Biography of Dr. Taylor

VERTA TAYLOR is Professor of Sociology. She teaches courses on gender, qualitative research methods, and social movements. She joined the University of California, Santa Barbara, faculty in the fall of 2002.

Professor Taylor previously taught in Sociology and Women's Studies at The Ohio Shate University. She won numerous teaching awards at Ohio State, including a University Distinguished Teaching Award, a Multicultural teaching award, and an Outstanding Faculty Award from the Office of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Student Services.

Verta Taylor also received the Sociologists for Women in Society's Mentoring Award and served as Feminist Lecturer for Sociologists for Women in Society. In addition, she has served as chair of the Section on Sex and Gender, the Section on Social Movements, and the Committee on the Status of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Sociologists of the American Sociological Association.

She has written and co-authored many different books, and her writings have appeared in numerous scholarly collections and in journals such as Signs, Gender & Society, The American Sociological Review, Social Problems, Mobilization, and the Journal of Marriage and Family. Her current research focuses on the women's movement and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender movement. Her most recent book, co-authored with Leila J. Rupp, Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret, looks at drag performance as a collective action repertoire of the gay and lesbian movement.

Taylor is the recipient of many distinguishing awards, as well as the author or co-author of over 15 books and 100 articles, chapters, and reviews published. Much of her work focuses on gender's studies which includes but is not limited to women's studies, as well as the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) movement.

Her staggering accomplishments, however, cannot be entirely summed up into words. From the awards distinguishing her books as excelling works in her field of study, to her co-authored book Feminist Frontiers which is in it's eighth edition, Taylor has provided more than her share to the study of sociology. She is also a very accomplished lecturer and has given over 60 public lectures, and served on numerous professional panels both within the United States and Internationally.

Her vitae is no less than amazing, covering 27 pages of publications, accomplishments, lectures, panels, service both within the community and within sociology and much more. And despite all of this, she still continues to be an excellent professor. She is praised over and over on the student-based website RateMyProfessor.com (http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=242763&page=1).

Until now, most of this information is what can be found on the internet relating to her professional career and vitae. However, in a chapter of Our Studies, Ourselves: Sociologists' Lives and Work, Dr. Taylor says "some things in which [she] take[s] a great deal of pride are not on [her] curriculum vitae" (Verta Taylor: My Life in Social Movements"). This is what begins her chapter regarding her personal life. She grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas during the Civil Rights Movement. The overt racism, Taylor says, is one of the major reasons why she decided to leave the South. Due to financial situations in the family, she couldn't go to college farther than the Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, but this didn't stop her from becoming involved at the school as a social activist. As a matter of fact, while at ISU, she became very involved with the antiwar and black student movement, despite the fact that she had white skin herself. It was this involvement that helped her attain a fellowship to go to Ohio State University as a graduate student (although it had to later be switched with a different type of fellowship after the awarders found out she wasn't black herself!).

In 1978, while at OSU, Taylor met her life and long time research partner Leila Rupp. Together, they published a wide variety of publications on topics ranging from sociology, lesbianism, feminism, the women's rights movement and on. All of this on top of all the other publications she has published on her own, or alongside other colleagues and academics listed within her vitae.

[Verta Taylor (right) with her lifetime partner Leila Rupp]

Dr. Taylor is currently employed with the University of California, Santa Barbara as stated previously. She says that "in paradise [UCSB], and among arguably the best group of feminist scholars in a single sociology department- including Kumjun Bhavnani, Denise Bielby, Sarah Fenstermaker, Avery gordon, Beth Schneider, Denise Segura, and Winddance Twine- and social movement scholars Richard Flacks and Jennifer Earl, I feel much at home." She is currently the head department chair of Sociology at UCSB and that takes up a lot of her time. Other than that, she is still attending many conferences and teaching two classes. She is also working on a variety of publications which are listed in the goals section. She lives with her lifetime partner of over 30 years, Leila Rupp, and their maltese puppy, Pheobe.

References:

Verta Taylor. 2003. "My Life in Social Movements: From Sixties Activist to Lesbian Den Mother." Pp. 263-278 in Our Studies, Ourselves, eds. Barry Glassner and Rosanna Hertz. New York: Oxford University Press.

