Rachel O’Neill - Seduction: Men, Masculinity and Mediated Intimacy

RACHEL ONEILL

polity

Copyright Rachel ONeill 2018

The right of Rachel ONeill to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2018 by Polity Press

Polity Press
65 Bridge Street
Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press
101 Station Landing
Suite 300
Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2159-3

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: ONeill, Rachel, author.
Title: Seduction : men, masculinity, and mediated intimacy / Rachel ONeill.
Description: Medford, MA : Polity, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2017050360 (print) | LCCN 2017061782 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509521593 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509521555 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509521562 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Sex. | Flirting. | Masculinity. | Feminism. | BISAC: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies.
Classification: LCC HQ21 (ebook) | LCC HQ21 .O58 2018 (print) | DDC 306.73--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017050360

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Thanks first and foremost to Rosalind Gill, who has supported the project from its earliest stages. Her dedication as an advisor is nothing short of extraordinary, and I am privileged to benefit from her intellectual generosity and scholarly acumen. As well as being a trusted mentor, she is a dear friend.

Funding for this research was provided by the Kings College London Graduate School. Sara De Benedictis and Simidele Dosekun were steadfast companions in the protracted endeavour that is completing a PhD. I have discussed many of the ideas elaborated in this book with them at length, and both have read and commented on individual chapters at various stages of development. The wider community of gender and cultural studies scholars at Kings sustained and enhanced my work. Thanks to Ana Sofia Elias, Bridget Conor, Christina Scharff, Hannah Hamad, Laura Harvey, Laura Speers, Natalie Wreyford and Toby Bennett.

Diane Negra and Andrea Cornwall were generous examiners, providing insightful commentary on the arguments presented in my thesis and stoking my ambitions for this book with their praise. Diane has an uncanny ability to recommend readings that give definite shape to ideas I am merely grasping at.

Living in London for the past decade has afforded many pleasures, not least of which has been the opportunity to participate in a variety of feminist collectivities. Jo Littler is owed thanks for organising more than her fair share of events, providing a space for discussion and debate that is always illuminating. Meg-John Barker deserves special mention for their work with the Critical Sexology network, a crucial forum for examining contemporary currents in sexual culture and imagining ways to relate otherwise. Pam Alldred, Risn Ryan-Flood and Sumi Madhok each invited me to discuss my research with their students, whose insightful questions and perceptive observations have sharpened my thinking.

Alison Winch and Jamie Hakim have become valued interlocutors on all things mediated intimacy. I am particularly grateful to Jamie for gamely agreeing to spend three days together in the south of France. The conversations we had while walking around the city and meandering through galleries fortified my resolve as I began drafting the conclusion to this book. Long-distance as well as face-to-face discussions with Frank Karioris, Gareth Terry, Michael Flood and Sam de Boise have renewed my faith in the intellectual and political project of men and masculinity studies.

The Department of Sociology at the University of York has proved an exceptional environment in which to complete this book and also begin a new project. Nik Brown, who I imagine doesnt much like to think of himself as a line manager, has performed the role with aplomb. Dave Beer has championed my work at every opportunity, offering encouragement as well as intellectual sustenance through his sheer love of ideas. Kasia Narkowicz welcomed me immediately and became a fast friend. Xiaodong Lin has often gone out of his way to brighten my day. Joanna Latimer, Maggie ONeill, Sarah Nettleton and Victoria Robinson all model the kind of feminist collegiality I aspire to, producing brilliant scholarship while conducting themselves with grace, candour and no small amount of humour. Clare Bielby has made the commute altogether more enjoyable.

The team at Polity have been an absolute pleasure to work with my thanks to Ellen MacDonald-Kramer, Emma Longstaff, Mary Savigar and Rachel Moore. Thanks also to Caroline Richmond for her meticulous copy-editing.

My mother Janet is a continual inspiration to me, both for her immense personal fortitude and unwavering commitment to fighting injustice on many fronts. I am deeply appreciative of the close relationship we share. My father Michael has contributed to my intellectual development and academic career in innumerable ways, making profound sacrifices so that I would be free of the constraints that patterned his own life. The knowledge that he would support and be proud of me no matter what route I took ensured I could carve my own path. Each of my siblings, in their own way, inspires and motivates my work. I am especially grateful to my eldest sister Kate for the innumerable hours we have spent discussing the vagaries of gender, intimacy and sexuality.

London friends Anne, Eric, Jon, Isaac, Natasha, Melissa, Sam have provided welcome respite from work with food, drink, dancing and games. I relish the fact that, while some of you are also academics, this is largely incidental to our relationships. The absence of Farah who died too young, when she was filled with life is the cause of unbearable sadness. Occasionally her image flashes up before me, appearing momentarily in the gestures and expressions of a stranger who bears some passing resemblance to her, and my heart bursts for all that was and all that would have been.

It seems impossible to adequately express the love and gratitude I feel for my partner Chris, friend, lover, comrade. The scrawling notes he provided on each and every draft of each and every chapter of this book and the thesis that went before it were both entertaining and insightful, challenging me to nuance my thinking while at the same time affirming my most deeply held convictions. For this, and much more, I am so very grateful to you.

I am forever indebted to all those who participated in this project. I can only hope that this book does justice to the complex realities of your lives and experiences.