Call for Papers: Humour and Sexual Violence Proposal for Special Issue of Cultural History
Call for Papers: Humour and Sexual Violence
Proposal for Special Issue of Cultural History
Abstracts Due: 17 October 2025
Following their May 2023 workshop on humour and sexual violence, our colleagues from SHaME project (2018-2024), Dr George Severs and Dr Rhian Keyse are excited to invite abstracts for a Special Issue of Cultural History, on the subject of ‘Humour and Sexual Violence.’ The abstracts sought are specifically focused on contexts beyond the geopolitical North.
The juxtaposition of humour and sexual violence as objects of study may seem jarring; however, as scholars such as Nicola Gavey (2005) have argued, normative discourses of (hetero)sexuality and gender provide a “cultural scaffolding” for rape and sexual violence. As a prominent mechanism through which these normative discourses are manifested and reinforced, humour provides an important lens through which to understand the cultural politics and social ideologies underpinning our collective understandings of sexual violence (Serisier, 2021). The idea of “rape culture” and the examination of structural underpinnings of sexual violence that have become increasingly prominent in the wake of the #MeToo movement provide an opportunity for scholars to use historical and interdisciplinary perspectives to consider the place of laughter in debates about sexual harm.
The Special Issue aims to examine the multiple intersections between humour and sexual violence and how they have changed over time from its use in replicating oppressive cultural norms which buttress sexual violence to its ability to subvert hierarchies of power by opening difficult conversations and its liberatory and healing potential.
The proposal for the Special Issue has been approved by the Journal’s editorial board. The articles currently included span historical periods from the medieval to the contemporary, and geographically cover contexts including South Africa, the USA and the UK. We are now seeking to commission additional articles focused on contexts beyond the geopolitical North.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Humour, rape culture, and rape myths.
- Humour in anti-violence activism.
- Humour, sexual violence, and identities.
- Humour, emotions, and sexual violence.
- The uses of humour in institutional (e.g. legal and medical) contexts.
- Humour in sexual violence memoir and personal testimonies.
Submission guidelines:
Please submit abstracts to both editors by 17 October 2025:
Dr Rhian Elinor Keyse (r.keyse@uwtsd.ac.uk)
Dr George Severs (george.severs@graduateinstitute.ch)
All submissions should include the names and affiliations of the authors, an outline of the proposed article (not exceeding 300 words), and a short bio of 1-2 paragraphs. We anticipate that we will be requesting first drafts of the accepted abstracts for 30 January 2026, although there is some flexibility in the timeframe so please do let us know when submitting the abstract if this might pose a problem for you.
Please note that all articles will be subject to the journal’s usual peer review processes. As a result, acceptance of the abstract is not a guarantee of publication.