"Verta Taylor: Homepage." University of California, Santa Barbara. Accessed 26 March, 2009.

The Way Dr. Taylor Became an Academic

Education breakdown for Dr. Taylor:

Ph.D.: The Ohio State University, Sociology, 1976.
M.A.: The Ohio State University, Sociology, 1971.
B.A.: Indiana State University, Social Work, 1970.

As stated in the biography, the reason Dr. Taylor attended ISU was because it was the furthest she could go due to limited financial resources, and also because her father was in poor health. This did not seem to affect her at all, however, as she became very involved at ISU while still studying to receive her bachelors in Social Work. Her extensive involvement in the black social movement at her school helped her attain a fellowship to attend Ohio State University where she worked to get her Masters Degree in Sociology. After that, her extensive research and publications in sociology helped her get her Doctorate.

Resources:
Verta Taylor. 2003. "My Life in Social Movements: From Sixties Activist to Lesbian Den Mother." Pp. 263-278 in Our Studies, Ourselves, eds. Barry Glassner and Rosanna Hertz. New York: Oxford University Press.

Challenges Dr. Taylor has faced in her career and life

You would be surprised at the amount of barriers Dr. Taylor had while trying to establish herself as a sociologist. To begin with, as an Assistant Professor at Ohio State University, she had difficulty establishing herself because a lot of her work was qualitative, and the department was mainly quantitative. Because of this, it took a long time for Dr. Taylor to actually be accepted as a strong academic; many criticized because there was a very narrow criteria on where you were supposed to publish your material. Another problem she faced was the fact that many people in her department argued she should not become involved in gender and sexuality studies. It was believed that lesbian research on sexuality was marginal and not that important, and the department told her that if she studied sexuality, she would never receive tenure. Despite this, she continued to follow her passion and research it anyway.

Another big barrier that Dr. Taylor faced was with her graduate adviser. She was at first very hesitant to speak about it, but she finally said it would be okay if I put this information on the blog because she was sure her adviser would never see it.

Her graduate adviser at Ohio State University, whom she asked not to be named, became a little too involved in her around her second year of study. Her adviser sexually harassed her, and told her repeatedly that he had romantic feelings for her; at the time, Taylor said, there were no real rules against sexual harassment so there was nothing she could do. She tried to just deal with it as her studies went on, but in the end it became too much and she had to do a lot of the work on her own.

"I don't even know how I made it through all of that by myself, now that I think about it!" she says laughing as she talks with me. But she did, and despite this barrier, and the fact that so many people were telling her to stay away from the field of sexuality, she has succeeded and become on of the most prominent scholars in this field.

Resources provided from a phone interview between Dr. Verta Taylor and myself.

Teaching Philosophy

Dr. Taylor is a very dedicated sociologist who seems passionate about sharing her knowledge with others. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she is currently employed, she is teaching classes in the sociology department that include: Introduction to Sociology and Gender and Social Movements.

In her Introduction to Sociology class, she strives to teach a large class the basics of sociology. In the syllabus for her class she describes the class as follows:

Sociology 1 will introduce you to the perspective, theories, and methods of sociology in order to improve your understanding of groups and societies, the way individuals’ lives and identities are shaped by present and past social, cultural, political, technological, and economic developments, and the processes that influence social change. Because social organization depends upon relationships among diverse groups of people, a central focus of the course will be the varieties of experience and identities that exist in U.S. society, conflicts that shape institutions within the U.S. from family to the government, and the ceaseless pattern of social change that is going on all around us.

She really works to try and encourage students to do whatever they are passionate about. As is listed in a section below, she feels it is most important to study whatever you are passionate about.

