Women in Hollywood
One day symposium by the Cinema and Television History Research Centre at DeMontfort University, Leicester.
We are now accepting proposals for our one-day symposium on the treatment of women in Hollywood.
Date of conference: Bank Holiday Monday, May 28th 2018.
Deadline for submissions: midnight, Friday March 16th 2018.
The focus of this event:
2017 has seen a number of high profile news stories around the poor treatment of women in the entertainment industry, from the Weinstein allegations and the explosion of #MeToo, to revelations about gender pay gaps and the under representation of female labour, both in front of the camera and behind.
This symposium seeks to consider the range of intersecting factors that impact upon women working in Hollywood now and in the past and is intended as a platform to discuss the disadvantageous treatment of women and those who identify as female, and an opportunity to highlight examples of women’s autonomy, agency, subversion and innovation in the American film industry.
We therefore invite a broad variety of proposals that fit this theme, from a diverse range of voices.
In particular we are interested in:
· The casting couch and scandal in contemporary and historic contexts
· The treatment of aging female stars working in Hollywood
· Hierarchies of power and/or women’s access to finances and resources
· Feminism/intersectional feminism in Hollywood
· The gendering of film industry roles and/or invisible labour
· The sex wars and sex positive representations of women on screen
· The exclusion of women and the glass ceiling
· Threatening and inappropriate femininities in the American film industry
· The portrayal of women and femininity on screen
· Female homosexuality in Hollywood and Hollywood films
· Direct sexual exploitation, harassment and inappropriate behaviour in Hollywood
· The representation of women’s mental health issues in Hollywood and/or its narratives
· Barriers to opportunity of women of colour and/or their representation both historically and now
· Ableism in Hollywood and Hollywood narratives
· Views from outside of Hollywood and/or how different cultural contexts might offer different perspectives on gender and power in the American film industry.
Proposal Guidelines:
We welcome both paper proposals and proposals for performance works of up to 20 minutes in length, around the symposium theme. Individuals submitting a paper or performance proposal should provide an abstract of 250 words, a short author biography and contact email. Co-authored, collaborative papers are also welcomed.
Symposium organisers hope to make final decisions on submissions by Friday 6th April
