Dr Laura Favaro
- lfavaro at bournemouth dot ac dot uk
- Lecturer in Social Science
Biography
I am a trained sociologist (BA, PhD) with interests in education, feminist, media and cultural studies, along with social research methods. I have researched and taught around these areas at different universities in England and in Spain, prior to joining BU in 2022 as Lecturer in Social Science. Having also gained qualifications in primary (BEd) and secondary teaching (PGCE), I additionally have professional experience in compulsory education. My MA was in linguistics, reflecting my additional interest in language, especially discourse analysis.
My latest research project concerned the disputes around sex and gender that have escalated dramatically since the mid-2010s – often referred to as the ‘gender wars’ – with a particular focus on academia in the form of an ethnography. Data includes field notes, documents, social media content, as well as 50 semi-structured interviews and an online mixed survey, which I collected as part of a postdoctoral research fellowship at City, University of London... Initial outputs include a report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), an article for Times Higher Education (THE) and a number of invited talks. The final stage of dissemination will primarily consist of academic writings, currently with papers for peer-reviewed journals under preparation.
Building on the ‘gender wars’ project, more recently I have conducted further document reviews to extend my exploration of the impact of queer theory and politics in academia. A forthcoming online essay brings together findings from both research endeavours, drawing – and expanding – on the concept of 'academentia'.
NOTICE FOR THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE ‘GENDER WARS IN FEMINISM’ INTERVIEW STUDY
The transcripts of the interviews conducted between October 2020 and December 2021 were transferred securely from City, University of London to Bournemouth University on 6th December 2023. This means that BU now acts as an independent controller in respect of the processing of this research data, which will continue to be handled in accordance with the Participant Information Sheet and other assurances previously provided, in addition to BU’s Research Participant privacy notice.
moreJournal Articles
- Favaro, L. and Özkırımlı, U., 2024. Gender wars and cancel culture in academia: Umut Özkırımlı in conversation with Laura Favaro. Teknokultura. Journal of Digital Culture and Social Movements.
- Litosseliti, L., Gill, R. and Favaro, L., 2019. Postfeminism as a critical tool for gender and language study. Gender and Language, 13 (1), 1-22.
- Favaro, L., 2018. Interview with Ana de Miguel, Teresa Lozano and Zua Méndez. Boletín del Colegio de Doctores y Licenciados en Letras y Ciencias de la Comunidad de Madrid, 17-21.
- Favaro, L. and Gill, R., 2018. Feminism rebranded: women’s magazines online and ‘the return of the F-word’. Dígitos: Revista de Comunicación Digital, 37-66.
- Favaro, L., 2018. Los Estudios Críticos de Internet: Conceptos, debates y retos (Critical Internet Studies: Concepts, debates and challenges). Teknokultura: Revista de Cultura Digital y Movimientos Sociales, 15 (1).
- Favaro, L., 2017. Mediating intimacy online: authenticity, magazines and chasing the clicks. Journal of Gender Studies, 26 (3), 321-334.
- Favaro, L., 2016. From Produsers to Shareaholics: Changing Models of Reader Interaction in Women’s Online Magazines. tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique, 14 (2).
- Favaro, L. and Gill, R., 2016. “Emasculation nation has arrived”: sexism rearticulated in online responses to Lose the Lads’ Mags campaign. Feminist Media Studies, 16 (3), 379-397.
- Favaro, L. and De Miguel, A., 2016. ¿Pornografía feminista, pornografía antirracista y pornografía antiglobalización? Para una crítica del proceso de pornificación cultural (Feminist pornography, anti-racist pornography and anti-globalization pornography? For a critique of the process of cultural pornification). Labrys, Études Féministes/Estudos Feministas.
- Favaro, L., 2015. ‘Porn Trouble’: On the Sexual Regime and Travels of Postfeminist Biologism. Australian Feminist Studies, 30 (86), 366-376.
Chapters
- Favaro, L., 2020. ‘Hey, here’s the new way’: Young women’s magazines in times of the Web 3.0. In: Hollows, J. and Forster, L., eds. Women's Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1940s-2000s. Edinburgh University Press.
