Rutgers

Graduate Student, Social Psychology

Other Affiliations: Rutgers, Institute for Health

About

Tentatively, my M.S. is an exploration of the role of rejection in the prediction of sexualized aggression and self-esteem deficits in men.

My research is broadly focused on implicit beliefs and attitudes (primarily measured through the use of the Implicit Association Test (IAT)). I focus grandly on gender themes, including issues of "gender violations" (e.g., women who perform well in masculine domains, men who express empathy for female rights causes, etc) and very specifically am intrigued by the usefulness of objectification theory (Frederickson & Roberts, 1997) in potential prediction of sexual aggression, as well as its expansion beyond usefulness for women, toward understanding male lived-in experiences.

In my implicit work, I have proposed and found support for a link between the dehumanization of women (e.g., women as associated with animals or "nature", rather than humanity) and the acceptance of rape myths, an endorsement coercive or violent sexual actions (e.g., "If no one could ever know, I would rape a woman") and a likelihood to sexually harass (e.g., fondle, catcall, make sexual insinuations, etc.) Frankly, it's all a little disturbing. Continued research has suggested a link between male body esteem and hostile sexism, which may lead to such behaviors (e.g., men who dislike their bodies turn their anger toward women for "judging" them, and then go on to endorse aggression toward them.) I'm currently investigating the interplay of beliefs regarding the precariousness of masculinity, bullying and self-objectification, as potential signifiers of future aggression attitudes.

I'm also following a thread of research dedicated to stigma-by-association, and whether voluntary alignment with women results in social penalties for men. Currently, I have papers under review regarding flexibility stigma and femininity stigma (e.g., men who ask for flex-time at work are stereotyped as "womanly" and likely to be socially punished) and male feminism. My work trends toward social justice orientation, with an aim at reorganizing gender and status rules toward more inclusive interpretations. I also have aims at doing work with other markers of minority status, though primarily concern myself with gender and sexuality concerns.

When I am not busy being horrified by the world at large, I generally either have my nose in a book or my hands on a mug of coffee. I like French (language and literature), media analysis, thai food, coffee with soymilk, playing with the abstract, microbrews, mah jong and feminist theory. I don't like having to explain why my jokes are funny.

Contact Information