ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

 Winnie M  Li

Winnie M Li

PhD Alumni

Department of Media and Communications

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Languages
English
Key Expertise
social media and activism; film and literary studies

About me

Research Topic

The Emotional Labor of Sexual Violence Survivors in Mainstream Media: A Study via Auto-Ethnography and Interviews

My thesis explores the emotional labor of sexual violence survivors who collaborate repeatedly with mainstream media platforms to publicly share their experiences of trauma and their identities. While the #MeToo movement has yielded a proliferation of media discourse around rape survivors and scholarly analysis of those texts, the labor and media practices producing that discourse – and the emotional experiences of the mediated survivors – remain largely invisible.  

I combine two methods of data collection in my research: semi-structured interviews with survivors who have maintained visibility in newspapers, television, or radio over the course of years; and an auto-ethnography of my own media experiences as a rape survivor, writer, and activist, from 2008 until 2022.  Focusing on the temporality of an individual’s ‘journey’ from private victim to public survivor and inadvertent media worker, I explore how and why survivors choose to ‘go public’ in the first place, what are the emotional costs of maintaining that visibility, how those costs are justified or compensated, and finally, how intersectional differences impact individual experiences and outcomes.

My research situates individual survivors as agentic in their decisions, who are highly aware of stereotypical representations of rape, and learn to actively negotiate with media platforms about their visibility. Central to my analysis is Hochschild’s theory of emotional labor: Not only must survivors regulate their emotions to communicate effectively about their trauma, but media visibility is produced through their own, often unpaid labor, performed within the workplace of the creative industries. My findings indicate that their emotional labor is intense and multi-layered, a convergence of existing forms of emotional labor embedded in the multiple subjectivities that a public survivor inhabits: as a survivor of trauma, a visibilized female subject, and a media worker. Within the creative industries, where financial compensation and practices of care for workers are often poor, individuals can feel constrained from asking for pay, by an ‘economy of believability’ which is quick to judge public rape victims as ‘gold-diggers.’

In lieu of pay, compensation is sought in emotional rewards and a strategic use of media visibility as publicity for one’s self-brand. Ultimately, individuals with cultural capital are privileged in shaping a sustainable, increasingly neoliberal career as a public survivor, while other voices become excluded.

Supervisor: 

Biography

 is an author, activist, and researcher best known for her work on survivor-centered cultural narratives around sexual violence.  A Harvard graduate, Winnie worked as a film producer in London before her life was disrupted by a violent stranger rape in Belfast in 2008. Her debut novel, , is a fictional retelling of that event from victim and perpetrator perspectives. Translated into ten languages, it won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize and was nominated for an Edgar Award.  She is currently adapting it for the screen, funded by Northern Ireland Screen and the British Film Institute.  was published in Summer 2022 and  for their monthly book club. In addition to her PhD research at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ on the emotional labour of rape survivors in mainstream media, Winnie also co-founded the Clear Lines Festival, the UK’s first-ever festival addressing sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion. Winnie has given over 200 public talks and appeared on the BBC, Sky News, Channel 4, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, The Times, The Irish Times, and . She holds an honorary doctorate of law from the National University of Ireland in recognition of her writing and activism, and is also an Associate Lecturer in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. 

Expertise Details

social media and activism; film and literary studies; representations of gender; class; and race; representations of rape; the creative industries

Publications

Book Chapter

Li, W. (2017) ‘Art, Activism, and Addressing Sexual Assault in the UK: A Case Study,’ in A. Cossu, J. Holtaway, and P. Serafini (eds.), artWORK: Art, Labour, and Activism. London: Rowman and Littlefield International.

Non-Academic Publications

Creative Writing

Second literary novel, Complicit. Published 2022. Orion (UK/Commonwealth), Simon & Schuster (US), Suhrkamp Verlag (Germany).  

