Meet the Team
Daisy McManaman, Co Editor-in-Chief
Daisy McManaman (she/her), is a 3rd year PhD student at the Centre for Women’s Studies. Her PhD research re-analyses representations of women in Playboy, seeking to shift the lens from Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy and until now the main focus of the majority of texts on Playboy), and onto the women who consumed, produced and featured in Playboy content. Daisy comes from an art based background and holds an MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA (hons) in Fine Art Photography from the Glasgow School of Art. Within her research Daisy utilises creative methods, with a particular focus on self-portraiture, as an act of reclaiming the imagery found in Playboy, as well as a tool to explore first hand how it feels to produce and pose in nude photographs. Daisy is also the co-founder of the Re-making Research Network.
Lizzie Merrill, Co Editor-in-Chief
Lizzie Merrill is a PhD student in the Centre for Women’s Studies, supported by WRoCAH/AHRC. With a background in practice-based fine art, Lizzie’s project explores how creative methods can express our embodied experiences of illness. Lizzie currently holds a BA in Fine Art from Central St Martins and an MSt in Women’s Studies from Oxford University. Her work has recently been published in the Polyphony as well as Aspectus (Journal of Visual Culture). Outside of all things academic, Lizzie loves to make, paint, build, sew and walk three unruly dogs. Lizzie is incredibly excited about this special creative issue of cultivate and can’t wait to engage with and illuminate Cultivate’s brilliant creative submissions.
Madelaine French, Co Editor-in-Chief
Madelaine French is a PhD researcher in the Department of Sociology at York. Prior to joining York, she completed her MRes in Sociology at Portsmouth University where she explored the transitional identities of female bikini bodybuilders. Her research interests include embodiment, gender identity, chronic illness, healthism, and reproductive healthcare. Her PhD explores the intersecting embodied experiences of involuntarily childless women with Endometriosis as socially constructed expectations of womanhood are negotiated and(re)imagined. Before completing her MRes she gained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Fashion Photography from The London College of Fashion, which lead to a rewarding career as a womenswear buyer. Clothing design, printmaking and photography still play a huge role in her life. She is passionate about combining the creative and academic and looks forward to working with Cultivate to spotlight feminist voices.
Xiaoyu Zhang, Social Media and Design Team Lead/Creative Associate Editor
Xiaoyu Zhang is a woman and gender researcher at the University of York. She also holds an MA degree in Creative Media from the City University of Hong Kong as well as an MA degree in Arts and a BA degree in Product Design from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. She is interested in the cross-discipline of sociology, gender studies, and media studies with a special focus on women, social media, and consumerism. Her interest was sparked by her experience working for NetEase, Inc. (NYSE: NTES, HKEX: 9999) and the All-China Women’s Federation, the largest women’s organization in China and the world’s only women’s organization still in existence that appeared before the 1980s. In the project, she assisted both organizations in the creation and social media publication of illustrations that advocated for women’s economic independence. Promoting gender equality and speaking for those in need are her dual objectives.
Madalyn J. Mann, Social Media Assistant/Associate Editor
Madalyn Mann is a 3rd year PhD researcher in the Department of English at the University of York. Prior to joining York she studied her undergraduate degree at Illinois State University in the United States. After graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in English and History, Madalyn studied her Master of Arts in English and American Literature at the University of Kent. Her research at the University of Kent explored queer theory through the letters of English gardener and writer, Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf. Her PhD explores how the weaponization of educational is foundational in American education through an analysis of Native American children’s education and African Americans education from 1860-1910.
Charlotte Anne Oakes, Administrative Coordinator/Associate Editor
Charlotte Oakes is a PhD student at the Centre for Women’s Studies, supported by WRoCAH/AHRC. She completed her BA in German and History at the University of Warwick in 2022 and graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2023 with an MA in Modern History. Charlotte has now begun her PhD which focuses on applying a transnational lens to the history of second-wave West German feminism. Outside of her research, she is a keen half-marathoner runner and has dreams of one day completing an Ironman triathlon (or atleast a half!). Charlotte is looking forward to joining the strong, creative, intellectual feminist network behind Cultivate!
Rhuan Barcellos, Creative Associate Editor
Rhuan Barcellos is a MA student at the Centre for Women’s Studies and Utrecht University. He is doing the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies. Rhuan joined the centre after completing a BA in International Relations from the Fluminense Federal University and a period of academic mobility at the University of Porto. Queer studies and creative research methods are his main interests. As a voracious reader and writer, Rhuan looks forward to appreciating the exciting feminist and queer contributions submitted to Cultivate.
