Research Lexicon

A Brief Summary of Terms Used in this Research Blog

Alternative/Non-standard/Non-binary body Any corporeality which exists outside the hegemonic norm, including the ‘obscene’, Bakhtinian ‘grotesques’, differently-gendered and such (as exemplified by the photographic works of Joel-Peter Witkin).

FtM, F2M/MtF, M2F Once relatively obscure designations for ‘male to female’ and ‘female to male’ transgender reassignments, recent research shows that these labels have now entered the search categories of mainstream porn sites, among other locations. Also written ‘M2F’ and ‘F2M’. 

Futanari a term derived from the historical Japanese conception of any body which defies clear gender classification; when used in the West in drawn and animated media, it refers to a form of 'shemale' pornography for heterosexual male audiences.

Phiz/Phys My own coinage which is defined as the incongruity that is perceived by many when certain (usually arbitrary) features - facial, bodily, and by extension - hair, and clothing, styles - are juxtaposed in uncommon ways within the same figure. This has been a basic element of my own comic book art and characterization for some time, but is also reflected in the works of others - some of whom pre-date me by decades, though without the critical theory.

Phiz (physiognomy) The human face and its features as viewed (and judged) aesthetically, whether  in representation or reality.

Physicality Any aesthetic representation or form of the human body, whether in its totality of form, or specific anatomical details, as distinct from the physiognomy (which may or may not “match”).

Post-porn Defined by Tim Gregory and Astrid Lorange, University of New South Wales, as "characterised by three aspects—the denaturalising of sex, the de-centring of the spectator and the recognition of media and technology as inseparable from sex". (Ref: Cultural Studies Review, Vol 24 No 1 (2018): Meaghan; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/csr.v24i1.5303 )

Shemale A specific form of non-binary body distinguished by the presence of both female breasts and male genitalia, almost always applied in a pornographic, transphobic or degrading context.

Trans* Shorthand catch-all term (with the * as a ‘wild card’) for any descriptive word beginning with ‘trans-’, denoting inclusivity across the ‘trans’ spectrum, from cross-dressing to legal transitioning to a gender other than that defined at birth.