糖心TV

Background

I hold a First Class BA in Film and Literature from the University of 糖心TV, and an MA in Film and Television from the University of Bristol. My MA dissertation was entitled Radical Digital Bodies - Digital Cinema, Glitch and the Representation of Queer Bodies in 21st Century Media. Building on previous undergraduate research into the glitch in desktop horror cinema (Unfriended franchise, Host), this dissertation provided an optimistic counterpart to that work by locating possibilities for queer representation within the 'digital body.' This involved close analysis of Jane Schoenbrun's We're All Going to the World's Fair, webcam art by Petra Cortright and Sailor DiNucci-Radley, and hyperpop music videos by 100 gecs, SOPHIE and food house.

Current Research

Constructing a Digital Body: Online Video and the Aesthetics of Trans Self-Representation

My PhD research expands my previous work in digital representation to specifically consider the self-representation of transgender and non-binary bodies in online digital video. It intervenes in academic research into digital cinema, online video aesthetics, and trans digital communities through a methodology of close analysis which has frequently been underutilised with regards to online video. My research examines how trans artists navigate platform-specific aesthetics to mediate images of the body online.

My project interrogates the processes involved in creating self-representations that allow for liberatory expression with transformative potential. It explores the viability of specific forms and platforms for trans self-representation, positioning my analysis in relation to discourses of visibility, vulnerability and wider stakes of online bodily representation. My research analyses a breadth of case studies from YouTube vlogs, to music videos, to short-form video on TikTok. I respond to urgent questions surrounding the political vitality of using social media for forming trans communities and creating visible self-representational art, particularly in light of increasing transphobic rhetoric and restrictive regulations on platforms such as X and TikTok.

This research is AHRC-funded by the , and is co-supervised by Dr James MacDowell and (Nottingham Trent University).

Research Interests

My primary research interests are in online video and queer/trans (self-)representation, but I also have wider interest in digital media, representations of the body on-screen, and cinematic representations of online spaces. I am excited by, and am interested in further exploring, new modes for self-representation that are rapidly evolving such as livestreaming, online video games, and virtual reality worlds/platforms (VRChat).

If you want to get in contact with me, you can email me at Leo.Robinson-O-Hara@warwick.ac.uk or find me on .

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