Community Action

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Board Member: Celebrate: Key West’s Uncommon Journal of the GLBT Community, 2003-present.
Bravo Antiviolence Organization, Columbus, Ohio, 1997-2002; Depression After Delivery, Trenton, NJ.,
1990-1994; Stonewall Union 1981-1985.
Member, Postpartum Depression Task Force, Ohio Department of Mental Health, 1990-2002.
Member, Advisory Committee to the First Lady of the State of Ohio, 1989-90.
Conference Organizer: "Hearing Women’s Voices: The Experience and Treatment of Postpartum
Depression," held in Cleveland, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio, funded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health,
1987.
Expert Witness: Sexual Harassment Hearing, Bexley, Ohio Public Schools, 1985.
Consultant: research on women’s imprisoned for infanticide by Postpartum Support International, Santa
Barbara, CA (2003); research on the mental health consequences of the California fires, funded by the
National Institute of Mental Health (1982); the women’s studies program, Kenyon College, (1981); career
training seminar sponsored by the United States Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (1981, 1979); disaster
planning, the National Institute of Mental Health (1980-81); a disaster planning project by Design
Alternative, Washington, D.C., funded by Community Services Administration (1979); women and science
workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Bethany, West Virginia (1979); planning for
aircraft accidents, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental health, Hilton Head, South Carolina (1978);
"Researching Global Disasters," conference sponsored by a Joint Committee of the United States Congress,
Washington, D.C. (1978); mental health needs Assessment survey, Open Door Clinic, Columbus (1978-79);
disasters and the elderly, Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, Omaha, Nebraska (1977); disaster mental health
sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, Idaho Falls, Idaho (1977); workshop on emergency
medical services sponsored by city of
Columbus (1976); Greene County Mental Health and Retardation Board, Xenia, Ohio (1974-1975);
provision of mental health services in disasters, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the
Department of Health Education and Welfare, Chicago, Illinois (1974).

She seems to be very busy these days working as the department head of Sociology and academic, but she still tries to make time to give back to her community.

Research

Feminist Frontiers (now in it's 8th edition)

Although Dr. Taylor did not write this book by herself, she, alongside Dr. Laurel Richardson, was a full co-editor of the book. The book, an extensive exploration of different areas in regards to the sociology of women, has been critically acclaimed ever since it came out in the 1980's.
In the Third edition of Feminist Frontiers, Dr. Taylor and Dr. Richardson write a Preface that is enough for any young woman to want to get involved with the feminist movement. They explain how "the articles in Feminist Frontiers III underscore the pervasive cultural, racial, ethnic, and other differences that interact with gender" (Richardson, Taylor xi). What is fantastic about this particular edition, which was published in 1993, is that both Dr. Taylor and Dr. Richardson truly reached to make a cross-cultural connection between a diverse group of women so as to try and make as many women as possible feel included. They were well aware that "the experience of being disadvantaged [was] not the same for different groups of women" (xi) a concept that was still being explored at the time in which this book was published. This third edition, one of the two Feminist Frontiers found available in my very own library (the other being the first edition), is comprised of four different parts including: "Introduction to Feminist Research," "Learning Gender," "Social Organization of Gender," and "Social Change." The four parts including 11 sections, each divided amongst the different parts and made up of numerous articles, stories, and tidbits of information.
The first part, "Introduction to Feminist Research" "deals with feminist approaches to diversity and difference and outlines the parameters of feminist theoretical and methodological approaches" (xi). The section within the part is named "Diversity and Difference" and has essays which focus on different types of oppression, experiences from women of color with feminist research, even an essay concerning science and feminism with other essays on the social construction of different types of feminism. It provides a good introduction for someone who has never really been in touch with feminism.
The second part, "Learning Gender" is comprised of two different sections labeled "Language, Images, and Culture," and "Socialization" respectively. The first section begins with an essay on the gender stereotyping of the English language, and the limitations that language forces upon gender. It also has essays written by women of different cultures and times; one essay, for example, focuses on Chinese footbinding and the devastating effect it had on many young girls and woman's lives. The second section focuses on the socialization of feminism within everyday life; this includes an essay on how a feminist fits into a man's "Life Cycle," as well as essays on families and family structure, and the effect of gender roles on children. The section provides great insight into concepts of gender that may have not been considered during this time period, with many different essays to build a solid base concerning ideas of gender.
In the third part, "Social Organization of Gender," sociology seems to take a grander step inside the realm of feminism. It is made up of six different sections, all important topics when it comes to ideas of gender within a social construct: "Explanations of Gender Inequality," "Work," "Families," "Intimacy and Sexuality," "Health and Medicine," and "Violence Against Women." This particular part becomes very important to this book as a whole because it is a section that women can truly relate to. With stories on suchs topics as sexism in the workforce, transgendered women, working parents and feminism, body image, eating disorders, birth control, racism, and rape, these stories could easily become vital lifelines for women who are unsure of where to turn to. Many of the essays provide advice, explanation, or other pieces of information that could easily help a woman learn more about her rights as a human, and what to do if a particular situation were to arise.
The fouth and final part on "Social Change" is made up of two sections: "The State and International Politics," and "Social Protest and the Feminist Movement." These sections provide information on feminism and politics, as well as the different ways a woman could become actively involved in helping create social change. There is one article that is co-written by Verta Taylor and Nancy Whittier on "The New Feminist Movement." In this article, concepts of the New feminist movement are explained; everything from the ideologies, to the structures, with a sociologists twist on it. All in all, this part is excellent in providing information about social change, and what feminism is doing to aid in it.
Although this edition is not the newest edition, it is still a very smart resource for any woman or sociology student looking for a connection between women's studies and sociology. All editions of Feminist Frontiers get nothing but fantastic reviews, constantly being praised for the different articles and information that can be used by any woman.

Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret
Co-Authored with Dr. Leila Rupp

If you have ever wondered what it was like to be a Drag Queen, how one comes around to becoming a Drag Queen, the job and life as a Drag Queen, or anything surrounding Drag Queens, this is quite possibly the best book for you. This book delves into the life of the Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret in Key West, Florida.

You can be assured as soon as you open this book, that it will not be your typical book on gender and sexuality (although now, as I come to think about it, I wonder if there IS any typical book on gender and sexuality!), but that does not drive you away from it. As a kind of side note, I have to admit that this book reminded me a lot of Stripping, Sex and Popular Culture by Catherine Roach. The subject is rather taboo and difficult to discuss for many, but the book is just so fantastic with just the right amount of delving into the lives of Drag Queens (or strippers) and theorizing how this fits within our society, you become easily hooked.

The book opens with the first chapter labeled "Introduction: 'What Makes a Man a Man?'" with a description of how a regular night would open and run at the 801 Cabaret. This is a question that will assuredly resound in your head as you continue through the book. Rupp and Taylor make a compelling first argument when they say that "public fascination with the meaning of gender crossing has its counterpart in the world of scholarship, where feminists and queer theorists contemplate the instability of the categories 'woman' and 'man,' 'feminine' and 'masculine,' 'heterosexual' and 'homosexual'" (Drag Queens 2). These are the ultimate questions that Taylor and Rupp seem to be searching for in their book. How does drag affect what we have come to know as the social norm? Is it challenging enough to make a difference? How does it serve as a social protest?

Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret is one of the first extensive publications on drag and it's affect on society. This book doesn't seem to have any dull moments, with promises of not only insight into the girls' lives as Drag Queens, but also research on how they fit into society, and what their work is doing for the field of sex and gender. Taylor and Rupp have been endlessly praised on this book, and I feel it isa subject that is important for all women's and gender's studies students to understand.

Sushi and the rest of the Drag Queens from the 801 Cabaret

Resources:

Richardson, Laurel and Verta Taylor. Feminist Frontiers III. McGraw Hill, 1993.

Rupp, Leila and Verta Taylor. Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Accomplishments

Scholarly and Professional Awards

Recipient of John D. McCarthy Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Movements, 2008.
-The John D. McCarthy Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Movements and Collective Behavior “…honors scholars who have made outstanding contributions to scholarly literature concerned with social movement, protest, collective violence, riots, and other forms of collective behavior”. This award was presented to Taylor in celebration of her extensive work in the field of sociology and gender studies. In the email that was sent to Dr. Taylor informing her of her reception of this award, the purpose of the award was said to "...to honor a scholar who has made outstanding contributions to the scholarly literature concerned with social movements,
protest, collective violence, riots, and other kind of collective behavior over the course of his or her career. In a spirit reflecting the scholar-teacher model inherent to the University of Notre Dame, we want the recipient to be a person who has made major contributions not only through her or his own research, but also through teaching and mentoring other, more junior, scholars as they have developed their own research and scholarly identities." Dr. Taylor, with all her contributions to the fields of sociology and women's studies, was more than fitting for the award.