Esther Baker, Creative Associate Editor
I’m Esther Baker, a first year GEMMA student. I have just completed an undergraduate degree in Social and Political Sciences with Philosophy where I just completed a dissertation on the topic of reproductive autonomy and gender inequality within sexual healthcare in the UK. In my spare time I read, paint and spend time with my friends. I am excited to use the knowledge I have acquired by my own research and experience alongside topics I’m currently studying to help me be actively involved in the production and creation of Cultivate.
Minal Sukumar, Creative Associate Editor
Minal Sukumar is a PhD researcher at the Centre for Women’s Studies, University of York. She holds an MA in English from St Joseph’s University in India and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Galway, Ireland. Minal worked as a teacher and content creator before being awarded a Wolfson Foundation scholarship for her creative-critical research, which focuses on the interplay between space, movement and resistance in the lives of Indian women within urban settings. Minal is a fervent advocate for the transformative power of the creative arts, a principle that forms a significant part of her current research project. Her short fiction and poetry have found a home in esteemed literary publications such as The Bombay Review and Gulmohur Quarterly. She also dabbles in spoken word poetry and has performed in India, Ireland and the UK. Minal is thrilled to be a part of the editorial team of Cultivate and engage with other creative feminist voices.
Irene Palencia Mora, Associate Editor/Creative Associate Editor
Irene Palencia Mora is a MA student in Gender Studies following the Erasmus Mundus GEMMA program in University of York. She has a wide artistic background: she has a Bachelor in Classical Performing (Piano) at Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, followed by a Master in Piano with the Highest Honors in Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest). She also graduated from Bachelor in Hispanic Philology in Universidad Complutense de Madrid, specializing in Spanish Literature. She is interested in the relationships between different arts: music, poetry and painting have occupied her major research works. She participates in different activities and concerts where she can explore art and feminine voices as a performer and researcher.
Jinni Ren, Associate Editor
Jinni Ren is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Women’s Studies. Her research project is exploring the contemporary Chinese audiences’ responses to the representation of sex work in two Chinese films. She completed her BA in Chinese Language and Literature from Shandong University, China, and MA in Media and Advertising from University of Leicester. She has interdisciplinary research experience and ability. Out of research, she previously worked as an executive assistant to the Chairman of a 4A advertising agency. Additionally, she has one year worked experience as a journalist at Shandong Radio and Television Station in China. Jinni is looking forward to learn the cutting-edge concepts in the field of gender, culture and media studies while working with Cultivate.
Faith Arneaud, Associate Editor
Faith Arneaud is a student with the Centre for Women’s Studies, where she is undertaking an MA in Women, Violence and Conflict. She previously completed an undergraduate degree in Politics with International Relations at the University of York , where she focused her studies on the intersections of gender, sexuality and post-colonialism in relation to a wide range of political issues. Faith is particularly interested in researching how structural and medical violence, along with the discourses that perpetuate these issues, impact women and queer people. Outside of academia and writing, she enjoys painting, reading feminist literature and wandering around quaint places.
Alankrita Anand, Associate Editor
Alankrita is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology, moving between medical sociology, development studies, social anthropology and more, but with a keen interest in feminist engagement with health, body, and care. She holds an MA in Women’s Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai and a BA in Journalism from the University of Delhi. Previously, she has worked in the development sector and at a gender and sexuality studies centre in India. Alankrita found her grounding in women’s studies nearly ten years ago and is inspired by feminist research and activism everyday. Being a part of Cultivate, to her, is no less than the cherry on top!
Alice Myers, Associate Editor
I’m a first year PhD researcher in the Centre for Women’s Studies. My background is rooted in studying American Literature and Culture having completed my BA in English Literature & American Studies and my MA in Modern Literature. My research interests are, however, interdisciplinary spanning women’s (self-)representation and life narratives, digital media, popular and visual cultures. My current research focuses on women’s use confessional aesthetics on social media and how this contributes to (and challenges) a broader tradition of confessional self-expression. Outside of research, I *obviously* like to read, I am always planning a trip and my (un)guiltiest pleasure is chronically listening to Taylor Swift.
Anxos Pérez, Associate Editor
Born and raised in Galiza, Anxos studied Asian and African Studies with a minor in Japanese at the Autonomous University of Madrid. In 2023 she moved to York 2023 and started an Erasmus Mundus MA in Women’s and Gender Studies (GEMMA) at the University of York. Her main area of interest includes the relationship between class and gender, queer identities in East Asia and searching for non-western centred narratives, and researching gender non-conforming identities in rural areas of her region.
Yang Wu, Associate Editor
Yang is a first year MA student in Erasmus Mundus GEMMA program. Before coming to York, she got a BA degree in Sociology at the University of Sydney, and worked as a web developer for two years. Her main fields of interest include: queer studies, histories and lived experiences of Chinese diaspora, feminist theories and feminist visual culture. In her free time, she loves wandering around in the city, or just sitting there, zoning out into her mind.