Research

Primary areas of interest:

Gender
Sociology of sport
Law and public policy
Children & youth
Qualitative & Mixed methods

Dissertation

My forthcoming dissertation examines the experiences of transgender athletes competing in multiple contexts across the United States. This project draws upon data from interviews conducted with 25 transgender athletes who have competed at the college level (NCAA), as well as 200 mainstream news media articles focusing on the stories of trans athletes. These trans athletes’ stories highlight the difficulty of navigating (trans)gender identity within binary, sex-segregated sport. Additionally, themes in news coverage illustrates how culturally-divisive the “trans athlete issue” has become over the past three years in particular.

Recent conference presentations:

  • “‘What helped me was to not add any fuel to the fire’: Trans-feminine athletes in the NCAA.” Paper presentation at the Capital District Feminist Studies Consortium Conference. Schenectady, NY. February 26, 2025.
  • “Studying The Transgender Athlete: An Autoethnographic Reflection on Queerness, Disclosure, and Methods.” Paper presentation at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS). Chicago, IL. November 1, 2024.
  • “The impacts of American summer camps on young adults’ gender identity.” Paper presentation at the Eastern Sociological Society Conference. Washington, D.C. March 1, 2024.  
  • “‘I’m the kind of trans they don’t care about’: Experiences of Trans-Masculine Athletes in the NCAA.” Paper presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference. Baltimore, MD. October 28, 2023.
  • “Experiences of Trans-Masculine Swimmers in the NCAA.” Eastern Sociological Society, February 2023.
  • “Disciplining Bodies: An Analysis of the NCAA’s Newest Transgender Participation Policy. ” Paper presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference. Minneapolis, MN. November 13, 2022.  
  • “Comparing College Support for Transgender Athletes: A Content Analysis of Transgender Inclusion Policies.” Paper presentation at the Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Boston, MA. March 10, 2022.
Publications

See my 2024 article on the experiences of trans-masculine athletes as featured in the Sociology of Sport Journal: “I’m the Kind of Trans They Don’t Care About”: Experiences of Trans-Masculine Athletes in the NCAA