Congratulations to Tara Chanady, a 2nd year PhD student in Communication at Université de Montreal, for winning the Foundation Lambda Bursary!
“Under the direction of Professor Julianne Pidduck, my research focuses on how the changing media landscape comes into play in the definition, expression and performance of lesbian identities in Montreal. With the increase of virtual connection spaces (such as the website lezspreadtheword and lesbian facebook groups) and the lack of lesbian physical spaces (closing of Montreal’s lesbian bars and the “social invisibility” of lesbians compared to gay men), new ways of constructing and connecting lesbian identities and cultures are fostered through internet. Also, the increase of lesbian representation in mass media (television, cinema, music industry), however flawed by its lack of diversity and its catering to the male gaze which creates new problematic parameters of the “socially acceptable lesbian”, also presents important new points of identification for many young lesbians. I am interested in understanding how these changes in the media landscape affect the social construction of lesbian identities for young Montreal lesbian or queer identified women (18-35 years old) of different cultural and social backgrounds.
I consider it very important to promote LGBTQ reseach, which is why I founded Minorités lisibles: Journal des enjeux féministes, de genres et de sexualités à l’Université de Montréal (the first edition will be released in January 2016), a journal aimed to promote and connect the research of students and professors working on feminist and LGBTQ related issues at Université de Montréal.
I completed my Masters degree in Political Sciences (Gender and Politics specialization) at Queens University in 2012, and worked in the Quebec media and culture sector for two years before staring my PhD. I currently teach two classes at the B.A. level in Communication.”