SSSP Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division Newsletter, Winter 2011

I. Save the Date!
Annual Meeting Submission Deadline
Be sure to submit your extended abstract or paper at http://www.SSSP1.org by midnight on Monday, January 31st to participate in this year's annual meeting.

Annual Meeting, Aug 19-21, 2011
The annual meeting will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada.


II. Letter from the Division Chair
      
      Welcome to the Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Winter newsletter. As one currently living in Minnesota, I am wishing everyone a winter much warmer than the one blanketing the Northland.  There are several important items to address regarding our 2011 annual meeting.  First, as most of you know, location and dates for the 2011 SSSP annual meeting have changed! The meeting is now being held in Las Vegas from August 19-21st.  At this time we still do not know our host hotel. We should be getting word on hotel information in the coming weeks.  Please go to the SSSP web site for the latest information regarding hotel accommodations.  Second, although hard to believe, we know our annual meeting is fast approaching when the deadline for paper submissions is nigh.  The paper submission deadline is January 31st.  As highlighted in the Fall newsletter, the SBPC Division has a number of exciting sessions for the upcoming 2011 meeting, so please submit your abstracts/papers and encourage your students to do the same. 
      
       Over the past couple of months a number of things have happened politically to reiterate the significance of this year's SSSP theme 'service sociology'. As sociologists dedicated to social justice, the large gains won by Republicans and their subsequent control of Congress portends-if we are to take their rhetoric seriously (which we should!)-trouble.  Certainly, as SBPC members committed to sexual justice and the fight to recognize all genders, sexualities, and family structures, the Republican control of Congress is not good news.  Already, Republicans are expressing a desire (not surprisingly) to direct much of this newfound power in the direction of our LGBT communities. Among the many important "goals" set forth by the Republican leadership, one involves the reinstatement of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT for short). Although the more extreme Republican fringe seems to be the most vocal in this call for DADT's reinstatement (for instance, Representative of Texas Louie Gohmert believes the military's acceptance of homosexuality will lead to our very demise as a "great nation"), moderate Republicans are also taking up this challenge.  Like the implementation of sex education programs and anti-gay bullying policies, the repeal of DADT signals, at least for Republicans, a level of acceptance for homosexuality that will only lead to social doom.  Certainly, the "acceptance of homosexuality (interpreted as tepid tolerance for many of us) by the military, a social institution that prides itself on traditional values, male power and patriotism, is, in many respects, a huge victory for LGBT advocates.  Thus, one can I think interpret this repeal as representing a sea change in where we stand with regard to gay rights in this country.  As such, one can see how DADT's repeal does indeed pose a very real threat to defenders of the "traditional family" and all that traditional marriage stands for-it is for these folks the backbone of society and consequently, civilization itself.  We can be sure that of those who believe a creeping "gay agenda" is upon us (even if a small minority, is it certainly a powerful one), much political action and outright vitriol will be directed at sexual minorities and LGBT peoples in the coming months.  If it were not for the major Republican gains this election year, such vitriol might not be so disconcerting.  Ultimately, the queer communities and those who advocate for queer rights will no doubt have our work cut out for us in the months ahead. 

III. Las Vegas to Host 2011 SSSP Annual Meeting
      
      We wanted to let you know as soon as possible that our annual meeting has been moved from Chicago to Las Vegas for August 19-21, 2011.˙ Please note the new dates as well.˙ Michele Koontz and I will begin immediately to find a hotel, and hope to have that done by the end of the month, but it may go into February.˙ As soon as we have that information we will pass it on, but feel free in the interim to make your airline reservations (LAS is the Las Vegas airport code). We look forward to a wonderful meeting.˙ For those of you who have never been to Las Vegas, it is one of those places you should visit at least once.  
 	-- Hector L. Delgado, SSSP Executive Officer˙˙


IV. SBPC Division Sessions, 2011 SSSP Annual Meeting
       
       The following is a list of SBPC panels and sessions that are co-sponsored with other SSSP divisions that we hope you will find exciting.  Please consider submitting your work to a panel by the January 31st submission deadline, and we hope to see you in Las Vegas, NV, August 19-21! 

