Call for papers/Topics

Full Articles/ Reviews/ Shorts Papers/ Abstracts are welcomed in the following research fields:

1. Theoretical Frameworks (The "How" of Analysis)

These subtopics provide the academic tools used to "read" sexuality and eroticism in a film.

• The Cinematic Gaze

  • The Male Gaze (Mulvey): The objectification of the female body for the pleasure of a presumed male spectator.

  • The Female Gaze: Subjective female desire and the subversion of traditional power dynamics.

  • The Oppositional Gaze (hooks): How race intersects with the gaze, specifically regarding Black spectatorship.

  • The Queer Gaze: Non-heteronormative ways of looking and being looked at.

• Psychoanalytic Film Theory

  • Voyeurism & Scopophilia: The pleasure derived from looking at others as objects.

  • Fetishism: The use of specific body parts or objects (shoes, hair, leather) to represent erotic desire.

  • The Unconscious: How repressed desires are manifested in dream-like film sequences.

• Queer Theory & Trans Studies

  • Heteronormativity: How cinema reinforces "straightness" as the natural default.

  • Gender Performativity (Butler): How characters "act out" gender through costume and behavior.

  • Trans Cinema: Representation of non-binary and transgender identities beyond medical or "tragic" tropes.

2. Historical & Industrial Contexts

These topics examine how laws, technology, and social movements shaped what could be shown on screen.

• Censorship & Regulation

  • The Hays Code (1930–1968): The "Production Code" that banned "lustful kissing" and "sexual perversion" (homosexuality).

  • Pre-Code Cinema: The era of "vamps" and explicit themes before strict moral enforcement.

  • Rating Systems: The evolution of the X, NC-17, and R ratings and their impact on a film's commercial success.

• Industry Innovations

  • The Rise of the Intimacy Coordinator: The modern role of ensuring consent and safety during sex scenes.

  • Porn Studies: The academic study of the adult film industry as a parallel to mainstream cinema.

  • Body Doubles: The ethics and aesthetics of replacing actors for nude or erotic sequences.

3. Genre-Specific Eroticism

Eroticism functions differently depending on the "rules" of the film's genre.

• The Erotic Thriller: Power play, betrayal, and "Femme Fatales" (e.g., Basic Instinct).

• Body Horror: The intersection of "The Abject" and eroticism; sex as a site of mutation or fear (e.g., the films of David Cronenberg).

• Coming-of-Age Cinema: Themes of sexual awakening, puberty, and the discovery of identity.

• Art-House & Auteur Eroticism: Explicit "unsimulated" sex used as a philosophical or aesthetic statement (e.g., Catherine Breillat, Gaspar Noé).

• The Musical: Sexuality expressed through choreography, costume, and rhythmic "tension and release."

4. Interrelated Socio-Cultural Themes

These topics explore how sexuality in film is never "just about sex" but is tied to broader social hierarchies.

• Intersectionality

  • Race & Hypersexualization: The historical stereotyping of Black, Latino, and Asian bodies in Western cinema.

  • Class & Eroticism: The "forbidden" romance between different social strata (the "Lady and the Stable Boy" trope).

• Power & Consent

  • The "Me Too" Era Impact: How modern films re-evaluate historical "romantic" scenes as coercive.

  • BDSM & Kink in Cinema: The representation of sub-cultures and the "negotiation" of pain and pleasure.

• Technology & The Future

  • Techno-Eroticism: Sexual relationships between humans and AI or robots (e.g., Her, Ex Machina).

  • Digital Nudity: The use of CGI to create erotic images and the ethical concerns of "Deepfakes."