  • New York Times Editors' Choice
  • Royal Society of Literature Encore Award 2023 for outstanding second novel - shortlisted. 
  • ‘Like the best filmmakers, Li draws you to the edge of your seat and keeps you there... Harrowing, timely, and thoroughly book club worthy.’ – The New York Times 
  • ‘An unflinching and addictive depiction of the film industry’ – Publishers Weekly - Author profile:
  • ‘Visceral and timely… Li’s novel is a way of acknowledging the women whose stories have been heard, and those who haven’t.’ – The Observer

Debut literary novel, Dark Chapter Published June 2017:  Legend Press (UK/Commonwealth). Sept 2017: Polis Books (US/Canada), Harper Collins Holland (Dutch). Further publications in 2018 and onwards: Norstedts (Swedish), Arche Literatur Verlag (German), XYZ-Albatros (Czech), Newton Compton (Italian), Hangilsa Publishing (Korean), Bokafelagid (Icelandic), Delight Press (Complex Chinese).  Represented by The Pontas Agency. 

  • Winner of 
  • Included among ‘Top 10 Debut Novels to Look Out For in 2017’ by Stylist Magazine (UK)
  • 2nd Place SI Leeds Literary Prize 2016
  • Highly Commended for the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award 2015
  • (The Guardian
  • (The Daily Mail)
  • (Kirkus Reviews)
  • (Publishers Weekly)
  • ‘An important and moving book about rape and the long process of recovery’ (Cathy Rentzenbrink)
  • ‘Takes an unflinching look at the reality of sexual violence… brilliant and complex’ (Kate Rhodes)
  • ‘A powerful story, compassionately told’ (Ros Barber)
  • ‘Essential in helping to break down the silence that surrounds rape in our society’ (Madeleine Black)  

Journalism and Essays 

Selected links:  

  • (Publishers Weekly; 7 July 2017)
  • (Literary Hub; 18 Sept 2017)
  • (The Times; 29 June 2017)
  • (The Pool; 31 May 2017)
  • (The Daily Mail; 14 May 2017)
  • (Media Diversified; 25 Feb 2017)
  • (The Conversation; 9 June 2016)
  • (The Huffington Post; 14 April 2014)

 

Impact

Projects 

Co-Founder, , London, 2015 - present

The 2nd edition of the festival will take place in London, 1-3 Dec 2017

  • Launched the UK’s first-ever festival dedicated to addressing sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion. Over 500 participants, including 60+ speakers, artists, writers, activists, therapists.  
  • Media coverage includes: Channel 4 News, BBC Radio, Time Out, The Telegraph, London Live 
  • Conceived and delivered the event within 15 weeks, including a crowdfunding campaign raising £7k
  • Curated the arts programme, oversaw volunteers on event operations, publicity, social media

Consultant and Activist, , London, 2017 onwards

  • Managed by the charity On Road Media, Angles aims to improve media coverage of sexual violence and domestic abuse
  • Consult on media training for abuse survivors
  • Chair regular interactions between media influencers, survivors and sector-professionals

Public Speaking 

Winnie frequently speaks in public and for private groups, around the issue of sexual assault and more broadly around gender equality, and literature, media and the arts.  She also chairs panel discussions on these issues, in addition to appearing as a solo speaker. Examples of her work include:

  • Over 30 events surrounding the UK launch of her novel Dark Chapter, from April-Nov 2017 
  • Chairing discussion groups around sexual assault and abuse, Women of the World Festival (South Bank Centre, London, March 2016 and March 2017)
  • Chairing or speaking on panels around gender equality for WoW Exeter (Oct 2017), the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳'s EDI Unit (Oct 2017), The Malala Fund (March 2017), and other groups
  • Literary festivals such as the Articulate Africa Book Fair in Durban (Sept 2017), Belfast Book Festival (June 2017), Writers of the World Festival (April 2017).
  • Activist events such as Reclaim the Night, University of East Anglia (Norwich, Feb 2016), the One Billion Rising Festival (Bread and Roses Theatre, London, Feb 2016), Clear Lines Festival (London, July 2015).
  • Tedx London talk: Reframing the way we think about sexual violence - 

Media Appearances

Selected interviews include:

Video and Television 

  • Unbreakable: True Lives, TV3 Ireland () -- on TV3 player (Ireland only)
  • Channel 5 News ()

  • BBC World News ()
  • 1000 Londoners video () 

Print and Online 

  • The Guardian ()
  • The Irish Times ()

Radio and Podcast

  • Report It. Stop It: how can reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence change the culture, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ ()

  • The Nolan Show, BBC Radio Ulster ()
  • Today with Sean O'Rourke, RTE Radio One ()

  • English PEN podcast ()

  • The Sunday News, BBC Radio Ulster ()