Professor Rosalind Gill

Professor, Department of Sociology / Director, GSRC

I am currently working with a diverse group of young people (18-27) exploring their experiences on social media. I am interested in which socials they use, how they use them, who they follow, what they post- and many other questions. The research is revealing many key issues related to gender, sexuality, race and disability – from fears of ‘getting it wrong’, to pressures to look perfect but also authentic, to the enthusiasm for body positivity, and the way the beauty industry materialises on our phones.

The research forms part of my broader interest in media and power, which has ranged over studies of the way brands appropriate ‘wokeness’, to smartphone beauty apps, to representations of mediated intimacy, to practices of ‘sexting’.

My work is shaped by an intellectual trajectory across sociology and psychology, media and cultural studies, and gender and sexuality studies. All my research is animated by questions about power and social justice and by trying to understand the complicated relationship between culture and subjectivity. I’m interested in exploring the affective and psychic life of neoliberalism and especially the ways that dispositions such as confidence, resilience and ‘positive mental attitude’ are put to work in contemporary society.