Charlotte Curle

PhD student

Research Interests

My PhD research focuses on the lived experiences of pole dancers who use digital media for leisure/work, using a feminist (auto)netnographic framework. My research is situated at the intersection of many broader academic debates within feminist media and cultural studies, including digital labour, gendered sexual economies, and cultural practices.

My project aims to explore how pole dancers' engagement with digital media challenges definitional boundaries surrounding sex/body work and the significance of this amidst the context of increased regulation of sexual content on digital media platforms. This project is partially inspired by my own experiences attending pole dance studios and using various digital media platforms to create/share/engage with pole-related content online for leisure and work purposes.

My previous work has investigated gendered discourses within reality television and I have an interest in media and cultural studies and feminist theory more broadly. I also have a personal blog entitled 'Pole, PTSD and Me', where I've written about a range of different social issues, including mental health, gender-based violence and sex workers' rights.