Session 1, Thematic: Sexual Minorities:  Empowerment and Resisting Stigma [Organizer:  Leslie Elrod]
Session 2, Sexuality on the Edge [Organizer:  Kathleen Asbury]
Session 3, Sociology of Desire [Organizer:  Corie Hammers]

Co-sponsored Sessions
Session 1, Reintegrating Sex Offenders into the Community (Law & Society) [Organizer:  Lloyd Klein]
Session 2, Sexuality and Race (Racial and Ethnic Minorities) [Organizer:  Erika Childs]
Session 3, Issues in Technology and Sexuality (Environment and Technology) [Organizer:  Cary Costello]
Session 4, Sex and the Body (Sport, Leisure and the Body) [Organizer:  PJ McGann]
Session 5, Intimate Relationships Across the Life Course (Youth, Aging and the Life Course) 
     [Organizer:  Chris Wellon]
Session 6, Queer Families (Family) [Organizer:  Nancy Mezey]
Session 7, Disability, Sexuality, and Social Change (Disabilities) [Organizer:  Deborah Perkins]



V. SBPC Division Graduate Student Paper Competition
Deadline: April 11th, 2011
      
      The Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division announces the 2011 Graduate Student Paper Competition. Papers may be empirical and/or theoretical, and they may be on any aspect of sexuality, including sexual behavior, sexual identity, sexual politics, sex law, political activism, or sexual communities.  The winner will receive a stipend of $100, payment of the winner's SSSP registration fee for the 2011 SSSP meeting (to help the winner attend the meeting), and a ticket to the awards banquet.  The winner will be expected to present their winning paper at one of the SBPC sessions being held as part of the 2011 SSSP meeting.  
      To be eligible, a paper must meet the following criteria: 1) The paper must have been written between January 2010 and March 2011; 2) The paper may not have been submitted or accepted for publication (papers that have been presented at a professional meeting or that have been submitted for presentation at a professional meeting are eligible); 3) The paper must be authored by one or more students, and not co-authored with a faculty member or colleague who is not a student; 4) The paper must not exceed 35 pages including notes, references, and tables; 5) The paper must be typed using 12 point font in either Times New Roman or Courier; and 6) The paper must be accompanied by a letter from a faculty member at the student's college or university nominating the paper for the SBPC Division Student Paper Competition.  
      Students should send via email, with no identifying information on any part of the paper; and a letter of nomination from a faculty member to:  Dawn Baunach, Ph.D., Email: socdmb@langate.gsu.edu, Georgia State University, Department of Sociology, Atlanta, GA, 404-413-6525.

VI. Teaching Tip: 'secret Cards'
By Shawn Trivette, PhD Candidate, Sociology, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, strivett@soc.umass.edu

      The first time I taught Sexuality and Society I was anxious to find ways to engage students' interest and learning, in part because I was a first-time graduate instructor and in part because I knew that teaching such a "hot" topic would only carry me so far.  Further, I also wondered how comfortable students would be with openly discussing topics that are often considered sensitive.
	
	I decided to take inspiration from an activity I'd run a couple of years prior when guest lecturing for an introductory-level class.  In the first week of the semester, I gave each student a blank index card and told them to write one of their sexual secrets on it by the next class.  The only requirements were that it be something related to sexuality (broadly) and that it be something no one else knew (except any partners who may have engaged in the act with them, if the secret is some sexual activity).  I referenced them to PostSecret (a website that displays postcards people mail in of their anonymous secrets; see www.postsecret.com) and suggested that they be as creative as they like in designing the card.  Most students really got into it, drawing pictures, coloring, and even making collages.  I told them not to put any identifying markers on them (like names) because I wanted them to be anonymous.  Once they turned them in, I put all the cards on poster board and brought them to the next class meeting to display to everyone.
	
	There are several learning outcomes associated with this activity.  First, students are able to see that there is a great diversity amongst them in terms of sexual experiences, fears, and interests.  Second, and paradoxically, students also see that some secrets are actually quite common; several cards often describe similar secrets.  Third, students recognize that, as one person once put it, "most of these secrets aren't that weird," referencing in part the commonality among some secrets, but also the banality of many of them.  Fourth, during the discussion I ask students, "how many of you saw at least one other secret up here that you could identify with?"  Each time nearly every student raises a hand.  These last two points, especially help me to explain Foucault's discussion of the repressive hypothesis (which they have read over the weekend).  And last, this activity does seem to break the "awkwardness" barrier in the class.  It gets students to directly face down some of the less-than-polite-society topics that we'll discuss throughout the semester and eases their comfort level both with me and other students.  Though I have no way to verify that this connection is causal, anecdotal evidence suggests it might be: students continue to make references back to the "secret card" project all the way to the end of the semester.

