Books by Patrick R Grzanka
Routledge, 2019
Intersectionality: Foundations and Frontiers is an accessible, primary source-driven exploration ... more Intersectionality: Foundations and Frontiers is an accessible, primary source-driven exploration of intersectionality in sociology, psychology, women’s and gender studies, and related fields. The book maps the origins of the concept, particularly in Black feminist thought, opens the discourse to challenges and applications across disciplines and outside academia, and explores the leading edges of scholarship to reveal important new directions for inquiry and activism. Charting the development of intersectionality as an intellectual and political movement, Patrick R. Grzanka brings together in one text both foundational readings and emerging classics. The completely revised and expanded second edition includes 17 new readings, including an original essay by Lisa Bowleg on the urgency of intersectionality in contemporary politics.
Papers by Patrick R Grzanka
This article presents the rationale and a new critical framework for precarity, which reflects a ... more This article presents the rationale and a new critical framework for precarity, which reflects a psychosocial concept that links structural inequities with experiences of alienation, anomie, and uncertainty. Emerging from multiple disciplines, including anthropology, cultural studies, sociology, political science, and psychology, the concept of precarity provides a conceptual scaffolding for understanding the complex causes of precarious life circumstances while also seeking to identify how people react, adapt, and resist the forces that evoke such tenuous psychosocial experiences. We present a critical conceptual framework as a non-linear heuristic that serves to identify and organize relevant elements of precarity in a presumably infinite number of contexts and applications. The framework identifies socio-political-economic contexts, material conditions, and psychological experiences as key elements of precarity. Another essential aspect of this framework is the delineation of interrelated and non-linear responses to precarity which include resistance, adaptation, and resignation. The article then summarizes selected implications of precarity for psychological interventions, vocational and organizational psychology, and explorations and advocacy about race, gender, and other systems of inequality. Future research directions, including optimal methodologies to study precarity, conclude the article.
Identities
Routledge eBooks, Apr 19, 2018
Epistemology
Routledge eBooks, Apr 19, 2018
Politics, Rights, and Justice
LGBT+ Rights at the State/Local Level: Lessons from Tennessee
In 2016, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed into law the “Counseling Discrimination Bill,” whi... more In 2016, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed into law the “Counseling Discrimination Bill,” which allows a licensed counselor in a private practice to use personal (i.e., religious) beliefs as an reason to terminate care or refer away LGBT+ clients, as long as they refer the client to another counselor. In that same year, the state legislature and governor defunded the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, which had spearheaded a number of LGBT+ activities and initiatives around campus. In this interactive discussion, scholars from different Tennessee institutions (and/ or who were raised and educated in Tennessee) will discuss how their scholarship and activism has been shaped by, and is helping to inform, LGBT+ policy in Tennessee, and how these lessons might be applied in other state/local contexts. The panelists will speak to a number of questions, including: How can my scholarship inform LGBT+ policy in my state? How do I connect with policymakers, practitioners, and organizations that could benefit from my expertise? How can I contribute to local advocacy efforts, and what might be my appropriate role in those efforts? How do I get involved in this arena at different stages of my career? and How can I help interested students get involved
Science, Technology, and Bodies
Engaging Science, Technology, and Society, Dec 30, 2023
In this paper we argue that a visual-intersectional approach can advance the field of science and... more In this paper we argue that a visual-intersectional approach can advance the field of science and technology studies (STS). Although there is a small but important body of work using visual methods in STS, it has rarely incorporated intersectional approaches. We use visual imagery about mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study to illustrate the potential power of a visual-intersectional approach in STS. We chose masks for three reasons. First, debates about mask-wearing were rich with visual imagery, from home-made signs posted in homes and businesses to professionally designed and printed imagery circulated by public health agencies. Second, recommendations about face coverings outside of healthcare settings changed dramatically in the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing an opportunity to analyze how rapidly changing scientific recommendations were debated in the public sphere. Finally, as masks entered the public sphere, they quickly became evocative technologies, deeply imbued with cultural and political meanings. By focusing on signs about masks in the United States, we demonstrate how integrating visual methods of data collection and an intersectional, visual analytical lens can strengthen STS by developing deeper understandings of (a) publics and science in times of uncertainty, (b) public health as a distinct form of scientific expertise, and (c) the role of humor and place-specific messaging in science. We close with analytic priorities for future research on mask use that could advance STS theories of the collective construction of scientific knowledge and productively inform the development of public health interventions.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, Mar 1, 2023
We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. All data, analysis code, and research material... more We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. All data, analysis code, and research materials are available upon request. This study's design and analyses were not pre-registered.
Waves and riptides
Routledge eBooks, Feb 8, 2023
Gay Genes in the Postgenomic Era
GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies
This roundtable analyzes the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) that sought to identify t... more This roundtable analyzes the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) that sought to identify the genetic variations that correlate with same-sex sexual behavior. Drawing on over 450,000 individuals’ genetic material from the UK Biobank and 23andMe, the 2019 study concluded that “many loci with individually small effects,” which are spread across the entire genome, contribute in statistically significant but highly unreliable ways to an individual's sexual behavior. The study was thus greeted by geneticists, science journalists, and even some LGBTQ+ advocates as heralding the demise of the mythical “gay gene.” However, the study itself did not drive a stake through the heart of the “born this way” idea. In fact, the researchers framed their efforts as having revealed the “genetic architecture”—which is to say the blueprint or design—of same-sex sexual behavior. Stephanie Clare, Patrick R. Grzanka, and Joanna Wuest argue that the 2019 GWAS marks a moment of both flux and contin...
