Welcome to Frisky, the podcast where marketing meets sexuality. Each week, hosts Athanasia and Daniela dive into bold, research-based conversations with leading academics and industry experts, exploring how sexuality, well-being, desire, gender, and marketing collide.
How are brands doing in representing LGBTQIA+ identities and communities? Rodney Collins, Co-director of Intelligence at Outvertising, takes Frisky into the advertising industry, discussing inclusive representations and the impact of brand advocacy. Do not miss highlights and examples and some predictions of what it will come next.
References
https://www.outvertising.org/ (https://www.outvertising.org/)
https://effie.org/ (https://effie.org/)
Pockets campaign National Lottery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNXP3LQQ2EA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNXP3LQQ2EA)
4 Jun 2026
Porn studies, with Clarissa Smith
Porn studies meet marketing in this episode with Clarissa Smith from Northumbria University. We explore how people access and consume porn and sexualised material, ranging from romance novels to podcasts. Follow us for a deep dive into the freedom, fantasy, and fear of pornographic consumption and what it tells about us.
References
Attwood, F and Smith, C (2025) Ten years of Porn Studies. Porn Studies,11(4), 293-317.
Attwood, F, Mercer, J and Smith, C (2025) Stardom at the margins: Performing porn celebrity. Porn Studies, 12(1), 1-4.
Juffer, J (1998) At Home with Pornography: Women, Sexuality, and Everyday Life. New York: New York University Press.
28 May 2026
Athanasia and Daniela on Marina Abramović’s ‘Balkan Erotic Epic’
Athanasia and Daniela discuss the ‘Balkan Erotic Epic’, a performance work created by the iconic artist Marina Abramović. A four-hour ritual where ancient myth meets performance art, Balkan Erotic Epic explores the eroticism, spirituality and traditions of Abramović’s homeland through 13 visceral scenes.
https://factoryinternational.org/whats-on/marina-abramovic-balkan-epic/ (https://factoryinternational.org/whats-on/marina-abramovic-balkan-epic/)
21 May 2026
Intimate Consumption and Brazilian Waxing, with Carol Zanette
We welcome Carol Zanette from NEOMA Business School to talk about the history of Brazilian waxing. We discuss how colonial imaginaries and the ‘male gaze’ are connected to the practice of Brazilian waxing. Tune in for a discussion about cleanliness, sexiness and sexualisation, and emotional labour and worker rights.
References
Zanette, MC and Scaraboto, D (2024) Being versus Getting a Brazilian: Colonial Imaginaries of Sexuality. In Sexuality in Marketing and Consumption (pp. 137-150). Routledge.
Padilha, J and Frankel, M (2010) Brazilian Sexy: Secrets to Living a Gorgeous and Confident Life. Penguin.
Coskuner-Balli, G (2020) Citizen-consumers wanted: Revitalizing the American dream in the face of economic recessions, 1981–2012. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(3), 327-349.
14 May 2026
Mid-life sexuality, with Katherine Sredl
Katherine Sredl from Quinlan, Loyola University Chicago and University of Rijeka discusses with Frisky mid-life sexual subjectivity. While the sexual script does not make much space for mid-life women, popular media such as ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘And Just Like That’ reveal how women can reclaim sexual pleasure. Join us in this episode for a conversation on life stages and sexuality, aging well, and women’s right to pleasure.
Daskalopoulou, A and Zanette, MC (2020) Women’s consumption of pornography: Pleasure, contestation, and empowerment. Sociology, 54(5), 969-986.
Sredl, KC, Parmentier, MA, Zayer, LT and Coleman, CA (2024) Midlife, Liminal Identities, and Consumption: A Sociology of Sexuality Perspective on “And Just Like That”. In Sexuality in Marketing and Consumption (pp. 151-168). London: Routledge.
Walther, L (2022) Women's sexual practices: The b-spot of marketing and consumer research. In The Routledge Companion to Marketing and Feminism (pp. 189-205). London: Routledge.