- Favaro, L. and Gill, R., 2019. ‘Pump Up the Positivity’: Neoliberalism, affective entrepreneurship and the victimhood/agency debate. In: Nicolau Gómez, E., Gámez Fuentes, M.J. and Núñez Puente, S., eds. Re-writing Women as Victims: From Theory to Practice. Routledge.
- Favaro, L., 2018. Postfeminist sexpertise on the “porn and men issue”: A transnational perspective. In: Harrison, K. and Ogden, C.A., eds. Pornographies: Critical Positions. University of Chester Press.
- Favaro, L., 2018. Feminismo Cultural. In: De Miguel, A., ed. Historia Gráfica de la Teoría Feminista. Illustrated by Marta de la Rocha. Melusina.
- Favaro, L., Gill, R. and Harvey, L., 2017. Making Media Data: An Introduction to Qualitative Media Research. In: Braun, V., Clarke, V. and Gray, D., eds. Collecting Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide to Textual, Media and Virtual Techniques. Cambridge University Press.
- Favaro, L., 2017. ‘Just be confident girls!’: Confidence Chic as Neoliberal Governmentality. In: Elias, A.S., Gill, R. and Scharff, C., eds. Aesthetic Labour: Rethinking Beauty Politics in Neoliberalism. Palgrave Macmillan.
Reports
- Favaro, L., 2022. The sex/gender dispute in feminist academia: Qualitative research findings. Equality & Human Rights Commission.
Internet Publications
- Özkırımlı, U. and Favaro, L., 2023. Cancel culture in academia: Umut Özkırımlı in conversation with Laura Favaro. The Critic. Available from: https://thecritic.co.uk/cancel-culture-in-academia/.
- Favaro, L., 2023. Heridas por las ‘guerras del género' en la academia. El Común. Available from: https://elcomun.es/2023/04/10/heridas-por-las-guerras-del-genero-en-la-academia/.
- Favaro, L., 2022. Researchers are wounded in academia’s gender wars. Times Higher Education. Available from: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/researchers-are-wounded-academias-gender-wars.
- Favaro, L. and De Miguel, A., 2018. Sociedades patriarcales y neoliberales: sobre la urgencia de su análisis crítico en tiempos de ‘feminismos cool’. Ágora: Espacio de Formación Feminista. Available from: https://agora-online.es/sociedades-patriarcales-y-neoliberales-sobre-la-urgencia-de-su-analisis-critico-en-tiempos-de-feminismos-cool/.
Theses
- Favaro, L., 2017. Transnational Technologies of Gender and Mediated Intimacy. PhD Thesis. City, University of London.
Grants
- The ‘Gender Wars’ Survey: A Case Study of Working Life in Academia (British Academy, 01 Apr 2022). Awarded
External Responsibilities
- Anglia Ruskin University, Social Sciences External Examiner (2023-)
- Teknokultura: Journal of Digital Culture and Social Movements, Member of the Advisory Board (2019-)
Public Engagement & Outreach Activities
- Academentia: Researching Gender Studies. Women's Declaration International. Talk available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4uQ0MN66es (18 Mar 2023)
- ‘Gender Wars’ in Academia. Open University Gender Critical Research Network. Talk available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmDZm36imEo (14 Mar 2023)
Qualifications
- PhD in Sociology (City, University of London, 2017)
- Introductory Certificate in Academic Practice - Teaching (City, University of London, 2015)
- MA in English Linguistics (Complutense University of Madrid, 2012)
- BA (Hons) in Primary Education (University of Alcalá, 2010)
- PGCE in Secondary Education (University of Alcalá, 2007)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Art Education (Complutense University of Madrid, 2006)
- BA (Hons) in Sociology (Leeds Beckett University, 2004)
Honours
- Qualified teacher status (QTS) (General Teaching Council for England, 2007)
Memberships
- Higher Education Academy, Associate Fellow (2015-),