by ana.cerezuela@uab.cat | Oct 1, 2025 | Stays
Doctoral candidate Zenaida Andreica Gheorghe, member of AFIN and recipient of the FI-Joan Oró Fellowship, is pursuing her doctoral thesis under the supervision of Dr. Bruna Alvarez and Dr. Diana Marre (AFIN-UAB), within the framework of the SexAFIN-Barcelona project. Between March and June, she carried out a research stay at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), under the supervision of Dr. Anna Paula Uziel.
During her stay, Zenaida actively participated in various activities organized by the GEPSID research group (Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisas Subjetividades e Instituições em Dobras), including seminars, workshops, and working group meetings. She also had the opportunity to present her research in different academic settings at UERJ, the Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), and the Centro Latino-Americano em Sexualidade e Direitos Humanos (CLAM).
This stay has represented a valuable opportunity to strengthen international ties, expand collaboration networks, and deepen knowledge of new research contexts in the fields of sexuality, digital technologies, and gender studies.
by ana.cerezuela@uab.cat | Jul 16, 2025 | Conferences
The AFIN Research Group opens the call for papers for the III International Congress SexAFIN: Gender Perspectives on Sexuality and Digital Media, which will be held online from November 5 to 7, 2025, via the Zoom platform.
The event aims to bring together researchers, professionals, and students from different disciplines to reflect on how children, adolescents, and young people experience and negotiate their sexual experiences in digital environments. Against risk-centered discourses, the congress proposes an approach that recognizes the agency of children and youth in constructing their own narratives, knowledge, and practices.
Over three days, the congress will feature presentations, panel discussions, and keynote lectures addressing topics such as access to pornography, the exchange of intimate images, social media, digital sex education, the moral and technological regulation of bodies, online consent, and new forms of pleasure, desire, and affect in digital platforms. Keynote speakers will include Dr. Deevia Bhana, Dr. Jessica Ringrose, Dr. Sanna Spišák, and Dr. Kath Albury.
Registration is free and will be open from September 30 to October 15, 2025. Proposals for participation (individual papers or collective panels) must be submitted through the official congress website before September 15. Selected participants will be notified of acceptance before September 30.
The congress will offer simultaneous translation in Spanish, Catalan, and English, and will feature international speakers who are key figures in gender, sexuality, and technology studies. All sessions will be recorded and made available on the AFIN Group’s YouTube channel.
This event is part of the science outreach project Sexuality and Digital Environments: A Gender Perspective Approach, funded by the Women’s Institute of the Spanish Ministry of Equality.
More information, program, and proposal submission form available at this link.
by ana.cerezuela@uab.cat | Mar 4, 2025 | Diseminación
On Wednesday, February 19, the exhibition Sexualitats i infàncies: construint sabers was inaugurated. This space invites reflection on sexuality from the perspective of childhood and has been funded by the UAB Department of Culture.
The presentation featured the participation of Laura Santamaría, Vice-Rector for Culture and Linguistic Policy at UAB; Diana Marre, Director of the AFIN Group; and Hugo Valenzuela, Director of the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology. In their speeches, the speakers emphasized the importance of making sexuality a topic that can be openly discussed within families and educational settings, moving away from the taboos that still persist in society. They also highlighted the role of affective-sexual education in childhood and adolescence as a fundamental tool for fostering equitable relationships and individual well-being.
The exhibition is structured around seven dimensions that address different aspects of childhood sexuality, ranging from body awareness to identity diversity, puberty changes, and the role of technology in shaping knowledge about sexuality. Each of these dimensions explores how children perceive, express, and construct their understanding of sexuality through their experiences and narratives.
The exhibition features forty-seven drawings created by children aged six to twelve, illustrating their representations and questions on these topics. It also includes a section with educational resources in book format and a collection of crocheted genital models by artist Elisabet Pérez Méndez—an initiative aimed at challenging stereotypes and expanding knowledge about bodily diversity. Additionally, the exhibition includes a screening of the documentary (Re)pensant l’educació sexual, directed by Dr. Estel Malgosa, which provides a critical perspective on sex education and its current challenges.
The inauguration was attended by faculty members from the UAB Department of Anthropology, AFIN members, students, and individuals interested in the topic. After the welcoming remarks, the coordinators of the SexAFIN project, Dr. Bruna Álvarez, Dr. Estel Malgosa, and MSc. Zenaida Andreica, led a guided tour of the exhibition. During the tour, they linked the children’s drawings to their research findings and encouraged attendees to interact with the exhibition using QR codes that allowed them to answer questions or share reflections on the displayed illustrations.
The exhibition will remain open until March 7 at the Sala d’Exposicions UAB, located in the Library of Communication and General Newspaper Archive building in Plaça Cívica. It can be visited Monday to Thursday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM and on Fridays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
by ana.cerezuela@uab.cat | Mar 4, 2025 | Diseminación
The documentary (Re)pensant l’educació sexual, which conveys some of the findings from the SexAFIN project by the AFIN Group, was produced by La Rectoria and premiered on Catalan television (TV3) in late 2023. The production was carried out in collaboration with TV3, the Catalan Institute for Cultural Enterprises, and the Institute for Women.
Currently, the documentary has been selected as one of the 16 finalists at the Sobrarbe International Ethnographic Documentary Festival, the only festival in Spain specializing in visual anthropology. It will be screened on April 4, competing for the general awards for Best Documentary and Best Research.
Additionally, on February 15, the documentary was screened at the Sex Education Film Festival, held from February 10 to 16 in the town of Terrassa. Although the festival primarily focuses on short films about sex education, the organizers requested the screening of Re(pensant l’educació sexual) as part of a complementary activity aimed at adult audiences, particularly families. This screening allowed the festival to expand its thematic scope, incorporating childhood sex education alongside topics related to youth and adulthood.
