Georgina Trace

Profile

I first came to study at the University of Leeds in 2016 and have since received a BA in Philosophy in 2019 and an MA in Communication and Media in 2020. Having a background in Philosophy peaked my interest in theory, ideology and the study of meaning, and has enabled me to explore theoretical perspectives in relation to digital/media cultures and in my work on gender and feminism. Whilst I studied communication and media at masters level, feminist studies and gender theory was central to my work and I particularly enjoyed the Feminist, Identity and Media module. My masters dissertation used poststructuralist theory to identify normative gender performances and postfeminist subjectivity in the digital body positive movement, examining how postfeminist discourse frames empowerment and agency as women’s capacity to sexualise their bodies. 

I then spent a year away from education working as a freelance journalist and gained work experience as an assistant journalist. Writing news articles developed my understanding of material issues affecting women, workers and marginalised groups and solidifed my political views. Through my own experience working freelance, I became interested in precarious employment under capitalism, especially during the height of the COVID pandemic and lockdowns where employment was increasingly precarious and many workers were having to transition to the digital platform economy. 

This concern fuelled my PhD research, which is an interdisciplinary project exploring postfeminist motivations of female entrepreneurialism, self-branding and sexualised labour on digital platforms like Instagram and OnlyFans.

Research interests

My research interests include: 

• Postfeminism, neoliberalism and gendered subjectivities
• Digital sex work and sexualised labour 
• Digitalisation and the platform economy
• Gendered consumer practices of self-branding and ‘micro-celebrity’ in digital culture

Qualifications

• MA Communication and Media (Distinction)
• BA Philosophy (First Class)

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies