I attended the 2025 Pop Culture Association (PCA) Conference because I got a paper accepted. Liveblogged my days at the conference as one does.

PCA-ACA 2025 Day 1 (April 16)

9:30 AM Panel 1: Gender and Media Studies I: Gender and Popular Music and Music Videos

First presenter: Beyond the Love Story: Taylor Swift’s Touchdown in NFL Discourse, Hibah Ahmad

• What’s really going on when a woman like Swift becomes visible in a space like the NFL. Women in the “wrong” places. Who gets to belong and why? Women’s visibility is seen as a problem when not in spaces built for them. One of the greatest artists of her generation yet often referred to as her partner’s girlfriend. Analysis focused on textual analysis of NFL media coverage from Sept. 2023 to Feb. 2024, largely focus on language used re: Swift.
• “It was never about the camera time” – only shown for about a minute each game. The longest shown was for a minute and a half when she brought a lot of her famous friends. Coverage made it seem like she was the main event. Reaction wasn’t about what she did but what she represented. She was just watching the game, so her space felt disruptive because she was somewhere she didn’t “fit” or belong. Even when Swift explained her presence, the media stills aid she was trying to get attention.” The NFL has a history of “racial issues” (got a chuckle from the crowd).
• Not all responses to Swift at games negative. Some fans embraced her presence and created a counter public where people create space when they are excluded from dominant ones. Swift didn’t disrupt football but made a “Taylor’s version” (also got a chuckle) that was a safe space for her fans.
• Visibility does not mean equality. The most important note is that she kept showing up even after the backlash.

Second presenter: Examining Feminism in Pop Music: A Case Study of Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga as Feminist Icons, Jessica McGaha

• Came to the topic because her daughter said she doesn’t like Taylor Swift as much because she’s “not a real feminist,” which made presenter reexamine what she was teaching her daughter. Chose Swift and Lady Gaga because they’re both rich, white, and from two parents household. Wanted to eliminate non-minority and class status to just focus on the experiences of women (I don’t know if you could tell but my side eye was palpable at that one).
• Swift as neoliberal feminist – personal empowerment, self-branding, reclaiming creative rights. Criticism is that activism may appear self-serving and is rooted in her middle class privilege (seen as more capitalistic, focused on industry empowerment)
• Gaga as queer informed feminist – radical with trans and queer framework; braces identity, queerness and mental health awareness; acknowledges privilege and that she has always been supported by marginalized groups (seen as a stronger activist for identity/LGBTQIA+)
• Both face double standard in that they’re asked to “step aside” for the new generation—something men are never expected to do. Burden of societal change is on the backs of women. Again, men never asked what they’re going to do about predatory male artists, etc.

Third presenter: Cater 2 Who? Dehumanizing Destiny’s Child, Jamison Warren (the first reason I chose this panel)

• “song is old but messages are (unfortunately) timeless” – released 20 (!) years ago in June
• bigger question is how the album and the video modify the song (look at larger context)
• Destiny Fulfilled = concept album, tells a complete story from start to finish of woman named Destiny
  • Album divided into four acts, goes from more upbeat to soulful as moves through relationship: (1) “I Need a Soldier” – Lose My Breath, Soldier; (2) “Wake Up in Your T-Shirt” – Cater 2 U, T-Shirt; (3): “Started Being Skeptical” – Is She the Reason, Girl, Bad Habit, If; (4) “A Love I Always Had” – Free, Through with Love, Love
    • Within framework of album, the song meaning changes
• Does “too-close” reading of music video. Video shows women as robots to show dehumanized effect of feminized labor
• not an endorsement of gendered servitude but a caution to avoid losing your self/identity in relationships

He was super funny and totally had the crowd, btw

Fourth presenter: Girl, I think my butt gettin’ big”: The Importance of “Thickness” in Commercial Rap Music Videos for Young Women’s Body Image, Kim Dankoor (also why I chose this panel)

• Panelist from Netherlands, first language is Dutch. Combines hip hop and psychological something something. PhD in all kinds of things. This is third chapter from dissertation.
• thick hourglass ideal – Megan Thee Stallion gives best description in “Baawddyy”
• most mainstream media focuses on western European ideal of white thinness while ignoring women who strive to meet different ideal
• focused on Dutch Black and White young women to focus on how a global product can impact society and body image which isn’t seen with focus on just US
• 1/2 of respondents identified as queer/bisexual
• higher positive consequences for black women than white women who were seen as thick; however white women that experienced negative consequences for being thick only experienced negative consequences, but there was an overlap between black women that experienced negative and positive
• published article in Journal of Counseling Psychology: Girl, I think my butt gettin’ big”: The Importance of “Thickness” in Music Videos for Dutch Black and White Women’s Body Image
• www.kimbykim.com

