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Elisabeth Lechner

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Elisabeth Lechner (* 1989) is an Austrian cultural studies scholar who publishes on female bodies, body positivity,1Body positivity (German: Körperpositivität) is an anti-body-shaming movement that originated in the 1960s. Initially, body positivity was directed against discrimination against overweight people; today it opposes all kinds of discrimination based on physical characteristics such as origin, skin colour, gender identity or sexual orientation (cf. Alptraum, L. (2017): A short history of „body positivity“. In: Fusion. Available online at: www.fusion.tv/story/582813/a-short-history-of-body-positivity, 8 May 2020 (accessed on 8 September 2024).) The basic idea of the body positivity movement („all bodies are good bodies“ (Griffin, Meridith/Bailey, K. Alysse/Lopez, Kimberly J. (2022): #BodyPositive? A critical exploration of the body positive movement within physical cultures taking an intersectionality approach. In: Frontiers in Sport and Active Living, 4. Available online at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589104/ (accessed on 8 September 2024).) is „that every body is good and that there is a difference between a person’s physical appearance and their self-worth […] that physical blemishes or deviations from the respective culturally determined norm, such as cellulite, scars, wrinkles, warts or freckles, should not be despised but should fundamentally be given a positive connotation. This applies both to the self-perception of the person concerned and to the way their environment treats them. The focus here is on accepting and appreciating differences, and it thus represents a counter-movement to the ideals of beauty and health dictated by the worlds of fashion and work, advertising, film, the fitness industry and social media, so that people with deviations can also build self-confidence and accept their physicality as it is“ (Birk, Frank Francesco/Mirbek, Sandra (2021): Bodyshaming, Bodypositivity, Bodyneutrality und Bodydiversity: Körperlichkeit als zentrale (Anti-)Diskriminierungsthematik. In: körper – tanz – bewegung. Zeitschrift für Körperpsychotherapie und Kreativtherapie, 9(3), p. 142–150. Available online at: https://www.reinhardt-journals.de/index.php/ktb/article/view/153575/5835 (accessed on 8 September 2024). However, the body positivity movement is not viewed entirely positively; its (still) lacking intersectionality is often criticised (cf. Griffin, Meridith/Bailey, K. Alysse/Lopez, Kimberly J. (2022): #BodyPositive? A critical exploration of the body positive movement within physical cultures taking an intersectionality approach. In: Frontiers in Sport and Active Living, 4. Available online at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589104/ (accessed on 8 September 2024).). The concepts of body neutrality and body diversity have developed as a contrast to the body positivity movement (cf. Poitzmann, Nikola (2023): Wer bestimmt, was schön ist?! Schönheitsideale, Body Shaming und Lookismus im pädagogischen Kontext. In: Goethe-Institut, lecture of 23 February. Available online at: https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf299/nikola-poitzmann-bodyismus.pdf (accessed on 8 September 2024).). affect and body studies, pop culture and feminist media studies.2n.a. (n.d.): Dr. Elisabeth Lechner. In: Personenregister (directory of persons), website of the Universität Wien. Available online at: https://ufind.univie.ac.at/de/person.html?id=49234 (accessed on 8 September 2024). 3n.a. (n.d.): Elisabeth Lechner. In: Website of the publisher Kremayr & Scheriau. Available online at: https://www.kremayr-scheriau.at/autoren/elisabeth-lechner/ (accessed on 8 September 2024). 4n.a. (2024): Dr.in Elisabeth Lechner. In: Philosophicum. Available online at: https://www.philosophicum.com/symposium-2024/vortragende/dr-elisabeth-lechner (accessed on 8 September 2024).

