About Me
Scholar – Activist
Bio
Thank you for visiting my web page! I’m an ethnographer and a mom. I teach, research, and write across several disciplines, including Sociology, Anthropology, Women and Gender Studies, and Queer Studies.
I got my start in the anthropological study of human remains where I looked at gender differences and violence in the prehistoric past and among enslaved African Americans.
I pivoted to the study of living groups of people because I hoped to contribute more immediately to the aims of social justice.
So now instead of digging up skeletons and graves to glean ideas about what the lives of the marginalized populations were like, I ask folks to reflect on their experiences.
The methods might be quite different but the underlying questions are the same: how do disenfranchised members of society resist domination? And what can we learn about justice from their innovative strategies?
My research focuses on feminist procreative justice, a perspective inspired by SisterSong, a group of black women who first convened in 1994 to reframe the narrative. Instead of a language of “rights” that focuses on choice, my work explores true and equitable access to procreative freedom and bodily autonomy.
Women and non-binary folks, regardless of circumstances, should have all of their needs met in a way that allows them to become parents or not, to breastfeed or not, and to have healthy children who can grow up safely.
We are not there yet. That’s why I do this work and why I champion the research, advocacy, and lived experiences of others who share a justice point of view.
For a detailed list of publications and awards, see Dr. Wilson’s CV (last updated August 2018).