Kate McNicholas Smith

Kate has a background in sociology, media and cultural studies and gender and sexuality studies. Her research is concerned with queer, feminist engagements with screen cultures, with particular focuses on LGBTQ+ visibility; television; fandom; social media; and youth media. Her 2020 monograph, Lesbians on Television: New Queer Visibility and the Lesbian Normal, examines screen representations of lesbian and queer women in the 2010s and the mediation of the same-sex marriage era. She is currently writing a book on teen TV series Skins - spanning youth programming, LGBTQ+ representation, 'sad femininity', nostalgia and contemporary returns to the series on streaming services and social media.

Kate teaches in screen at the University of Westminster, specialising in media and representation; EDI in screen, contemporary television cultures; and fandom/audiences.