Career

At the Universität Wien (University of Vienna), Elisabeth Lechner studied Slavonic Studies (Russian) and English and American Studies at bachelor’s level, as well as Russian and Anglophone Literatures and Cultures at master’s level.5n.a. (n.d.): Elisabeth Lechner. In: Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, website of the https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/persons/elisabeth-lechner(5def1af0-f255-4fad-ba4f-e79f888c7d22)/cv.html?id=176476448 (accessed on 8 September 2024). She wrote two master’s theses, on the topics The Plays of Tanika Gupta – Introducing a Contemporary British Playwright and Pop, Porno und Postfeminismus – Femininität und Maskulinität in den Musikvideos russischsprachiger Girlbands des 21. Jahrhunderts (Pop, porn and postfeminism – femininity and masculinity in the music videos of 21st-century Russian-language girl bands).6n.a. (n.d.): The plays of Tanika Gupta – introducing a contemporary British playwright. In: u:search, website of the Universität Wien, data record. Available online at: https://ubdata.univie.ac.at/AC11726400 (accessed on 8 September 2024). 7n.a. (n.d.): Pop, Porno und Postfeminismus – Feminität und Maskulinität in den Musikvideos russischsprachiger Girlbands des 21. Jahrhunderts. In: u:search, website of the Universität Wien, data record. Available online at: https://ubdata.univie.ac.at/AC12185513 (accessed on 8 September 2024). From 2015 to 2020 she completed her doctorate at the Universität Wien on the topic „Beyond Disgust: The Popfeminist Politics of Body Positivity“8n.a. (n.d.): Dr. Elisabeth Lechner. In: Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, website of the https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/persons/elisabeth-lechner(5def1af0-f255-4fad-ba4f-e79f888c7d22)/cv.html?id=176476448 (accessed on 8 September 2024). and taught courses there in the field of Critical Media Analysis.9n.a. (n.d.): Dr. Elisabeth Lechner, Lehre (teaching). In: Personenregister (directory of persons), website of the Universität Wien. Available online at: https://ufind.univie.ac.at/de/person.html?id=49234&teaching=true (accessed on 8 September 2024). In 2020 her dissertation was awarded the GAIN – Gender & Agency Preis10n.a. (2020): Preisträger:innen 2020. In: Website of the Universität Wien. Available online at https://gain.univie.ac.at/forschungspreis/preistraegerinnen-2020/ (accessed on 8 September 2024). and was published in German by Kremayr & Scheriau under the title Riot, don’t diet – Aufstand der widerspenstigen Körper (Riot, don’t diet – uprising of the unruly bodies).11n.a. (n.d.): Riot, don’t diet. In: Website of the publisher Kremayr & Scheriau. Available online at: https://www.kremayr-scheriau.at/bucher-e-books/titel/riot-dont-diet-2/ (accessed on 8 September 2024). Lechner currently works at the Department of English Studies (Institut für Anglistik) of the Universität Graz12n.a. (n.d.): Elisabeth Lechner. In: Forschungsportal der Universität Graz. Available online at: https://online.uni-graz.at/kfu_online/wbForschungsportal.cbShowPortal?pPersonNr=136933 (accessed on 8 September 2024). and is researching her habilitation project on food, power and women’s autobiographical writing in English literature.13n.a. (2024): Dr. in Elisabeth Lechner. In: Philosophicum. Available online at: https://www.philosophicum.com/symposium-2024/vortragende/dr-elisabeth-lechner (accessed on 8 September 2024). She is also frequently invited as an expert and speaker in various media formats, where she raises awareness of topics such as feminism, body shaming, body positivity and lookism,14Lookism describes discrimination against people on the basis of their outward appearance (looks, body, clothing, etc.) and evaluates people positively or negatively on the basis of physical characteristics (cf. Poitzmann, Nikola (2023): Wer bestimmt, was schön ist?! Schönheitsideale, Body Shaming und Lookismus im pädagogischen Kontext. In: Goethe-Institut, lecture of 23 February. Available online at: https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf299/nikola-poitzmann-bodyismus.pdf (accessed on 8 September 2024).). for example on Sternstunde Philosophie on SRF15n.a. (2023): Sternstunde Philosophie. Woher komm der Hass gegen die Hässlichkeit? In: SRF, broadcast of 5 November. Available online at: https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/sternstunde-philosophie/video/woher-kommt-der-hass-gegen-die-haesslichkeit?urn=urn:srf:video:d7f66e49-7b0c-4e02-9ee6-0c8f5cc6007f (accessed on 8 September 2024). or in podcast formats such as Kontext on SRF16Brierley, Katharina (2023): Kontext: Das ewige Ungenügend – wie Frauen auf ihren Körper blicken. In: SRF, podcast episode of 8 December. Available online at: https://www.srf.ch/audio/kontext/das-ewige-ungenuegend-wie-frauen-auf-ihren-koerper-blicken?id=12495846 (accessed on 8 September 2024). or Echtzeit on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.17Lechner, Elisabeth (2024): Echtzeit: Body Positivity. Wie Machtstrukturen Schönheitsideale bestimmen. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur, podcast episode of 3 February. Available online at: https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/schoene-koerper-die-hochphase-der-bodypositivity-ist-vorbei-dlf-kultur-617e8e52-100.html (accessed on 8 September 2024). Lechner is vegan and is active in the field of feminist agroecology.18Lechner, Elisabeth (2023): Feminist Food Politics. Zwischen Konsumverzicht und globaler Ernährungsrevolution. In: Frauen*Solidarität, November. Available online at: https://www.zeitschrift.frauensolidaritaet.org/artikel/feminist-food-politics/ (accessed on 8 September 2024).

Riot, don’t diet

In April 2021 Elisabeth Lechner’s first book, Riot, don’t diet – Aufstand der widerspenstigen Körper, was published, in which the author writes about fat, hairy, queer and ageing bodies, people of colour and people with disabilities. She shows that people who do not conform to the social norm are marginalised, attacked and excluded, and in the individual chapters she lets activists and experts have their say. Beauty, according to Lechner, is always political. The cultural studies scholar therefore explores the questions of who actually defines beauty and who profits from the strict beauty ideals that prevail in our society.19n.a. (n.d.): Riot, don’t diet. In: Website of the publisher Kremayr & Scheriau. Available online at: https://www.kremayr-scheriau.at/bucher-e-books/titel/riot-dont-diet-2/ (accessed on 8 September 2024).

