I am a (dis)abled, queer geographer whose interests lie at the intersections of queer geography, feminist geography, disability studies, energy production, rural sociology, and climate change.
Research
Climate change will create differentiated vulnerability across identity categories such as race, class, and sexuality. LGBTQ+ persons in particular face heightened vulnerability and insecurity during climate disasters on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The experiences of LGBTQ+ persons and climate change are further embedded in the overarching issues of climate skepticism and denial in the United States, which are further amplified in Appalachia. Despite decades of socioeconomic decline and environmental deterioration at the hands of the extractive industry, a regional coal identity remains, often producing anti-environmental sentiments among rural residents who feel that national environmental policies are enacted in opposition to their livelihood and identity.
My MA Geography thesis explored LGBTQ+ undergraduate students’ perceptions of climate change and the environment in relation to their upbringing and sexual and place-based identities at six large, state universities in Appalachia. A copy of my thesis can be found here.
“My main concern is my inability to have a future and to experience life as an independent adult. As an 18 year-old, what is my future going to look like? How is society going to adjust to these massive changes and who is it going to affect the most? I’m very concerned with the possibility of having a future and growing up.”
MA Geography, West Virginia University (2021)
Sexual and Place-Based Identity: A Life Course Analysis of LGBTQ+ Undergraduate Understandings of Climate Change in Appalachia