Editorial Team 2021

Lauren Cowling – Editor–in-Chief

After completing a BSc in Psychology, Lauren joined the Centre for Women’s Studies as an MA student in 2014 before continuing on as a doctoral candidate. Their PhD research investigates sociocultural conceptualisations of vulvavaginas with a focus on embodiment and gendered selfhood, exploring ‘what (and how) does it mean to have a vulvavagina?’. Lauren was keen to join Cultivate to help continue to bring the feminist community together, particularly given the current global pandemic. They are looking forward to working with other early career researchers and are excited to showcase the fantastic work of CWS students in this in-house issue.

Nicki Roy – Deputy Editor

Nicole (Nicki) Roy: Originally from Frankfurt, Germany, Nicki studied political science and sociology for her undergrad and spent some time in Lebanon to learn Arabic. She completed her masters in Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on women’s studies and postcolonial studies, then spent a couple of years working in the international cooperation sector in Jordan. In 2019 Nicki moved to York to start her PhD at CWS. In her research she explores the narratives of right-wing women, who join and actively support right-wing-parties in Germany and Austria. She is interested in exploring why women might support these parties, and their thoughts on issues of women’s rights and equality issues in particular. What tensions are there between actively supporting a right-wing party and being a woman? Nicki is excited to be on the editorial board for Cultivate as it is a great opportunity to engage with other early career researchers and their topics.

Ninutsa Nadirashvili – Deputy Editor

Though she was born and grew up in Tbilisi, Nina has spent a significant amount of time living in the United States and Europe. She completed her undergraduate degree in International Relations at Boston College and is currently undertaking a Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of York. Her undergraduate thesis was a comparative analysis of Georgian and Irish nationalist poetry, and she plans to continue writing about Georgian nationalism, poetry, and conceptions of gender in the future. Outside of the CWS, Nina works as an editor and content creator on a variety of topics. Considering her love of combining academic and creative work, she is extremely excited to be part of the Cultivate editorial team. 

Jaye Cook – Associate Editor

Following a BA and MA in Creative Writing, Jaye joined the Centre for Women’s Studies and is now in their third year of doctoral research. Their thesis uses creative autoethnography to explore trauma narratives and women’s stories of violence. With a strong background in Creative Writing, Jaye is keen to read this year’s creative submissions and to help shape the 2021 issue.

Agnes Kandlbinder – Associate Editor

Agnes Kandlbinder (she/they), originally from Munich, Germany, has completed the M.A. Women’s Studies program at CWS in 2020/21. Since 2022 she is a PhD candidate in the URPP “Human Reproduction Reloaded H2R” project at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Agnes has earned their B.A. in Religious Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, with a year of study abroad at the Université de Montréal.
Her research interests include body autonomy, access to reproductive healthcare, dis/ability justice, queer family building as well as meaning-making and values in the context of assisted reproduction. Their PhD project focuses on a socioethical investigation of preimplantation genetic diagnosis and germline genome editing from a reproductive justice perspective, with specific attention to dis/ability as a social justice issue.
As one of the associate editors of the third and now fourth issue of Cultivate, she wishes to support early-career researchers like herself in spreading their ideas to a wider audience and facilitating interdisciplinary research exchanges.

Rumana Mehdi – Associate Editor

Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, I knew that the power of the pen can never be underestimated. As an enthusiastic poet and crocheter, I often think about how craftivism is the new revolution and that is why when I saw the opportunity to be a part of Cultivate, I felt like it was my calling!An avid Harry Potter fan as well, I strongly believe in doing our bit to improve this world. As Dumbledore said, “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

Siyu Chen – Associate Editor and Social Media Content Creator

Siyu Chen is a PhD researcher (2019—) at the University of York working in the field of media and sexual violence. Her thesis explores Chinese journalists’ role and experience in reporting sexual assault against women and girls via in-depth interview and thematic analysis. Outside of academia, Siyu has worked on several Chinese media platforms (Xinhua News Agency, Shaanxi Radio and Television Station, CCTV, etc.). She looks forward to communicating with more feminist media researchers and journalists from diverse cultural contexts, which motivates her to join the Cultivate Journal, editorial team!

Xiao Ge – Associate Editor and Social Media Content Creator

Xiao Ge is currently a second year PhD student at the Centre for Women’s Studies. She received her master’s degree in Anthropology from Durham University in 2020. Her doctoral research investigates the transformation of traditional postpartum care practices and family relations influenced by such practice in contemporary China. She believes it is important to build a bridge between feminist academia and activism. This is also her motivation to be a part of the editorial board for Cultivate.

Yue Liu- Associate Editor

I graduated from University College London (UCL) with a MA in Film Studies in 2017 and got a BA in Chinese Language and Literature from Shandong University, China. Currently, I’m a PhD student at the CWS, focusing on the autonomy and empowerment of single women in contemporary urban China.