VII. Division Members' Recent Publications

Meyer, Doug. 2010. "Evaluating the˙Severity of Hate-Motivated˙Violence: Intersectional Differences among LGBT Hate Crime Victims." Sociology  44: 980-95.

Lottes, Ilsa, and Eric Anthony Grollman.  2010.  "Conceptualization and Assessment of Homonegativity"  International Journal of Sexual Health 22: 219-33.  

Ghaziani, Amin.  2010. "There Goes the Gayborhood?"  Contexts 9(4): 64-6. 

VIII. Upcoming Opportunities
      
      Sexualities and Social Life in Spain (QSX/SOC 400/600) provides an introduction to the transnational and multidisciplinary field of LGBT Studies and an exploration of sexuality in Spain. We will begin by looking at sexuality and gender studies broadly so that we have some shared theoretical and historical concepts with which to work.  Then, we will focus on the immense changes Spain has gone through in a very short period - from an agricultural society to an urban one, from a dictatorship to a democracy - and how those changes intersect with gender, sexuality, and social life.

      In this course, we will explore such questions as: How do sexual and gender identities come to be named and claimed in different times and places?  Are masculinity and femininity practiced in the same way in Spain and the U.S.?  What is it like to be LGBT in Spain, what is LGBT life like, and where does it happen?  How do folks name themselves and how are they represented on TV, in film, and through youth culture?  How are LGBT persons and issues discussed in the newspapers, presented in churches, and defined by the government?  Why did Spain, a country with a long Catholic tradition, make same sex marriage legal?  What values in Spanish culture and history might have made such a radical outcome possible?  How might we study sexuality from different disciplinary and national perspectives?

      The course features field trips within Madrid and to Barcelona and Andalucia.  Also, with the support of a Chancellor's Leadership Award, the Syracuse University LGBT Studies Program is planning an international conference from July 3-5 in Madrid. The conference is entitled: "LGBT/Queer Studies: Toward Trans/national Scholarly and Activist Kinships."  Students in the course will have the option of helping with and participating in this conference.  See www.transnationalizinglgbt.com for details about the conference.  The course is open to undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines regardless of sexual orientation, personal experience, or prior knowledge of LGBT studies.

For More Information:
Contact Professor Andrew London: anlondon@maxwell.syr.edu
Visit http://suabroad.syr.edu for an application and more program information.

IX. Jobs, Fellowships, and Training Opportunities

Call for Applications: The National Mentoring and Training Program of the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health at The Fenway Institute.˙ The Center is seeking applications for two separate training programs for scholars interested in careers in LGBT health research:

      The National Pre-Doctoral Mentoring Program, open to currently enrolled doctoral and advanced Masters students, connects trainees with expert faculty mentors in LGBT health research from Center's national network of participating scientists.˙˙Mentors are closely matched to students' research interests and assist students who are developing or working on a research project in the study of LGBT health or same-sex families/households. ˙An ideal candidate will have an interest in working with a mentor to better incorporate population health research methods and/or concerns in their projects.˙ Applications due February 15th, 2011.˙ 

      The Summer Institute in LGBT Health, open to postdoctoral trainees, doctoral students and advanced Masters students, provides participants with foundational training in interdisciplinary theory, knowledge, and methods for conducting population research in sexual and gender minority health.  To be held July 18th - August 12th in Boston, the Institute includes a 3 week seminar that will overview key topics, methods, and perspectives in the study of LGBT Health, a one week intermediate-level statistics and data analysis course, and hands-on training and supervision in work on an independent analysis project with LGBT population health data.  There is˙no cost for tuition˙and slots are available for˙free housing˙in Boston University dormitories during the Institute.˙ Applications are due April 18, 2011. 

      Go to http://training.lgbtpopcenter.org to learn more about these programs and to download the application forms. Contact Aimee Van Wagenen (aimee@lgbtpopcenter.org) for more information.˙
      




Research Associateship
      
FIVE COLLEGE WOMEN'S STUDIES RESEARCH CENTER: A collaborative project of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and˙Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

      The Center invites applications for its RESEARCH ASSOCIATESHIPS for˙2011-2012 from scholars and teachers at all levels of the educational˙system, as well as from artists, community organizers and political activists, both local and international.  Associates are provided with offices in our spacious facility, faculty library privileges, and the˙collegiality of a diverse community of feminists.  Research Associate˙applications are accepted for either a semester or the academic year.˙ The Center supports projects in all disciplines so long as they focus˙centrally on women or gender.  Research Associateships do not provide a˙stipend.  We accept about 15-18 Research Associates per year.
      
