Publications
My research involves, most generally, the relationship between social inequality and the body, especially as sexuality becomes a marker of difference and an arena of social control. Here I include some publications representative of the various strands of my research on U.S. discourse about female genital cutting, hook up culture, and the social significance of the body, as well as links to my series of teaching-related essays. Copies of all papers are available by request.
U.S. DISCOURSE ABOUT “FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION”
In one strand of research, I examine the way in which U.S. discourse about “female genital mutilation” in Africa reflects uniquely American assumptions, obsessions, and ideologies. For example, using the issue to shed light on “us” instead of “them,” I’ve looked at how a controversy around the practice reveals assumptions about what counts as social change (Social Problems), how discourse about the practices undermine American feminism in the media and academia (Gender & Society, Ethnicities), and how the subject enables reporters to engage in advocacy despite the imperative that they remain objective (Media, Culture & Society, Journalism).
- The Function of Balance in U.S. News Coverage of Uncontested Issues: The Case of Female Genital Cutting (Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, In Press)
- Learning from Female Genital Mutilation” Lessons from 30 Years of Academic Discourse (Ethnicities, 2012)
- The Politics of Acculturation: Female Genital Cutting and the Challenge of Building Multicultural Democracies (Social Problems, 2011)
- Journalism, Advocacy, and the Social Construction of Consensus (Media, Culture & Society, 2011)
- Defining Gendered Oppression in U.S. Newspapers: The Strategic Value of “Female Genital Mutilation” (Gender & Society, 2009)
- The Evolution of Feminist Thought About Female Genital Cutting (Network News: The Newsletter of Sociologists for Women in Society, 2009)
HOOK UP CULTURE
In another strand of research, I delve into sexual experiences of college students. In part, this project documents and challenges the notion of “hooking up” and asks how this shift in young peoples’ behavior (if it is one) illuminates our theory as to the relationship between sexuality and institutional, economic, and ideological change.
- Hooking Up and Opting Out: What Students Learn About Sex in their First Year of College, with Caroline Heldman (Sex for Life: From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout our Lives, edited by J. DeLamater & L. Carpenter, 2012; view the lecture)
- Hook-Up Culture: Setting a New Research Agenda, with Caroline Heldman (Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2010)
- The Incidental Orgasm: The Presence of Clitoral Knowledge and the Absence of Orgasm for Women, with Emily Kremer and Jessica Brown (Women & Health, 2005)
- Sex Education and Teenage Sexuality (Network News: The Newsletter of Sociologists for Women in Society, 2004)
THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BODY
I’ve more directly engaged with the body in theoretical pieces on the relevance of biology to social inquiry and the role of sexual objectification on female politicians, and an ethnography of a vintage jazz dance called lindy hop.
- Sexualizing Sarah Palin: The Social and Political Context of the Sexual Objectification of Female Candidates, with Caroline Heldman (Sex Roles, 2011)
- The Emancipatory Promise of the Habitus: Lindy Hop, the Body, and Social Change (Ethnography, 2011; view the lecture)
- The Potential Relevances of Biology to Social Inquiry, with Jeremy Freese and Allen Li (Annual Review of Sociology, 2003)
TEACHING AND PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY-RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Drawing on our public sociological work at Sociological Images, Gwen Sharp and I also write a series for the American Sociological Association’s magazine, Contexts, and other essays designed to introduce and illustrate sociological concepts. These include:
- Sociological Images: Blogging as Public Sociology, with Gwen Sharp (Social Science Computer Review, In Press)
- Land Management and the American Mustang (Contexts, 2011)
- Banal Nationalism (Contexts, 2011)
- Selling Sex (Images that Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media, 2011)
- Secrets of a Feminist Icon (Contexts, 2011)
- The Social Control of Mothers (Contexts, 2011)
- Illustrating the Social Construction of Race and Racial Stereotypes with Images (TRAILS, 2011)
- Skull Face and the Self-Fulfilling Stereotype (Contexts, 2010)
- What is Indian Art? (Contexts, 2010)
- Flesh-Toned (Contexts, 2010)
- Consuming Oppression (Contexts, 2010)
You are welcome, of course, to see my full curriculum vitae.
