From the families we choose to the families we find online: media technology and queer family making

Since the mid-2000s, a number of Western countries have witnessed an increase in the number of children born into ‘alternative’ or ‘queer’ families. Parallel with this queer baby boom, online media technologies have become intertwined with most people’s intimate lives. While these two phenomena have appeared simultaneously, their integration has seldom been explored. In an attempt to fill this gap, the present article explores the ways in which contemporary queer reproduction is interwoven with online media practices. Importantly, the article does not understand online media as a technology that simply facilitates queer kinship; rather, it argues that online media technology is a reproductive technology in its own right. Drawing on empirical examples of media practices of kinning, such as online shopping for donor sperm and locating ‘donor siblings’ via online fora such as Facebook, the article analyses the merging and intersection of online media and queer kinship. These analyses serve as a foundation for an exploration of contemporary kinship and the development of a new theoretical framework for contemporary queer reproduction. Empirically, the examples are from single women’s (i.e. solo mothers) and lesbian couples’ family making. Using Weston's work on ‘chosen families’ as a backdrop for discussion, the article describes families of choice in light of new online kinship connections. In particular, the article focuses on online-initiated connections between donor siblings and how such connections can re-inscribe biology as important to queer kinship. Furthermore, it closely examines how media technology guides queer reproduction in particular directions and how technology causes becoming as a family.

Reimagining the Face of HIV/AIDS

Chapter 5 features a discussion of the queer biopic’s relationship to PWA photography and media representation, looking finally to contemporary media practices to reflect upon the current AIDS media landscape. The queer biopic does not function outside of other modes of photography and video; instead, questions of portraiture are foundational to any understanding of the biopic form. The chapter moves through the history of PWA photography, providing readings of photography by Therese Frare, Nicholas Nixon, David Wojnarowicz, and Nan Goldin. The chapter’s turn to contemporary HIV + multimedia artist Kia LaBeija examines the legacies of black queer performance that emerge in her video and photographic work.

Dramaturgia nowych mediów i performans postcyfrowy. Projektowanie doświadczeń użytkownika we współczesnych sztukach performatywnych

The paper aims to answer the question – to what extent is the current reflection on user experience design in performing arts still valid? The text discusses the concept of post-digital performance (Causey); and the phenomenon of user experience design in the face of new media dramaturgy (Eckersall, Grehan, Scheer). From the perspective of these concepts and phenomena, I describe two works (To Like or Not to Like by Interrobang and Karen by Blast Theory). The text complements the discussion on performance artists’ approaches to media technologies. In this paper, I describe the changes in designing the relationships of performers and users (individualization and personalization) and the contexts of everyday media practices in artists’ strategies.

Enemy Imaginaries: A Case Study of the Far Right in Canada

Background: Social media and digital technology play a central role in amplifying the potential harms of the far right. Analysis: The concept of enemy imaginaries is developed to map the digital and social media practices of far-right actors and groups in their antagonistic participation with and against a liberal, multicultural, globalist imagined community. Analysis focuses on a dramatic clash at a People’s Party of Canada event in Hamilton, Ontario, during the 2019 federal election. Conclusion and implications: Disparate far-right groups can momentarily crystallize around a particular event to define new nationalist objects that are symbolic of their networked and mediated fight against an imagined enemy. Contexte : Les réseaux sociaux et les technologies numériques sont des sources d’amplification des risques posés par l’extrême droite. Analyse : Nous développons le concept d’imaginaires ennemis pour identifier les pratiques en ligne et en réseau social des acteurs et groupes d’extrême droite, en particulier leur engagement antagoniste envers une communauté imaginaire libérale, multiculturelle et mondialisée. Nous concentrons notre analyse sur un affrontement dramatique lors d’une rencontre organisée par le Parti populaire du Canada à Hamilton, Ontario, lors de l’élection fédérale de 2019. Conclusion et implications : Les mouvements disparates d’extrême droite peuvent s’agglomérer momentanément autour d’un événement particulier pour définir de nouveaux objets nationalistes qui symbolisent leur lutte dans les réseaux sociaux et les médias contre un ennemi imaginé.

Parent Verbalizations and Toddler Responses With Touchscreen Tablet Nursery Rhyme Apps

OBJECTIVES In some studies, parents and toddlers verbalize less when engaging with a tablet versus a print book. More needs to be known regarding child contributions to specific parent verbalizations. We examined parent-toddler contingent interactions with tablet applications versus print books, as well as moderators of these associations. METHODS We conducted a laboratory-based, within-subjects counterbalanced study of 72 parent-toddler dyads engaging with a nursery rhyme application (with enhanced + autonarration [E+A] and enhanced formats) and print book. We coded parent verbalizations (eg, dialogic, nondialogic) and proportions of child responses to these in 5-second epochs. Poisson regressions were used to analyze within-subjects variance by tablet or print format. We tested effect modification by child emotion regulation and home media practices. RESULTS Children responded more to parent overall (print 0.38; E+A 0.31, P = .04; enhanced 0.11, P = .01), dialogic (print 0.21; E+A 0.13, P = .04; enhanced 0.1, P = .02), and nondialogic (print 0.45; E+A 0.27, P < .001; enhanced 0.32, P < .001) verbalizations during print book versus tablet. Stronger child emotion regulation, greater frequency of co-viewing, and instructive practices moderated associations such that differences between conditions were no longer significant for some parent verbalizations and child responses. CONCLUSIONS Parent-toddler reciprocal verbal interactions occurred less frequently with tablet versus print book use. Child emotion regulation and parent home media practices moderated some of these associations. Pediatricians may wish to promote co-viewing and instructive media practices but may also consider that child emotion regulation may determine response to interactive tablet design.