      Applicants should submit a project proposal (up to 4 pages),˙curriculum vitae, two letters of reference, and on-line application˙cover form.  Applications received by February 7 (including letters of˙recommendation) will receive full consideration.  Submit all˙applications to: Five College Women's Studies Research Center, Mount˙Holyoke College, 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075-6406.˙ Deadline is February 7, 2011.  For further information, contact the˙Center at TEL 413.538.2275, FAX 413.538.3121, email˙fcwsrc@fivecolleges.edu, website: www.fivecolleges.edu/sites/fcwsr.
      
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sexuality Studies (Social Scientific Approaches)
Deadline: February 15, 2011

      The Gender Studies Program at Northwestern University invites applications for a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in social scientific approaches to sexuality studies, to run September 2011 - August 2013.  Applications are welcome from scholars who study sexuality from a social science perspective (broadly construed). The Fellow will be affiliated with both the Gender Studies Program and a department at Northwestern, which must be either Anthropology, History, Human Development and Social Policy, Linguistics, Performance Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, or Sociology. That is, the Fellow must have relevant expertise in both sexuality studies and one of these fields, and must be prepared to teach courses that are cross-listed in both Gender Studies and the affiliated department.
      
      The Fellow will pursue a program of independent scholarship under the guidance of a faculty mentor and will teach two undergraduate courses each year. The Fellow will also be expected to assist in the organization of on-campus educational activities such as an annual workshop, as part of a new interdisciplinary initiative on sexuality and health in social context.

      Applicants must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. (or equivalent) by September 1, or have received their degree within the last 5 years. The stipend is $45,000 plus benefits in the 1st year of the fellowship and $46,350 plus benefits in the 2nd year. In addition, the Fellow is eligible for $2,000 per year to fund research and conference travel, and up to $2,000 for allowable relocation expenses in the first year.
      
      In order to ensure full consideration, all application materials must be received by February 15, 2011. Applicants should send the following materials in PDF format by email attachment to sexuality@northwestern.edu, with the subject heading of "Postdoc Application":

1) a cover letter: Please briefly situate your work in relation to the field of sexuality studies. Please identify the department(s) with which you are qualified to be affiliated, from among the above list. Optionally, please identify a possible faculty mentor in that department or in Gender Studies.  Please address the question of your experience within interdisciplinary academic environments.
2) a full curriculum vitae.
3) a two-page summary of the dissertation.
4) a two-page research plan for the fellowship period (this may include, but should extend beyond, revisions to the dissertation).
5) titles and short descriptions of at least two courses that you could teach and that might be appropriate for cross-listing between Gender Studies and your department.
6) a writing sample consisting of either a dissertation chapter or an article.
7) a full graduate school transcript from your doctoral-degree-granting institution.

      In addition, please arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent, either by email to the same address (subject heading: "Postdoc application letter of reference"), or by mail to Gender Studies Program, Sexuality Studies Postdoc, Northwestern University, Kresge Hall 2-321, Evanston, IL 60208-2211. One letter should be from the dissertation chair, and at least one should comment on teaching qualifications.
      
      Administrative questions should be directed to Clare Forstie at sexuality@northwestern.edu.  Substantive questions may be addressed to Hector Carrillo at hector@northwestern.edu or Steve Epstein at
s-epstein@northwestern.edu.  For more information about any of the participating departments or programs, see http://offices.northwestern.edu/browse/A/academic.
      
Director, Institute for LGBT Studies, University of Arizona
      
      The University of Arizona's Institute for LGBT Studies invites˙applications for the position of Director.  The successful candidate˙will be appointed as a tenured associate or full professor, with a 50%˙FTE Directorship and 50% FTE faculty position in an appropriate˙department, effective July 1, 2011.
      
      The UA Institute for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies,˙which was established as a committee in 1993 and became an institute˙in 2007, fosters research, presents public programs, and facilitates˙curricula that address the histories, politics, and cultures of˙lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and the diverse˙scholarship on sexuality. Our programs include interdisciplinary   Research Clusters; the Lesbian Looks Film Festival (now in its 18th˙year); an occasional Visiting Scholar program; collaborative community˙projects; and curriculum facilitation.  We are the only interdisciplinary university-based LGBT institute in the southwest,˙and the only institute in the country addressing LGBT border issues.˙ The Institute is housed within the Office of the Vice resident for˙Research.
      
