DCU Sexuality Studies postgraduates take the helm at Cult Magazine

For most of the postgraduates in DCU Sexuality Studies accustomed to publishing in the academic domain, writing for Cult was the first time they ventured into the mainstream, wider world of publication.

The eighth edition of Cult, published in February 2017, is a single-themed issue focusing on sex and sexualities today. Cult Magazine is a Dublin-based culture and style magazine. Since its first issue, interviews from James Franco, Patti Smyth or Stephen King and many others have drawn from the worlds of literature, the movie industry, art or music.

Retaining its style, structure and editorial philosophy, Cult has invited staff, doctoral students and alumni from Dublin City University’s growing MA in Sexuality Studies research population to author articles - along with established journalists, practitioners and professionals in the fields of sexuality.

The 8th edition of Cult on Sex and Sexuality features an interview with Lena Dunham of HBO Girls fame, articles on porn-addiction (David Ley, New Mexico), fat body image (Jennifer Lee, Australia) or pro-choice activism (The IMELDAS, England) as well as reflections on writing erotica (Eileen Gormley, Ireland).

Discussing sex in music videos, transgender thrillers in cinema, queer chicana/o theatre or the AVN (Adult Video News) awards to a general audience enabled our researchers to address their disciplines from perspectives which they might not have been previously used to. This will in turn feed into their research, providing an aware, engaging and sometimes humorous perspective on sex and sexuality today.

Jean-Philippe Imbert, guest editor of Cult, says

“If the different articles in this edition of Cult deal with the political and the personal, from their very own perspectives and backgrounds,  all aim at the empowerment of the self in society, addressing, in a non-academic way, some of the ethical, philosophical and cultural values in an ever-changing world.

The DCU Sexuality researchers’ different voices provide a multi-faceted, colourful and entertaining discourse enabling all of us to learn more and delve further into an endless topic which is significant for the individual and society alike.

Matters in the public realm in and outside of Ireland relating to the fields of sex and sexuality have become an inherent part of the personal and national conversations, and this edition of Cult will challenge us to think outside the box and explore all the different facets of sexuality.”