Laurel Westbrook, PhD

About me

My research and teaching interests include  gender, sexuality, violence, transgender studies, social movements, the media, methods, and poststructuralist theory. My current projects focus on the inner workings of the sex/gender/sexuality system. I utilize a range of research methods, including textual analysis, statistical analysis, and interviews to examine how this system shapes and is shaped by understandings of violence, the practices of social movements, and the construction of sociological knowledge.

I received my Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in 2009 and am currently a Full Professor of Sociology at Grand Valley State University.