      We seek a visionary leader who can build on our past successes, foster LGBTQ scholarship within and across the disciplines, and whose own˙work has and will make a meaningful and important contribution to˙LGBTQ Studies.  A proven track record of administrative, leadership,˙supervisory, and fund development skills that can further the growth˙and success of the Institute is required.
      
      The Director is responsible for developing research and programming˙initiatives, pursuing funding (including through grant-writing and˙fund development initiatives), managing the Institute's budget and˙staff, fostering curriculum, chairing the interdisciplinary LGBT˙Studies Executive Committee, and ensuring the continued growth and˙success of the Institute. The Director is supported by a Program˙Coordinator and a half-time Director of Development. Further˙information about the Institute for LGBT Studies is available at:˙http://lgbcom.web.arizona.edu.
      
      Queries and nominations should be sent to lgbs@email.arizona.edu.˙ Interested applicants should submit an online application for position˙number 46547 at http://www.uacareertrack.com. Application materials˙consist of a letter describing your accomplishments and preparation to˙lead the Institute into the future; a CV; a sample of your recent˙work; and names and contact details for three references.  Review of˙applications begins January 10, 2011, and continues until the position˙is filled.
      
Part-Time Lectures, Gender and Women's Studies at Berkeley

      Pending budgetary resources, the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, seeks to appoint several part-time Lecturers to teach courses relating to feminist theory, gender (including gender and global political issues) and/or sexuality (with an emphasis on queer visual and literary cultures) during the 2011-12 academic year.˙ We seek candidates with superior pedagogical qualifications, expertise in the creation of instructional material and the teaching of writing, and at least one year of teaching experience, including supervising teaching assistants, Ph.D. required.˙ These are temporary positions.˙ Applicants should submit a letter of interest, CV, and names and addresses of three references to Charis Thompson, Interim Chair, Gender & Women's Studies Department, UC Berkeley, 608 Barrows Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1070.˙ Application deadline: January 18, 2011. Minimum full-time salary rate is $44,636. Salary commensurate with experience.˙ The University of California is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. Refer potential reviewers to UC Berkeley Statement of Confidentiality found at: http://apo.chance.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html. 

Research Training Fellowships
Understanding Attitudes on Youth, Sexuality, and Sexual Orientation

      From Anita Bryant's Save Our Children campaign in Miami-Dade County 1977 to California's Proposition 8 in 2008, those opposed to equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people have successfully employed messages portraying gays as harmful to children. Whether these messages are explicit (for example, Bryant's claim that gay people should be feared as sexual predators) or implicit (the Proposition 8 forces' insinuation that legal recognition of same-sex marriage would cause children to choose to be gay), they have been used to devastating effect.

      Why are these messages so powerful, when they are so inaccurate? What deep-seated associations between sexuality, harm, and childhood do these messages make salient?˙ To explore these questions, the Face Value Project (facevalueproject.org) in partnership with its academic affiliate, Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, seeks applications from graduate students earning PhDs in the social sciences for a two-year, multi-university research fellowship program. The positions will begin March 1, 2011, and include an annual stipend of $10,000 plus $2,500 for travel and other costs related to the fellowships.˙ Face Value will award up to five research fellowships.

      The fellowships are supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation's initiative "Sexuality, Health and Rights Among Youth in the United States," which has awarded Face Value $730,000 to explore public beliefs and stereotypes about sexual orientation with regard to children and youth; to uncover how these themes intersect to trigger fear, prejudice and stigma against gay people; and to identify frames and messages that are empirically proven to inoculate arguments in favor of gay rights from the connection between fears about exploitation of children.

We seek Fellows with research interests in each of the following three areas:

1. Public opinion and public policy regarding youth, sexuality, sexual orientation and/or gender expression in the United States;

2. Social status, branding, and behavior in social networks with regard to stigma and opinion formation/change applied to youth, sexuality, sexual orientation, and/or gender expression;

3. The role of social movement activism, media culture, and communications in changing attitudes and public policy regarding youth, sexuality, sexual orientation and/or gender expression.

      Deadline for applications is Friday, January 28, 2011.˙ For more information, see the attached call for applications.˙ If you have questions, feel free to email Julie Davis, Director of Face Value, at jruth2@facevalueproject.org.
      
X. Editor's Note
      
      Welcome to the Winter 2011 newsletter of the Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division.  I am excited to see more contributions for this quarter's newsletter!  For our Spring Newsletter, please send me exciting news, honors, new publications and books, as well as call for papers, new opportunities, job announcements, and other relevant news.
	 -- Eric Anthony Grollman, egrollma@indiana.edu