Books by Jenny Kitzinger
Outwrite: Lesbianism and Popular Culture, 1993
Addresses debates about the representation of lesbian sex in popular culture.
Heterosexual coupl... more Addresses debates about the representation of lesbian sex in popular culture.
Heterosexual couples writhe about on the big screen in simulated orgasmic bliss, monopolise TV dramas and situation comedies with their marriages, adulteries and divorces, unashamedly flaunt their heterosexuality in shows like 'Blind Date', promote their 'bonking' fantasies in the tabloids, and fill women's magazines with their worries about contraception, (hetero)sexual techniques and marital aids. Compared with this surfeit of representation of heterosexual coupling, images of lesbian sex are conspicuous by their absence. Until 1961, the US Production Code specifically forbade representations of lesbianism or male homosexuality. This meant that Hollywood rewrote original scripts, and even history, to ensure the exclusion of lesbian material - as witnessed, for example, by the 1950 “We Three” hetero-sexualised version of Lillian Hellman's play, “The Children's Hour”, or Garbo's portrayal of a heterosexual romance to explain the abdication of the Queen of Sweden in “Queen Christina” (cf. Sheldon, 1987).
Portraying lesbian sex, acknowledging its existence, was seen as dangerous -as if women might rush wholesale into lesbianism if they realised that it was an option. The attempt in the United Kingdom in 1921 to include lesbian practices in the category of acts of gross indecency failed because 'it was believed that such legislation would bring these practices to the attention of other women who had not ever heard, or even dreamed such things were possible' (Smith, 1991, p 134). Clearly it was felt that lesbian acts (like 'terrorist' ones) must be denied 'the oxygen of publicity' (Schlesinger, 1987, p xviii)....
This article introduces, and attempts to define, the concept of 'media templates'. Drawing on foc... more This article introduces, and attempts to define, the concept of 'media templates'. Drawing on focus groups discussions, content analysis and interviews with media personnel I demonstrate how template events help to shape news narratives and guide thinking not only about the past, but also of the present and the future. The argument is illustrated by examining the position of 'the Cleveland scandal' (and the subsequent 'Orkney crisis') in discussions of child sexual abuse. The discussion explores how templates such as 'Cleveland' are established and maintained by source strategies, social power relations and journalistic/audience reception processes, I also examine how templates operate in relation to existing theories around key events, framing and news icons. The article concludes by outlining the implications of templates for media production practice, media studies theory and audience reception research. Media templates are, I argue, a crucial site of media power, acting to provide context for new events, serving as foci for demands for policy change and helping to shape the ways in which we make sense of the world. The paradigmatic examples and associations which surround any particular issue can come to seem natural and inevitable. It is the task of media theorists, practitioners, policy makers and audiences to question how such accounts and links are constructed, to examine the conditions under which they are produced and reproduced, and to ask how they might be different.
Papers by Jenny Kitzinger
An ‘Advance Decision’ is a legally binding record (given statutory force by the Mental Capacity A... more An ‘Advance Decision’ is a legally binding record (given statutory force by the Mental Capacity Act 2005) of the treatments that someone wishes to refuse if they lose capacity to make such decisions for themselves in future. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 refers to them as ‘Advance Decisions’ (s. 24(1)): given widespread confusion about the terminology associated with end-of-life planning tools, we have often opted in this report to use the term ‘Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment’ (ADRTs), Barriers to uptake of ADRTs include misunderstanding about what is involved; scepticism about whether they will be respected; and the mistaken belief that an ADRT is unnecessary if people have already informed family members or healthcare professionals of their wishes. There is widespread misunderstanding about the power of family members to give or withhold consent for adult relatives, and misinformation and confusion about the distinctive legal status of ADRTs (compared with other advance plan...
Springer eBooks, 2014
is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throu... more is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries
Bloomsbury Academic eBooks, Jul 1, 1999
Media, Culture & Society, 1996
Feminism & Psychology, 1995
The views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent ... more The views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent those of the Department or Scottish Ministers.
