about me
scholar on sexualities, gender, economic insecurity, and family
I’m an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Alma College. My work is focused on the intersections of sexualities, gender, economic insecurity, and family.
My most recent project is a mixed methods project using in-depth interview and survey data exploring economic insecurity in young adulthood and how it varies by sexuality, gender, and race. The first chapter focuses on stimulus spending during COVID-19 for young adults, and how that is linked with young adults’ expectations for their future. The second chapter explores differences in family financial support across genders and sexualities for young adults. The last chapter examines finances as relational, highlighting the emotional tones that financial exchanges take in relationships with family, friends, and partners.
I have also focused on the experiences of marriage for mid-life gay and lesbian adults through a framework of ambivalence. This paper is published in the Journal of Homosexuality and received the Elizabeth Menaghan award through the Ohio State University.
Other work emerges from a collaborative project focusing on LGBTQ family relationships. This work focuses on how LGBTQ adults manage strained relationships with parents who are cissexist or heterosexist. This work has been published in the Journal of Marriage and Family and Social Problems as well as a book published by NYU Press titled Families We Keep: LGBTQ People and Their Enduring Bonds With Parents available to order here.
research Interests
Sexualities
Economic Insecurity
Gender
Families
Young Adulthood
Qualitative Methods
CLASSES TAUGHT
Principles of Sociology
Introduction to Sociological Theory
Gender and Society
Statistics in Sociology