Aurèlia Puigdomènech – Associate Editor and Web Editor

Aurèlia is currently a PhD student at the Centre for Women’s Studies. She graduated in History of Art at the Universitat de Barcelona, where she is a guest lecturer in a module on theatre history. She started incorporating her own artistic practice into her academic work during her MA in Women’s Studies (Humanities) at the University of York, creating a hypertext dissertation incorporating her own own zine creations as part of the text. Her current research is an arts-based research project exploring meanings of femininity in contemporary profane images of the Virgin Mary, accessing images, their production, and their viewing through an arts-based project. She is very excited to joing the Cultivate editorial team and contribute to the CWS community, she is particulary keen to read and promote her peers critical and creative research.

Editorial Team (2018/2019)

Gemma Gibson – Editor

I graduated from the University of Winchester with a BA in English literature in 2013 and began my MA in Women’s Studies at the University of York in the same year. Currently I am a PhD student at the Centre for Women’s Studies researching ‘mainstream’ representations of fat women and the popularisation of the ‘body positivity’ movement. Although I am presently finding my way through my first few years of feminist teaching and beginning this journal, feminism has influenced my life beyond academia. I am very interested in the intersections between activism and academia which is a large part of my motivation behind Cultivate.

Email Gemma

Nicole Froio – Guest Editor

I have a BA in Journalism from the University of Sheffield and an MA in Women, Violence and Conflict from the University of York’s Centre for Women’s Studies. I am originally from Brazil and I’ve worked as a freelance journalist and editor across the UK, US and Brazil. I am currently a PhD student in the Centre for Women’s Studies, where I investigate the intersection of sexual violence, masculinity and the media.

Email Nicole. Nicole on Twitter.

Anaïs Duong-Pedica – Associate Editor

Anaïs is a PhD candidate at Åbo Akademi University. Her research explores ‘mixed-race’ identity at a time of decolonization in Kanaky New Caledonia. She also teaches a Gender Studies course on “White Women & White Feminism”.

Email Anaïs. Anaïs on Twitter. 

Tallulah Lines – Associate Editor

Tallulah Lines is an early-career researcher who graduated from the University of York with an MA by Research in Women’s Studies in 2018. Her research focused on identity and self-perception of domestic workers in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Before studying her MA by Research, Tallulah graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MA (Hons) in History, and spent six years living and working in Spain, Ecuador and Mexico. She currently works as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York, providing research support to the Wellbeing of Human Rights Defenders at Risk project. In her spare time Tallulah is a keen artist, specialising in creating art which promotes themes of equality, diversity and alternative sociopolitical perspectives.

Email Tallulah. 

Rachele Salvatelli – Associate Editor and Social Media Content Creator

I graduated from the University of Perugia with a BA in Philosophy and a MA in Philosophy and Ethics of Human Relations. In 2014, I was awarded the White Rose College of Arts and Humanities scholarship and joined the Department of Politics at the University of York for a MA in Political Philosophy. In 2017, I was offered a departmental scholarship to start a PhD in Sociology at the same university. My current project focuses on identity formation, stigma rejection and the narratives of fat body positive individuals.

Email Rachele. Rachele on Twitter.

Katie Smith – Associate Editor and Social Media Content Creator

Katie Smith is a PhD student studying representation of gender in the 19th Century Novel selection of the National Curriculum for English Literature. She also dabbles in social media promoting, although her thesis title doesn’t always fit the Twitter character limit.

Email Katie. Katie on Twitter.

Ellie Terry – Web Editor

My background is in politics and political theory which I studied at BA and Masters level at the University of Leeds. I am now a final year PhD student at the University of York. My thesis explores the current cultural politics of sex, examining key moments from the ‘porn wars’ through Raunch Culture to the current #MeToo Moment, utilising textural analysis of Netflix texts Orange Is the New Black and Sense8 and autoethnographic enquiry into my own situatedness both within the culture I am researching, and as a part-time researcher with mental health history. Outside of academia I work in a children and young people’s mental health unit and am active in local, LGBT and feminist politics in the city of York.

Email Ellie. Ellie on Twitter.

Imogen White – Associate Editor 

I completed my BA in American History, Literature and Culture from the University of Nottingham in 2017. I had also completed a year of studies at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and had almost completed enough credits to acquire a Major in the Women and Gender Studies department. Since, I have started an MA in Women’s Studies at the University of York. I also work for a charity in York, and am involved in several more. My researching and reading focus is concentrated on feminism and sex work.

Email Imogen. 

Cultivate was co-founded by O’Dessa Darling and Gemma Gibson in 2017.