JOMEC Journal, Jun 1, 2013
In the following dialogue Professor Lionel Naccache engages Prof Jenny Kitzinger and Dr Gabrielle... more In the following dialogue Professor Lionel Naccache engages Prof Jenny Kitzinger and Dr Gabrielle Samuels in debate about their recent JOMEC Journal paper about news reporting of consciousness in coma patients (Kitzinger and Samuel 2013
This chapter argues that the demonization of pedophiles by the media and resulting public outrage... more This chapter argues that the demonization of pedophiles by the media and resulting public outrage that claims the government is not doing enough to expose pedophiles for communities to target them impedes a rational and just problem-solving approach to sexual violence as a broad social problem. The history of public outrage against known pedophiles living anonymously in local communities can be traced back to some of the famous serial child sex murders in Great Britain in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In the 1990s and early 2000s, these individuals, dubbed by the tabloids as “the most hated” people in Britain, were due for release or had begun living incognito across the country. Under the law at that time, these men could change their names and live anywhere they chose without their neighbors knowing their identities and criminal histories. Media reporting of this problem in the mid-1990s initially followed routine media practice of relying on official government information sources; however, media coverage and public debate rapidly shifted as particular communities and portions of the media began to agitate for public access to the government register of sex offenders and demanded that communities be notified when dangerous individuals moved into their neighborhoods. Journalists and pressure groups focused on community notification legislation enacted in the United States; this legislation, known as Megan’s Law, was enacted in 1996. Protests in the United Kingdom rapidly spread from one area to another, often under initiatives by local journalists in “outing” sex offenders in their communities.
Hearings in the Court of Protection often bring crucial issues into sharp relief in a vivid, poig... more Hearings in the Court of Protection often bring crucial issues into sharp relief in a vivid, poignant and intellectually rigorous way. This was certainly so in the hearing I observed last week: Case No. 1375980T on 10 June 2021. It concerned GU, a 70-year-old man who sustained a severe anoxic brain injury in April 2014 following electrocution, a cardiac arrest and possible drowning. He has been unconscious ever since and there is no prospect of recovery. His wife, siblings and adult children all agree he would not want to live like this. All but one family member-the patient's eldest son-believe that clinicallyassisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) should be stopped.
New Feminist Stories of Child Sexual Abuse, 2003
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Books by Jenny Kitzinger
Heterosexual couples writhe about on the big screen in simulated orgasmic bliss, monopolise TV dramas and situation comedies with their marriages, adulteries and divorces, unashamedly flaunt their heterosexuality in shows like 'Blind Date', promote their 'bonking' fantasies in the tabloids, and fill women's magazines with their worries about contraception, (hetero)sexual techniques and marital aids. Compared with this surfeit of representation of heterosexual coupling, images of lesbian sex are conspicuous by their absence. Until 1961, the US Production Code specifically forbade representations of lesbianism or male homosexuality. This meant that Hollywood rewrote original scripts, and even history, to ensure the exclusion of lesbian material - as witnessed, for example, by the 1950 “We Three” hetero-sexualised version of Lillian Hellman's play, “The Children's Hour”, or Garbo's portrayal of a heterosexual romance to explain the abdication of the Queen of Sweden in “Queen Christina” (cf. Sheldon, 1987).
Portraying lesbian sex, acknowledging its existence, was seen as dangerous -as if women might rush wholesale into lesbianism if they realised that it was an option. The attempt in the United Kingdom in 1921 to include lesbian practices in the category of acts of gross indecency failed because 'it was believed that such legislation would bring these practices to the attention of other women who had not ever heard, or even dreamed such things were possible' (Smith, 1991, p 134). Clearly it was felt that lesbian acts (like 'terrorist' ones) must be denied 'the oxygen of publicity' (Schlesinger, 1987, p xviii)....
Papers by Jenny Kitzinger
Heterosexual couples writhe about on the big screen in simulated orgasmic bliss, monopolise TV dramas and situation comedies with their marriages, adulteries and divorces, unashamedly flaunt their heterosexuality in shows like 'Blind Date', promote their 'bonking' fantasies in the tabloids, and fill women's magazines with their worries about contraception, (hetero)sexual techniques and marital aids. Compared with this surfeit of representation of heterosexual coupling, images of lesbian sex are conspicuous by their absence. Until 1961, the US Production Code specifically forbade representations of lesbianism or male homosexuality. This meant that Hollywood rewrote original scripts, and even history, to ensure the exclusion of lesbian material - as witnessed, for example, by the 1950 “We Three” hetero-sexualised version of Lillian Hellman's play, “The Children's Hour”, or Garbo's portrayal of a heterosexual romance to explain the abdication of the Queen of Sweden in “Queen Christina” (cf. Sheldon, 1987).
