Skip navigation

Prof Clarissa Smith

Professor

Department: Arts

Clarissa Smith

My research centres on sexual media and representations. I am interested in the textual formations of pornography and how those play out across different technologies; in how people access and engage with pornographic materials and with other forms of sexualized products. I’m also fascinated by seemingly constant demands for increasing regulation and censorship.

I have written about the problems of attempts to legislate against pornography and have been active in opposing measures which seek to criminalise the imagination. Alongside this work, I have explored porn-star performances, the meanings of masochism in sexual storytelling, the idea of ‘authenticity’ in pornography, and how audiences speak about the sexual content they like.

Recent publications: 

Watching Game of Thrones - an examination of audience responses to the HBO series to be published by Manchester University Press and co-authored with Martin Barker and Feona Attwood.

Objectification On the Difference between Sex and Sexism (Gender Insights) will be published by Routledge in August 2020. Authored with Susanna Paasonen, Feona Attwood, Alan McKee, and John Mercer, the book traces the history of the emergence and use of objectification in a variety of contexts such as debates about sexualization and the male gaze, and its mobilization in connection with the body, selfies and pornography, as well as in feminist activism.

I am a founding co-editor of the Routledge journal Porn Studies, a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Gender Studies, of Sexualities, of Cine-Excess and of Participations

I am co-investigator with Professor John Mercer, Birmingham City University (PI) on the Masculinity, Sex and Popular Culture research network funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The network connects academics, early career researchers and students as well as experts and commentators from outside of academia. Together we will explore the issues and debates around contemporary masculinity, sex and sexuality in order to set an ambitious agenda for subsequent research. You can see what the network is up to at our website https://mascnet.org/

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Editorial, Attwood, F., Mercer, J., Smith, C. 2022, In: Porn Studies
  • Editorial, Attwood, F., Mercer, J., Smith, C. 2 Oct 2022, In: Porn Studies
  • Sexting among British adults: a qualitative analysis of sexting as emotion work governed by ‘feeling rules’, Macdowall, W., Reid, D., Lewis, R., Bosó Pérez, R., Mitchell, K., Maxwell, K., Smith, C., Attwood, F., Gibbs, J., Hogan, B., Mercer, C., Sonnenberg, P., Bonell, C. 8 Jun 2022, In: Culture, Health and Sexuality
  • Talking with the Sex Defender: An Interview with Myles Jackman, Smith, C. 2 Oct 2022, In: Porn Studies
  • Deplatforming Sex: a roundtable conversation, Blunt, D., Duguay, S., Gillespie, T., Love, S., Smith, C. 2 Oct 2021, In: Porn Studies
  • Editorial, Attwood, F., Mercer, J., Smith, C. 2 Jan 2021, In: Porn Studies
  • Editorial, Attwood, F., Mercer, J., Smith, C. 3 Jul 2021, In: Porn Studies
  • Editorial, Attwood, F., Mercer, J., Smith, C. 3 Apr 2021, In: Porn Studies
  • Editorial, Attwood, F., Mercer, J., Smith, C. 2 Oct 2021, In: Porn Studies
  • Engaging with pornography: an examination of women aged 18–26 as porn consumers, Attwood, F., Smith, C., Barker, M. 17 Feb 2021, In: Feminist Media Studies

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Invited talk: Authenticity in Feminist Pornography 2021
  • Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Deplatforming Sex 2021
  • Invited talk: Men in Movement, V: Masculinities and Feasible Futures 2021
  • Invited talk: Sansa & Ramsay Audience Reactions 2021
  • Invited talk: The Future of Masculinities 2021
  • Oral presentation: Critical Studies in Television Slow Covid-Safe Conference 2021 2021
  • Invited talk: Digital intimacies: What increasing visibility online means for young people’s privacy, relationships, and safety 2021
  • Invited talk: Porn Literacy Without Porn Studies 2019
  • Invited talk: Sex Media 2019
  • Oral presentation: I use it every day except Sundays! 2019

  • Leonard Collin Changing Perceptions of Disability Through Film Practice Start Date: 01/10/2021 End Date: 20/04/2023
  • Karis King Neuroqueering OnlyFans: Sex, Work and Neurodivergence Start Date: 01/10/2022
  • Mathilde Friis The Body as Product: Artistic Self-Expression and Autonomous Pornographers in the age of Onlyfans Start Date: 01/10/2022
  • James Anderson Punk, Porn, & Politics: The Aesthetics of Radical Sexualities Start Date: 01/10/2020 End Date: 26/07/2022

Philosophy DPhil July 01 2002

Our Staff


a sign in front of a crowd
+

Northumbria Open Days

Open Days are a great way for you to get a feel of the University, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the course(s) you are interested in.

Research at Northumbria
+

Research at Northumbria

Research is the life blood of a University and at Northumbria University we pride ourselves on research that makes a difference; research that has application and affects people's lives.

NU World
+

Explore NU World

Find out what life here is all about. From studying to socialising, term time to downtime, we’ve got it covered.


Latest News and Features

Crime scene
Sustainable condenser tumble dryers
View of the countryside from Richmond, London. People on green grass field near lake during daytime
The Crypt at Newcastle Cathedral
Event aims to connect academic knowledge and policy makers
More news
More events

Upcoming events

Grow Your Own – How To Attract, Develop and Retain a Talented Team.
The Building Safety Act and its Implications

Back to top