7 May 2026
Online Dating, with Stefania Masè
Is it possible to find love through dating apps? Tune in for dating advice in online dating. We welcome Stefania Masè from IPAG Business School to talk about value conflict in online dating and the commodification of love under capitalism.
References
Minina, A, Masè, S and Smith, J (2022) Commodifying love: Value conflict in online dating. Journal of Marketing Management, 38(1-2), 98-126.
Illouz, E (1998) The lost innocence of love: Romance as a postmodern condition. Theory, Culture & Society, 15(3-4), 161-186.
Illouz, E (1997) Consuming the romantic utopia: Love and the cultural contradictions of capitalism. University of California Press: Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
30 Apr 2026
Queer Creativity and (Un)Becoming, with Mohammed Cheded
We welcome Mohammed Cheded from Kedge Business School to talk about queer creativity and (un)becoming. Based on Mohammed’s research we delve into the liminal, affective, and risky nature of navigating in-between gender identities, and discuss how consumer practices can disrupt binary boundaries.
References
Cheded, M and Liu, C (2022) ‘Which part of the day is (wo) man o’clock?’: Desires, urges and possibilities of (un) becoming. Marketing Theory, 22(1), 67-84.
23 Apr 2026
Women’s Reading of Fantasy Romance, with Anuja Pradhan
What can we learn about romance and yearning by looking at women’s reading of fantasy romance books? Anuja Pradhan from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication discusses her research with women’s experiences of this genre and its readers. Tune in for a deep dive into romance, sexuality, and book recommendations.
References
Pradhan, A and Daskalopoulou, A (2026) Romantasy: Sexy tales of women‑centred fantasy fiction are boosting the publishing industry. The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/romantasy-sexy-tales-of-women-centred-fantasy-fiction-are-boosting-the-publishing-industry-272737. (https://theconversation.com/romantasy-sexy-tales-of-women-centred-fantasy-fiction-are-boosting-the-publishing-industry-272737)
Balling, G and Martens, M (2024) BookTok helped us sell it: How TikTok disrupts publishing and fuels the# Romantasy boom. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies [Online First].
Hakala, H, Niemi, L and Kohtamäki, M (2017) Online brand community practices and the construction of brand legitimacy. Marketing Theory, 17(4), 537-558.
Daskalopoulou, A and Zanette, MC (2020) Women’s consumption of pornography: Pleasure, contestation, and empowerment. Sociology, 54(5), 969-986.
Website: tvtropes.org
16 Apr 2026
Excessive Masculinity, with Jacob Ostberg
Do men need to vent their masculine energy Jacob Ostberg from Stockholm Business School explores how masculinity is experienced as an excessive energy to be spent that cannot be simply contained. Starting from Swedish family men, we venture into expressions of excessive masculinity in media.
References
Ostberg, J (2010) Thou shalt sport a banana in thy pocket: Gendered body size ideals in advertising and popular culture. Marketing Theory, 10(1), 45-73.
Thurnell-Read, T (2011) Off the leash and out of control: Masculinities and embodiment in Eastern European stag tourism. Sociology, 45(6), 977-991.
9 Apr 2026
Welcome to Frisky
Join Athanasia and Daniela in the first episode of Frisky, a podcast on everything sexuality and marketing. Research minded but conversational in nature, Frisky discusses research in sexuality, gender, and romance.
References
Daskalopoulou, A and Zanette, MC (2020) Women’s consumption of pornography: Pleasure, contestation, and empowerment. Sociology, 54(5), 969-986.
Daskalopoulou, A, Pirani, D and Ostberg, J (2025) Sexuality in Marketing and Consumption: Queer Theory, Feminist Research, and Intersectionality (1st ed.). London, UK: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003454533.
Nelson, M (2015) The Argonauts. Minneapolis: Greywolf Press.
Preciado, PB (2018) Countersexual manifesto. New York: Columbia University Press.
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