The Northeast Popular/American Culture Association (NEPCA) Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Area invites submissions for NEPCA’s annual conference to be held October 12 – October 14, 2023, via the Zoom platform.

Entertainment media and pop culture have always been fertile ground for examining cultural conceptualizations and perceptions of the fluidity, diversity, and multifaceted nature of gender, sex, and sexuality. This section welcomes proposals for all academic and methodological perspectives that explore how stories and media represent the vibrant and pluralistic potential of identity and interrogate how so-called notions of “normality” are socially constructed. Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Queer Theory and Feminist Theory
• LGBTQ+ and Womxn Representation across any medium (e.g., literature, film, television, comics/graphic novels, poetry, anime and manga, video games, tabletop role-playing games, etc.)
• Queer Joy
• Queer Coding
• Womxn and LGBTQ+ Writers, Filmmakers, Artists, Actors, and Other Creatives
• LGBTQ+ and Womxn Activism
• How history and media depict Womxn and LGBTQ+ Historical Figures
• Fanfiction and Fandom as Inclusive Spaces
• How concepts of Masculinity, Femininity, and Androgyny are constructed, presented, and challenged

 If you have questions about the NEPCA Conference please see:  https://nepca.blog/2023-annual-conference/ or feel free to reach out to NEPCA’S Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Area Chair: Hayley McCullough <hmccullough.popculture@gmail.com>

 Conference registration will open in early July. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is August 1, 2023. Please use this form.