Five Women Scholars Launch New Peer-Reviewed Journal, Sexualization, Media & Society

Sexualization, Media, & Society is a new peer-reviewed journal that will be co-edited by five women scholars from four universities. The new journal, published by Sage Publications, is expected to post its first articles online this summer and a full issue is scheduled to be completed in the fall. The journal will feature original research articles, book reviews, personal reflections, and literary essays.

Deidre Condit, professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University and one of the founding editors of the new journal,  said that “if you want to do research on sexualization, hypersexuality, pornography and so on, you have to literally hunt and peck through a lot of different places. So what we’re hoping to do is provide a central location — the No. 1 place – to find research in this area.” Professor Condit is a graduate of Idaho State University and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University.

Jennifer Johnson, professor and chair of the department of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University and co-editor of the new journal, says that “the presence of sexuality and hypersexuality in the media has become so expansive. We have no idea of the impact that these images and the rapid access that we have to them will have. They’re free, they’re everywhere, they’re easily accessible. Yet we do not have a clear understanding of how they will impact human growth and development, particularly sexual growth and development.” Professor Johnson is a graduate of Radford University in Virginia. She holds a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Virginia.

The three other women who are co-founding editors are:

Ana Bridges is a professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois and holds a master’s degree from Illinois State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island.

Gail Dines is a professor of sociology and women’s studies and chair of American studies at Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from Salford University in England.

Carolyn West is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington. She holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, all from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.