Portraying lesbian sex, acknowledging its existence, was seen as dangerous -as if women might rush wholesale into lesbianism if they realised that it was an option. The attempt in the United Kingdom in 1921 to include lesbian practices in the category of acts of gross indecency failed because 'it was believed that such legislation would bring these practices to the attention of other women who had not ever heard, or even dreamed such things were possible' (Smith, 1991, p 134). Clearly it was felt that lesbian acts (like 'terrorist' ones) must be denied 'the oxygen of publicity' (Schlesinger, 1987, p xviii)....
[See http://healthtalkonline.org/peoples-experiences/nerves-brain/family-experiences-vegetative-and-minimally-conscious-states/overview]
This online resource was developed through an ESRC knowledge exchange award from research by Professor Jenny Kitzinger (Cardiff University) & Professor Celia Kitzinger (University of York), Co-Directors of the Chronic Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre (cdoc.org.uk)
such as catastrophic brain injury and end-of-life decision-making. Using examples from in-depth
interviews with family members of people in vegetative and minimally conscious states, this article
discusses the issues we faced in trying to maximise participant anonymity alongside maintaining
the integrity of our data. We discuss how we developed elaborate, context-sensitive strategies
to try to preserve the richness of the interview material wherever possible while also protecting
participants. This discussion of the practical and ethical details of anonymising is designed to add
to the largely theoretical literature on this topic and to be of illustrative use to other researchers
confronting similar dilemmas.
Method: Secondary thematic analysis of 65 in-depth narrative
interviews with family members of people in vegetative or minimally conscious states.
Results: Families place great significance on physiotherapy in relation to six dimensions: ‘‘Caring for the person’’, ‘‘Maximising comfort’’, ‘‘Helping maintain health/life’’, ‘‘Facilitating progress’’,
‘‘Identifying or stimulating consciousness’’ and ‘‘Indicating potential for meaningful recovery’’. They can have high expectations of what physiotherapy may deliver but also, at times, express concerns about physiotherapy’s potential to cause pain or distress, or even constitute a form of torture if they believe there is no hope for ‘‘meaningful’’ recovery.
Conclusion: Physiotherapists can make an important contribution to supporting this patient group and their families but it is vital to recognise that family understandings of physiotherapy may differ significantly from those of physiotherapists. Both the delivery and the withdrawal of physiotherapy is highly symbolic and can convey (inadvertent) messages to people about their relative’s current and
future state. A genuine two-way dialogue between practitioners and families about the aims of physiotherapeutic interventions, potential outcomes and patients’ best interests is critical to providing a good service and establishing positive relationships and appropriate treatment.
for managing these challenges via disguise, refining informed consent, and discussion with interviewees. In the context of a largely theoretical literature on anonymization, this article offers concrete examples of the dilemmas we faced and will be of illustrative use to other researchers confronting similar challenges.
https://openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2022/01/17/abuse-and-coercive-control-a-fact-finding-hearing-and-exoneration/
We developed an online course to address these needs. The aim was to help the multi-disciplinary team (nurses, doctors, physios, OTs, SLTs, dieticians, psychologists etc) work together to deliver research-informed, person-centred care informed by the latest professional guidelines, and to reflect on their own practice and support one another in what can be a very challenging area of work. The course combines summaries of factual information alongside film clips from interviews with frontline staff and leading experts in the field, quizzes, poetry, shadow puppetry and reflective exercises. It also offers opportunities for practitioners to network with one another through online discussion seminars or twitter chats.
The course modules address: definitions, demographics & diagnosis, core care practices (e.g. positioning & spasticity management), multi-disciplinary team working, family perception of therapeutic interventions, communicating with families, and law & ethics (e.g. around life-sustaining treatment decisions).
We are running the course a second time for free in March/April 2020 with teams participating from 30 centres around UK, and including participation from people in other countries (info at www.cdoctraining.org.uk). We will be writing up an evaluation of e-learners experiences of the course later this year.
We found that hospice staff were often unfamiliar with the presentation of patients in prolonged disorders of consciousness and could lack knowledge about the clinical assessments and best interests discussions informing the decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment. They were also not always engaged with the latest clinical guidelines about how to deliver palliative care for this patient group.
Care and rehab staff, although familiar with Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness, were often unfamiliar with palliative care principles and delivery, and often had strong attachments to patients they had looked after, often for many years, so faced their own challenges.
Our research explores staff experiences, makes recommendations, and has been developed into a short course on end-of-life care. The short course is free and open access here:
https://cdoctraining.org.uk