SexTech Lab

When it comes to human sexuality, there is a dearth of research directly examining heterosexuality from a psychological perspective (with much of the theory and research focused on understanding non-heterosexualities). This is largely because heterosexuality has been taken-for-granted as the ‘norm’ within psychology and hence the focus has been on examining what is considered non-normative expressions of sexuality or identity. This tendency has rightly been labeled as ‘heterosexism within psychology’ (Kitzinger, 1990) and continues within the discipline. This sole-authored book (published by Palgrave New York) by Dr Pani Farvid seeks to challenge such heterosexism, and broader societal heteronormativity, by putting heterosexuality under the psychological microscope.

Building on existing and interdisciplinary work on (critical) heterosexuality studies, this book brings a psychological lens for understanding the structures, contours and experiences of heterosexuality. The sections of the book deal with a) temporal, theoretical and methodological framings, b) developmental aspects, c) attraction, dating and heterosex, d) heterosexuality in pop, porn and paid cultures, and e) integrating this new and critical psychological understanding into psychological theory, research, and teaching, as well as in applied settings and popular ideas about heterosexuality. Issues of privilege and equity – inside and outside of heterosexuality – are also addressed. 

Edited by Denton Callander, Pani Farvid, Amir Baradaran and Thomas Vance, this forthcoming volume from Oxford University Press brings together some of the world’s leading scholars to examine the complex relationships between racism, sexuality, and desire. 

​

The commercial sex industry is an evolving domain that stratifies people, desire, bodies, income, and access to sex, unevenly. At its core, there is an invisiblized but deep-rooted racial hierarchy that shapes the industry, manifesting in who is sought out by clients, earns the most, the location that they work, and the extent to which they are criminalized or targeted by law enforcement for doing sex work. As part of the Sexual Racism Edited collection, in this book chapter we examine the ways in which whiteness, cisnormativity, heteropatriarchal power relations, along with class and geographical location, create hierarchies of desirability and respectability within sex work.

Research to date has found psychological, reproductive, and sexual health inequities among transgender people in the United States, which are at the intersection of race. This study uses mixed methods to examine the social and structural determinants of health and psychological wellbeing among BIPOC TGNC individuals (focusing on medical healthcare, psychological healthcare, and community services).