Q&A

• Q: Who do women think ideal body is for: male gaze, female gaze, work, empowerment, etc?
  • A: ALL haha.
• Q (that’s really a comment): Swift people should look at race and labor?
  • Not enough space/time for Gaga/Swift.
  • Hibah didn’t cover because of time, but was part of research. Biles, for example, isn’t shown as much because she’s Black
• my Q: did either look at the labor of keeping the hourglass figure?
  • goes into feminized labor of being a machine and how it’s still about being perfect either in terms of workout or food
• COMMENT NOT A QUESTION (which isn’t on the bingo card) – Grammys as pitting women against each other
• Another COMMENT NOT A QUESTION: consider race in fandom etc since whiteness is at base of all fandoms
• not really a question but is a question: what did you find out about the images of daughters and fathers in commercials around the time of Super Bowl?
  • Ads were all related to Taylor Swift. NFL used her for a lot of their marketing.
• question for Jamison: did you look at other albums?
  • was focused on this particular song because of emergence of discourse on this song a few years ago. This song looks at pleasure of the labor while video kind of goes against it. loves this album and thinks there’s so much richness so that it called for analysis. November was 20th anniversary of album release
• question: Taylor Swift’s activist choices?
  • Hibah has another paper on entertainers in political spaces. thinks Swift’s activism is largely influenced by industry she works in and is raised by. Industry is mostly Jewish. White lady says she is a very smart business woman and everything is calculated. “When I speak out, it has consequences for my fans.”
• q: how much is over saturation because it was the eras tour?
  • research showed that media just don’t like her. gendered fandom. male fans = serious bzns. women fans = fine for funsies but not real
• my Q; did research impact daughter’s view of Swift’s feminism?
  • said they engaged in more conversations. Daughter is more supportive of all women’s voices having their own unique voices and not just feminism looks like this one thing
• q: thought on bell hooks re: Beyonce?
  • I don’t think bh is wrong because industry does enact terrorism on audience. Neoliberal feminism with focus on capitalism is a problem. But there is always a conversation happening

AWESOME PANEL.

3:05 panel – Adolescence in Film and Television I: Popular Culture and Adolescent Life (entire presentation is relevant to my interests)

I was five minutes late because I accidentally locked myself out of my room.

1st presenter: “The only straight I am is a straight up bitch”: Portrayals of Latinas in 2010s Teenage Television, Angelica Cabral

• shows clip from Glee of Rachel, the guidance counselor, and Finn losing their virginities. lighting/clothing/setting different for Santana vs. white girl/woman (she’s in red at a motel; they’re in white in what looks like their childhood bedrooms)
• Latinas shown as taking virginities and outside of romantic relationship (and in fact taking the virginity of the love interest of a white girl)
• Santana shown being slapped and crying more than white counterparts. portrayed as being intelligent and driven. end of series coach calls her a supporting player who could be a main player if something something. Brittany (the dumb blonde) ends the series as a mathematician
• memes on TikTok about whether or not white boys/men can handle being with a Latina girlfriend, comparing Latina women to animals and foods
• mentions Jane the Virgin as positive representation—JTV has a Latine writing room vs. the other shows that are white

2nd presenter: Young Hearts Streaming: the New Era of the Teenpic, Beatriz Oria

• To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (Netflix); Sierra Burgess is a Loser (Netflix); Love, Simon (Hulu); Anything’s Possible (Prime) – usually relegated to sidekick or comic relief but now are main characters with happy endings
• Very different from ‘80s and ‘90s teen comedies
• teen comedies have played a large role in resurgence of romantic comedies (less cynical than post-romantic era that often subverts optimism of romcom)
• emotional sincerity, revaluation of sex large part of streaming teen romance pics/shows (example: Heartstopper [Netflix]; Crush [Hulu])
• inclusivity, individuality, sincerity are hallmarks of the modern teen romcom

3rd presenter: Ms. Marvel: Redefining Representation and Dismantling Stereotypes, Zahin Zaima

• “Am I audible?” instead of “Can you hear me?” from presenter on using the mic
• shows nuance of Muslims instead of extremes which is typical and tension between living in a western culture when from an eastern culture and wearing eastern clothing in a western setting

4th presenter (also the moderator); Popular Culture, Politics, and the Role of Place in the Transition to Adulthood among Rural Youth, Briana Pocratsky

• “How do young people in rural place use media in making sense of identity, moral boundaries, and politics within the context of a changing yet enduring community?” (white working class community for study – Wood County, PA made up name for county)
• place is most salient identifier for participants than media they consume
• old country = storytelling country
• new country = “playing redneck” by showing stereotypes
• political = going against perceived political value system of area
• women expected to maintain interpersonal relationships but not engage in larger, more complex structural driving of town

(sidenote: 3/4 of the people on this panel read from scripts/papers)

I did not take notes during Q&A.

