Essays, articles, presentations, and papers published as Alex Henderson.
Academic publications
2024
Non-Binary Narration: The Potential of Point of View in Young Adult Novels with Genderqueer Characters (Papers: Explorations Into Children’s Literature)
Ace YA 2019 - 2024: The Asexual Coming-of-Age Story Revisited (Young Adult Studies Association biannual conference)
2023
Gender Mischief: Trickster Characters and Non-binary Identity in Young Adult Fiction (doctoral thesis)
Genre-savvy Protagonists in Queer YA Rom-Coms (Journal of Popular Romance Studies)
2022
From Painters to Pirates: A Study of Non-binary Protagonists in Young Adult Fiction (The International Journal of Young Adult Literature)
Nonbinary Narration: The Potential of POV in YA Novels with Genderqueer Characters (Australasian Children’s Literature Association for Research biannual conference)
Otherworldly Bodies: Non-human Non-binary Characters in YA (Young Adult Studies Association biannual conference)
2021
Playing with Genre and Queer Narrative in the Novels of Malinda Lo (The International Journal of Young Adult Literature)
Be Gay, Do Crime: The Revolutionary History of Queer YA Fiction [With Chloe Cannell] (The Great Writing Conference)
“Socio-political Ragnarök”: The Resonance of the Trickster figure in Queer YA Fiction (Fresh From the Fight: Heroes, Villains and Tricksters in Children’s and Young Adult’s Literature and Culture)
Genre-Savvy Protagonists in Queer YA Rom-coms (Concepts in Popular Genres Symposium)
2020
Queer Allegory and Queer Actuality in Every Heart a Doorway (Writing From Below)
2019
Let’s Talk About Love, Tash Hearts Tolstoy, and the Asexual Coming-of-Age Story (RoundTable)
The Butterfly Effect: Player Agency and Trope Subversion in Life is Strange and Until Dawn (c i n d e r)
Queer Allegory and Queer Actuality in Every Heart a Doorway (South Australian Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Conference)
The Trickster in Pop Culture (Australasian Association of Writing Programs annual conference)
2017
Beast: A Hero Tale – Challenging the Gendered Nature of The Hero’s Journey Through Reimagining the Myths of Cuchullain (Honours thesis)
Essays on pop culture
2025
The Business and Politics of Magic in Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. (Anime Feminist)
2024
#IntlYALitMonth Review: Do You Dream of Terra-Two? (Global Literature in Libraries Initiative)
Autonomy, Aliens, and a Study in Female Character Agency with 16bit Sensation (Anime Feminist)
Comedy, Catharsis, and Cooking the Canon in Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family (Anime Herald)
2023
Working Out the Kinks: Deconstructing Gendered Expectations of Sex in Ladies On Top (Anime Feminist)
Queer Time and the Quarter-life Crisis in Contemporary Yuri (Anime Feminist)
Genre Conventions and a Gentle Story of Recovery in My New Boss is Goofy (Anime Feminist)
2022
The Orbital Children‘s Rejection of Ecofascist Ideas (Anime Feminist)
The Unwavering Optimism of The Aquatope on White Sand (Anime Herald)
Queer Resonance and Critiquing Heteronormativity in Spy x Family (Anime Feminist)
Girls Doing Stuff: Agency and Motivation in Girls’ Hobby Shows (Anime Feminist)
2021
Together, Alone: How Laid-Back Camp Shows Companionship Through Technology (Anime Herald)
Genderless Gemstones: The Pros and Cons of Land of the Lustrous as Non-binary Representation (Anime Feminist)
Heaven’s Design Team: A Celestial Celebration of the Creative Process (Anime Herald)
Convenient Monsters: The Problem with Frill and Wonder Egg Priority‘s Take on Trauma (Anime Feminist)
Genre and Gender in Wonder Egg Priority (Otaku Tribune)
2020
The Gloriously Goofy, Geeky Girls of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (Anime Feminist)
Queer young adult fiction isn’t all gloomy realism. Here are 5 uplifting books to get you started (The Conversation)
Worldbuilding a Queer Paradise in My Next Life as a Villainess (Anime Feminist)
Night in the Woods: the video game that captures bittersweet millennial life under COVID-19 (The Conversation)
Alice Oseman and the Revolutionary Power of the Platonic Love Story (AZE Journal)
2019
Rewriting the Script: Revue Starlight‘s Rejection of Tragic Queer Tropes (Anime Feminist)
Not “Just a Phase”: How Bloom Into You Challenges Common Yuri Tropes (Anime Feminist)
2018
Pop Team Epic and the Value of Letting Girls Be Absurd (Anime Feminist)
Tash Hearts Tolstoy is the Ace Coming-of-Age Story We Need and Deserve (AZE Journal)
Cozy Campfires, Bitter Broth: Female Relationships in Laid-Back Camp vs Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles (Anime Feminist)
Going Beyond Severance: Metaphorical and Literal Queerness in Yurikuma Arashi (Anime Feminist)