SEXGEN LAB

Reconceptualizing Gender & Health Project

Reconceptualizing Gender & Health, a project of the SexGen Lab, is exploring how people’s gender identity and experiences influence their health in both positive and negative ways. We are particularly interested in the repercussions other people and institutions create when we conform and don’t conform to gender expectations. We are conducting interviews with people with a wide-range of gender and health experiences with the goal of creating more inclusive and structural focused research tools and interventions to combat gendered health inequity.

Reconceptualizing Gender & Health is funded by a Pioneering Ideas grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

Want more information? Please email rgh-sgl@sp2.upenn.edu.

Want to Participate
Community Commitment

What will the interview be like?

The Reconceptualizing Gender & Health interview is an informal, guided conversation with a member of our team about your gender experiences and how you think they have affected your health. You decide what specific information you want to share and how you want to tell your story! We are interested in talking with folks of all genders and all health experiences. The length of the interview will depend on how much information you want to share and the amount of time you have. They average about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. The interviews are done on zoom or the phone, at a time that’s convenient for you. We can provide assistive support, including ASL interpreters. You will receive a $100 gift card for your time and be offered a transcript of the interview.

Informed Consent

What’s a collective dialogue follow-up?

Some folks will be invited to participate in a follow-up collective dialogue interview. Developed by Jennifer E. James, a collective dialogue brings together participants and the person who conducted their original interview to clarify and enrich the information shared during the interview. Not only is this an opportunity to deepen the conversation after time to reflect on the interview, but also brings people who have been interviewed into the theorizing process.  This follow-up interview is completely voluntary – you do not have to agree to participate in the collective dialogue to be interviewed.

Our Team

Ky Core

Ky Core (any pronouns)

Interviewer

Growing up in the bustling city of Philadelphia, presenting as a cis- Black woman, it took lots of time and understanding to see myself as a Non-binary Woman. Due to my own struggles with my health and my identity, the health care system had at one point in time felt like a foe. This sparked my dream of a creating a holistic and accepting healthcare system, currently I am on the path to becoming an osteopathic gynecologist.

Nathan Nyitrai

Nathan Nyitrai (he/they)

Intake Coordinator

Nathan Nyitrai is a social work student with focuses in the LGBTQ+ community and the criminal legal system. They have experience helping formerly incarcerated individuals transition to life back in their communities and with providing peer and crises support for the transgender community. He would like to further his work with the trans and queer communities. In their free time they enjoy doing crafts and playing solo and cooperative board games with friends.

WHO, WHAT, WHY: NATHAN NYITRAI ON THE LGBTQ CERTIFICATE
Nia Simmons

Nia Simmons (they/them)

Interviewer

I am a recent graduate from the Bloustein School at Rutgers University where I received a Bachelors in Science in Public Health with a concentration in health disparities. I am currently attending Drexel University in the Community Health and Prevention MPH program. My research interests and praxis include community-based research methods, health education, health equity, medical ethics, and improving the quality of care for people who have been marginalized.

Anne Esacove avatar

Anne Esacove (she/her)

Principal Investigator/Interview

Having grown up in suburban Los Angeles, I lived much of my life being told I was a failure of a cis-girl/cis-woman. After years of ill-health and disregard in biomedical health care settings, I’ve found relief in somatic and integrative health modalities. Swimming, getting my hands in the soil, and fiber arts also always helps.

Lenny Schnier

Lenny Schnier (she/her)

Interviewer

I am an artist and former museum educator from Boston. I’m now in Philly working on my master’s in social work with the goal of becoming a therapist. My passion for the health and well-being of trans and gender diverse individuals drew me to join the RGH project team. In my free time, I enjoy making art, visiting museums, cooking and baking, and spending time by large bodies of water, especially the ocean!

Contact Us

Reconceptualizing Gender & Health Project

rgh-sgl@sp2.upenn.edu

Related Links

SEXGEN LAB >