4:45 – Mystery and Detective Fiction II: Re-reading the Cozy

1st up: That’s Funny: Wait, Is That Funny?, Humor in the Cozy Mystery”, Phyllis Betz (also the moderator)

• oh, she’s reading her paper. old school. missing the visual cues, not gonna lie.
• cozy omitted from discussions of humor in mystery
• what is a cozy without its title? starts the humor, gives clue to key conventions
• jokes break tension and offer respite

2nd person: Pass the Police Tape: Femininity, Whiteness, and Cozy Copaganda in Hallmark Mystery Movies, Taylor Carik

• prefaces by acknowledging he’s a white, cisgender male talking about identity
• cozies create a psychic distance from violence of murder / psychic distance from the violence of law enforcement + the carceral state = happy ever after
• Murder, She Baked was his gateway drug into Hallmark Mysteries
• Traits of Hallmark Mysteries
  • also called “rom-cozies” or “murder-mance”
  • cashless + classless commerce – bestie co-workers (also fish out of water always in comedic trouble), no money ever shown, class markers drive stories (idealized communities)
  • homogeneity = deracialization – idealized whiteness (Al Roker book has racial markers; movie version does not)
  • copaganda tropes
  • media
  • constantly manufacture public safety crises
    • focus on what was specifically taken (narrows our understanding of safety)

3rd presenter: Father Brown: Not So Cozy for Nontheists, Niki Dolfi

• work usually focuses on microaggressions from Christians towards nontheists
• Father Brown respects religious diversity yet does not respect nontheism — doesn’t try to convert pagans, voodoo practitioners, or cults. Same cannot be seen with nontheists.
• 93 crime episodes – nontheist criminals (40)—showed clear resistance to religious belief, lapsed Catholics if didn’t return to religion; unaided Christian (17); non-Christian believer (5); inconclusive (31)
• has negatively impacted her enjoyment of the show
• cut so much from chapter for presentation that she’s presenting at two other conferences

4th presentation: Corruption in Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache Novels, Mollie Freier

• also reading with no visuals
• argues novels are not cozies but are hard-boiled
• criminals are people in power / corruption
• I’m not familiar with this series, but I always love a good definition argument, so.

Q&A

• my q: do you find the same things apply to mysteries that aren’t murder?
  • Moderator kept going on about how a murder mystery has to have a murder, so I had to respectfully say yes, I know, that’s why I’m asking specifically about mysteries without murder. She then went on more about cozy murder mysteries and then said, “I haven’t read any mysteries without murder,” and the woman next to me said, “Well, there’s your answer,” to which I just nodded and said, “Mmhmm” while the moderator continued to blather on about cozy murder mysteries needing murder because it’s a murder mystery.
  • HMM guy says formula is the same no matter what kind of crime, though 90% of the time it’s murder. They were watching one and his wife said, “Wait? Is nobody going to get murdered in this one?” and he was like, “Who are you?”
  • FB woman says that she didn’t distinguish between types of crimes, but it didn’t matter because the response was the same
• Q: female protagonist of HMM always smarter than cops/one step ahead, so how does that work?
  • A: yeah, what do you need the cops for? the carceral state

I don’t know if you can tell, but the moderator pissed me off. She wasted so much time NOT answering my question and hijacked the conversation without letting the other panelists respond. Then at the end of the panel, talk turned to Psych (as a good mystery panel should), and the moderator asked me, “Would you say that counts as a cozy?” and I said, “Yes, of course.” And then she said, “There you go!” (because it has murder in it) like she was right all along when she was STILL WRONG. Ugh. There are plenty of mysteries without murder in them. If she doesn’t know of any, she should have just owned that and said it’s not part of her research when I repeated the question instead of doubling down on how murder mysteries have to have a murder. I joked to my daughter later that if I got kicked out of the conference, it would be because me and that lady got into it.

All in all, though, a good/interesting panel.

And that’s a wrap on day 1!