Joseph Brennan (born 23 January 1986) is an Australian author, best known for his academic writing on

male sexuality Human male sexuality encompasses a wide variety of feelings and behaviors. Men's feelings of attraction may be caused by various physical and social traits of their potential partner. Men's sexual behavior can be affected by many factors, incl ...

in the media studies fields of fan and porn studies, his work on

queerbaiting Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation. The purpose is to attract ("bait") an LGBTQ+ or straight ally audience with th ...

, slash fiction and manips, and

gay pornography Gay pornography is the representation of sexual activity between males. Its primary goal is sexual arousal in its audience. Softcore gay pornography also exists; it at one time constituted the genre, and may be produced as beefcake pornogr ...

in particular. He serves on the editorial board of ''Psychology and Sexuality''.

Career

Brennan earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Media from Macquarie University in 2008. He then moved to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, where he earned a honours degree with

university medal A University Medal is one of several types of award conferred by universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries and between universities. As award on graduation Many ...

in Media and Communications in 2009, followed by a PhD in 2014. In 2013 he chaired a panel on fan fiction at the Sydney Writers’ Festival devoted to the origins of E. L. James’ '' Fifty Shades'' series, which formed the basis of research published in ''Media International Australia''. He is a frequent commentator on issues of

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

LGBT culture LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), while the term gay culture may be used to mean "LGBT culture" o ...

and pornography, having been interviewed by Australian media outlets like ABC Radio National and

SBS World News ''SBS World News'' is the news service of the Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. Its flagship nightly bulletin is broadcast at on SBS with additional weeknight 'late' bulletins from on SBS. ''SBS News'' is the name of the news app ...

. Brennan is the author of numerous academic journal articles and book chapters, as well as magazine articles on

gay male culture Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including '' ...

, published in venues such as ''DNA''. He was guest editor of the ''Journal of Fandom Studies'' in 2018 and edited the book ''Queerbaiting and Fandom: Teasing Fans through Homoerotic Possibilities'' in 2019. In 2020, Brennan participated in episode six of the

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

series ''Reputation Rehab'', in which a journal article he had authored on the viral image scandal of Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

player

Todd Carney Todd Carney (born 2 June 1986), also known by the nickname of "Toddy", is an Australian former professional rugby league player who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He has previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Sydney Roosters and ...

was a focus.Knox, David (2020)
Reputation Rehab: Dec 2
''TV Tonight'', 2 December. Retrieved 12 January 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Joseph 1986 births 21st-century Australian male writers Relationships and sexuality writers Macquarie University alumni University of Sydney alumni Living people