Charlie Roberts

Media and Communication Postgraduate Researcher

Project Title: Hetero-masculine content creation: entrepreneurialism, desire, and technological transformation. 

Supervisor/s: Dr Gareth Longstaff, Dr Chris Haywood, Dr Stephen Seely

I have been studying at Newcastle University in the School of Arts and Cultures since 2020. During this time, I developed an interest in the interdisciplinary field of porn studies that allowed me to develop independent research projects around masculinity and (user-generated) pornography. My MA and PhD studies have been funded by the ESRC NINE DTP 1+3 studentship.

My current doctoral research investigates how adult content creators, who perform hetero-masculinity, experience forms of labour across various digital platforms. I am interested in how hetero-masculine content creators navigate platforms such as OnlyFans, Instagram, and TikTok to sexually self-represent and disseminate erotic content in line with the varying affordances and limitations of digital spaces. Using queer oral history, the study explores how men – who employ performative traits of hegemonic masculinity and heterosexuality – marketize content to primarily gay male and queer audiences. Here, I negotiate how the production of user-generated pornography functions as an outlet for desire through the collaboration with other male bodies. Finally, I will focus on the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed hetero-masculine engagement with digital technologies via erotic and pornographic content creation.

 

My research interests are situated around masculinity, sexuality, pornography, erotic labour, technology, digital cultures, and the body. I am interested in how sexual and pornographic cultures formulate erotic subjectivities under conditions of neoliberalism. Theoretically, I work with queer theory – and its intersections with Marxism and psychoanalysis – to understand how bodies experience the sexual. I am passionate about thinking through ethical and methodological design from a queer perspective to uncover lived experiences of sex and pleasure as valid forms of human interaction that shape life narratives. Overall, my research strives to destigmatise sexual and pornographic labour, consumption, and self-representation.

Outside of academia, I enjoy attending local, national, and international live music gigs and festivals. I am a fan of many genres of music – post-punk being my favourite! – and own a vast record collection. If not at gigs, I can usually be found socialising with my friends at the pub.

Email – c.roberts1@newcastle.ac.uk Professional Instagram - @charlierobertspgr