Giovanna Maina

Giovanna Maina is an associate professor at the University of Turin (Italy), where she teaches Film and Gender and History of Film Theory. She has worked on a Marie Curie IEF funded research project titled Degradation or Empowerment? Challenging Stereotypes About Women in Porn at the University of Sunderland (UK, 2013-2105). She is editor of the journal Schermi. Storie e culture del cinema e dei media in Italia; she is also the editorial coordinator of the journal La Valle dell’Eden. She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Porn Studies, and of the editorial staff of Cinéma & Cie: International Film Studies Journal. Her most recent books are Corpi che si sfogliano. Cinema, generi e sessualità su «Cinesex» (1969-1974) (ETS, 2018; Limina Award for Best Film Studies Book 2019) and Play, men! Un panorama della stampa italiana per adulti (1966-1975) (Mimesis, 2019). Her main research interests are: gender representations in the media, Italian popular cinema, and contemporary alternative pornographies. She has recently co-authored (with Federico Zecca) the article “From Youth Icon to Scarlet Diva: Asia Argento as an Italian Difficult Woman” (Film Studies, 22, 2020; Kinomata Award for Best Essay on Women and Film 2020).