Voluntary work

Since 2018 Elisabeth Lechner has been involved in the Frauen*volksbegehren (Women’s Referendum), a cross-party popular initiative which called for equality for women in Austria and saw itself in the tradition of the first Frauenvolksbegehren (women’s referendum) in Austria in 1997.20Lechner, Elisabeth (2020): #EinesFürAlle – Intersektionalität im Frauen*Volksbegehren 2.0. In: Baran-Szołtys, Magdalena/Berger, Christian (ed.): ÜBERFORDERUNGEN. Wie feministischer Aktivismus gelingt. Wien: Kremayr & Scheriau, ISBN 978-3-218-01236-2, p. 70–75. 21Berger, Christian/Baran-Szoltys, Magdalena (2024): Feministische Interventionen: Frauen*Volksbegehren 2.0. In: Mertlitsch, Kirstin/Hipfl, Brigitte/Kumpusch, Verena/Roeseling, Pauline (ed.): Intersektionale Solidaritäten. Beiträge zur gesellschaftskritischen Geschlechterforschung. Opladen/Berlin/Toronto: Verlag Barbara Budrich, ISBN 978-3-8474-2667-7, p. 125–129. Available online at: https://shop.budrich.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/9783847418306.pdf (accessed on 8 September 2024). In the association year 2019/2020 she was president of the Initiativgruppe Alpbach Wien, which awards scholarships for the Europäisches Forum Alpbach (European Forum Alpbach), an interdisciplinary platform founded in 1945 at whose events experts from academia, politics, business and culture discuss relevant socio-political questions with young people.22IG Wien (n.d.): Community. In: Website of IG Wien. Available online at: https://ig-wien.at/community (accessed on 8 September 2024). 23Club Alpbach Germany (n.d.): Das Stipendienprogramm. In: Website of Club Alpbach Germany. Available online at: https://clubalpbach.de/ (accessed on 8 September 2024).

Awards

Publications (selection)

Own publications and edited volumes

  • Lechner, Elisabeth (2021): Riot Don’t Diet. Wien: Kremayr & Scheriau, ISBN 978-3-218-01254-6.
  • Ganser, Alexandra/Lechner, Elisabeth/Maly-Bowie, Barbara/Schörgenhuber, Eva (2022): Caring for Cultural Studies. Göttingen: V&R unipress, ISBN 978-3-8471-1494-9.
  • Royle, Holly/Lechner, Elisabeth (forthcoming): Talking Bodies Volume IV.

Essays and contributions

  • Lechner, Elisabeth (2015): Konzeptionen von Femininität und Maskulinität im russischsprachigen Girl-Pop. In: Simonek, Stefan/Doschek, Jolanta: Slawische Popkultur. Series: Symposien und Seminare, vol. 12, Wien: PAN, p. 131–151.
  • Lechner, Elisabeth/Simonek, Stefan/Tomala, Marlena (2017): Wasserfrauen auf Abwegen: Die Transformation des Rusalka-Motivs in der polnischen und russischen Popkultur. In: Studia Slavica, 62(1), p. 197–223.
  • Lechner, Elisabeth (2019): The Popfeminist Politics of Body Positivity – Creating Spaces for ‘Disgusting’ Female Bodies in US Popular Culture. In: The French Review of American Studies, 158(1), p. 71–94.
  • Lechner, Elisabeth (2020): #EinesFürAlle – Intersektionalität im Frauen*Volksbegehren 2.0. In: Baran–Szołtys, Magdalena/Berger, Christian (ed.): ÜBERFORDERUNGEN. Wie feministischer Aktivismus gelingt. Wien: Kremayr & Scheriau, ISBN 978-3-218-01236-2, p. 70–75.
  • Lechner, Elisabeth (2020): Looks Matter. Von Schönheitsarbeit, Body Shaming und der lookistischen Diskriminierung von dicken Frauen. In: Moritz, Ingrid/Sauer, Birgit/Sel, Asiye (ed.): Körperbilder, Körpersymbole und Bekleidungsvorschriften. Zur Legitimierung von Ausschluss und den Wechselwirkungen von Recht, Politik und Arbeitsmarkt. Wien: ÖGB-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-99046-380-2, p. 20–42.
  • Olsen, Greta/Lechner, Elisabeth (2022): #Feminist – Naming Controversies and Celebrating Points of Connection and Joy in Current Feminisms. In: European Journal of English Studies, 26(2), p. 292–321.
  • Lechner, Elisabeth/Maly-Bowie, Barbara/Schörgenhuber, Eva (2022): Introduction. In: Ganser, Alexandra/Lechner, Elisabeth/Maly-Bowie, Barbara/Schörgenhuber, Eva (2022): Caring for Cultural Studies. Göttingen: V&R unipress, ISBN 978-3-8471-1494-9, p. 13-28.
  • Lechner, Elisabeth/Kohlenberger, Judith (2022): Doing Cultural Studies: A Conversation. In: Ganser, Alexandra/Lechner, Elisabeth/Maly-Bowie, Barbara/Schörgenhuber, Eva (2022): Caring for Cultural Studies. Göttingen: V&R unipress, ISBN 978-3-8471-1494-9, p. 115–129.

External links

Machine translation: This article was translated automatically from the German original.

Elisabeth Lechner Foto: Elisabeth Lechner
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