About me

Hi there!

My name is Lucia Bainotti and I work as an Assistant Professor in Digital and Visual Media Analysis at the department of Media Studies of the University of Amsterdam.

I completed my PhD in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research at the University of Turin and the University of Milan, Italy (NASP – Network for the Advancement of Social and Political Studies), with a dissertation on the construction of social status and distinction by Instagram micro-influencers. You can find a List of Contents and an extended abstract here.

My main research interests revolve around: (1) Visual Digital Methods and Visual Cultures, with a specific focus on TikTok; (2) Digital Consumer Culture and the increasing Platformization thereof; and (3) Status and Distinction in the Attention Economy, from an intersectional perspective.

Over the years, I’ve also been researching on different forms of image-based online abuse, such as the Non-Consensual Dissemination of Intimate Images (NCDII), mostly known as “Revenge Porn” and deepfake pornography. With my colleague Dr. Silvia Semenzin, I analysed how the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images spreads on Telegram chats and channels. The results of our research are available at this link. In 2021, we published a book dedicated to the NCII in the Italian context, titled "Donne tutte puttane. Revenge Porn e maschilità egemone", Durango Edizioni.

A full version of my Curriculum Vitae is available here.