theme from different perspectives. How are older women represented in media? What is the relationship between sex toys, heteronormativity, and age? Are there age differences in pornographic fantasies? How do young generations of feminists use digital platforms to break stereotypes about femininity? The introduction briefly summarizes the chapters in the book and tells the reader how the insights fit into an overarching vision of the editors. The editors also discuss the contribution they want to make to the social and scientific debate about age, gender and sexuality in the media. They emphasise the importance of age as an essential part of an intersectional view of media and reflect on recent evolutions in the media landscape that can confirm or challenge inequalities based on gender, sexuality and age.

The full text of this chapter is available via SocArXiv.
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