We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. All data, analysis code, and research material... more We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. All data, analysis code, and research materials are available upon request. This study's design and analyses were not pre-registered.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Feb 19, 2021
Limited research has investigated factors that shape White youth's civic action aimed at social c... more Limited research has investigated factors that shape White youth's civic action aimed at social change. Investigating the relation between Whiteness and civic action is an essential step toward identifying and cultivating environments that encourage White youth to use their racial privilege to combat inequality through civic engagement. To address this gap in the literature, across two distinct samples, this study investigates the role of White guilt in motivating civic action and the moderating role of civic beliefs. Participants included all young adults who self-identified as White from two online survey studies (Study 1, N = 219 college students, 71.9% Women, 28.1% Men, mean age = 19.6; Study 2, N = 185, 50% current college students, 54.6% Women, 45.4% Men, mean age = 23.9). In Study 1, White guilt related to more civic action. In the context of high social responsibility, White guilt related to more civic action; in the context of low social responsibility, White guilt corresponded with less civic action. In Study 2, White guilt also related to more civic action, and civic efficacy emerged as a potential moderator. Collectively, these results highlight the potential for White guilt to be turned into meaningful civic action, particularly when coupled with civic beliefs.
This is a draft preprint currently under review. Details regarding final publication will be upda... more This is a draft preprint currently under review. Details regarding final publication will be updated accordingly.
“What surprised me is that they try to humiliate me”: Conceptualizing the role of colonial power dynamics and logics in Puerto Rican postmigration experiences
Journal of latinx psychology, Feb 1, 2023
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2016
Previous research on heterosexuals' beliefs about sexual orientation (SO) has been limited in tha... more Previous research on heterosexuals' beliefs about sexual orientation (SO) has been limited in that it has generally examined heterosexuals' beliefs from an essentialist perspective. The recently developed Sexual Orientation Beliefs Scale (SOBS; Arseneau, Grzanka, Miles, & Fassinger, 2013) assesses multifarious "lay beliefs" about SO from essentialist, social constructionist, and constructivist perspectives. This study used the SOBS to explore latent group-based patterns in endorsement of these beliefs in 2 samples of undergraduate students: a mixed-gender sample (n ϭ 379) and an all-women sample (n ϭ 266). While previous research has posited that essentialist beliefs about the innateness of SO predict positive attitudes toward sexual minorities, our research contributes to a growing body of scholarship that suggests that biological essentialism should be considered in the context of other beliefs. Using a person-centered analytic strategy, we found that that college students fell into distinct patterns of SO beliefs that are more different on beliefs about the homogeneity, discreteness, and informativeness of SO categories than on beliefs about the naturalness of SO. Individuals with higher levels of endorsement on all 4 SOBS subscales (a group we named multidimensional essentialism) and those who were highest in discreteness, homogeneity, and informativeness beliefs (i.e., high-DHI) reported higher levels of homonegativity when compared with those who were high only in naturalness beliefs. We discuss the implications of these findings for counseling and psychotherapy about SO, as well educational and social interventions.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, Oct 1, 2017
This article introduces the special section on intersectionality research in counseling psycholog... more This article introduces the special section on intersectionality research in counseling psychology. Across the 4 manuscripts that constitute this special section, a clear theme emerges: a need to return to the roots and politics of intersectionality. Importantly, the 2 empirical articles in this special section (Jerald, Cole, Ward, & Avery, 2017; Lewis, Williams, Peppers, & Gadson, 2017) are studies of Black women's experiences: a return, so to speak, to the subject positions and social locations from which intersectionality emanates. Shin et al. (2017) explore why this focus on Black feminist thought and social justice is so important by highlighting the persistent weaknesses in how much research published in leading counseling psychology journals has tended to use intersectionality as a way to talk about multiple identities, rather than as a framework for critiquing systemic, intersecting forms of oppression and privilege. Shin and colleagues also point to the possibilities intersectionality affords us when scholars realize the transformative potential of this critical framework. Answers to this call for transformative practices are foregrounded in Moradi and Grzanka's (2017) contribution, which surveys the interdisciplinary literature on intersectionality and presents a series of guidelines for using intersectionality responsibly. We close with a discussion of issues concerning the applications of intersectionality to counseling psychology research that spans beyond the contributions of each manuscript in this special section. Public Significance Statement This article introduces a special section of Journal of Counseling Psychology devoted to intersectionality, an important framework for studying and critiquing how interlocking systems of oppression (e.g., racism, sexism, heterosexism) shape experiences of social inequality.
Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Jun 7, 2016
Since the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973, psychology has transform... more Since the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973, psychology has transformed the way it approaches sexual orientation and gender identity issues in scientific research and clinical practice. The paradigmatic shift from psychopathology to identity has corresponded with the introduction of BLGBT affirmative therapy,^which suggests that therapists should affirm clients' sexual orientations rather than reinforce sexual minorities' experiences of stigma and marginalization. This qualitative study used a subset of psychotherapy training videos about LGBT issues to explore the form of content of LGBT affirmative therapy in the context of increased attention to identity and multiculturalism in applied psychology. The videos suggest that multiculturally competent therapists should understand sexuality and gender issues in terms of what psychologists call Bmultiple^or Bintersecting^identities, namely race and ethnicity. While the multicultural turn in psychotherapy may signal a transformation in mental health service provision, our analysis questions whether these videos may unintentionally reflect a neoliberal logic of inclusion that obscures the structural dimensions of social inequality. We suggest that the uptake of intersectionality-like identitarian discourse in psychotherapy in particular offers opportunities for challenging and reinforcing neoliberalism.
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Books by Patrick R Grzanka
Papers by Patrick R Grzanka