Dr. Verta Taylor at the John D. McCarthy Award Event

Recipient of Simon and Gagnon Award for Lifetime of Scholarly Contributions to the Study of -Sexuality, Sexualities Section, American Sociological Association, 2008. The Simon and Gagnon Award honors career contributions to the study of sexualities as represented by a body of work or a single book. This award commemorates decades of research and writing on sexualities by Professor William Simon (University of Houston) who died on July 21, 2000, and his longtime collaborator, Professor John Gagnon (SUNY-Stony Brook).

Distinguished Book Award for Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret, Sex and Gender Section, American Sociological Association, 2005.
-Presented to Taylor for her excelling work in the Sex and Gender section of the American Sociological Association.

Second Place, Distinguished Scholarship Award for Survival in the Doldrums, Social Movements and Collective Behavior Section, American Sociological Association, 1990.

Second Place, Scholarly Achievement Award for Survival in the Doldrums, North Central Sociological Association, 1988.

Selected for Membership in the Sociological Research Association, 1998-present.
-The SRA was founded in 1936 and each year, up to 14 new members are selected based on their scholarly merit and attributions to sociology. Taylor was inducted in 1998.

Feminist Lecturer, Sociologists for Women in Society, 1996-97.
-This award was “…founded in 1985 as a way of recognizing members whose scholarship employs a feminist perspective and of making this feminist scholar available to campuses that are isolated, rural, located away from major metropolitan areas, bereft of the resources needed to invite guest speakers, and/or characterized by hostility to feminist scholarship.”

Mentoring Award, Sociologists for Women in Society, 1995.
-This award is presented to members of Sociologists for Women in Society who are recognized as outstanding Feminist Mentors. In their explanation of the award, the SWS says that while mentoring is usually applied to a teacher-student relationship, feminist mentoring can be recognized in many different ways and “feminist mentoring is an important and concrete way to encourage feminist scholarship, membership in the academy, and feminist change.”

Andrea Carson Coley Lecture in Women's Studies, University of Georgia, 1999.
-This lecture is given in memory of Andrea Carson Coley who was a candidate for a Women’s Studies Certificate before her death in 1993. This annual lecture brings academics who focus on lack of tolerance towards sexual minorities. In 1999, Taylor’s lecture was entitled: "Corporations as the New Frontiers for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Rights"

Taft Lecture in Sociology, University of Cincinnati, 1992.

Teaching Awards

Outstanding Teaching Award, Inter-Greek Council, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005.

Outstanding Educator Award, Pi Beta Phi Sorority, University of California, Santa Barbara

Outstanding Faculty Award, Multicultural Center, Ohio State University, 2002.

Diversity Enhancement Award, Chair of Undergraduate Student Services, University Senate and Office of Human Resources, Ohio State University, 2001-2002.

Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Office of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Student Services, Ohio State University, 1995-96.

Outstanding Faculty Member, Intrafraternity Council/Women’s Panhellenic Association, Ohio State University, 1994-95.

Multicultural Teaching Award, Center for Teaching Excellence, Ohio State University, 1992.

Graduate Teaching Award, Sociology Department, Ohio State University, 1989-90 and 1986-87.

Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, Ohio State University, 1988.

Most Supportive Faculty Award, Sociology Graduate Students, Ohio State University, 1993-94.


Resources:

American Sociological Association. "2009 Call for Section Award Nominations: Simon-Gagnon Award." 3 Mar. 2009. Accessed 30 Mar. 2009.

Estrada, Andrea. University of California, Santa Barbara. "Press Release: UCSB Sociologist Receives Career Achievement Awards." 15 May, 2008. Accessed 30 Mar. 2009.

Farrell, Susan. Sociologists for Women in Society. "Feminist Lecturer Award." Accessed 30 Mar. 2009.

"Verta Taylor: Homepage." University of California, Santa Barbara. Accessed 26 Mar. 2009.>

"Sociological Research Association." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 14 Jan. 2008. Accessed 30 March, 2009.

Women's Studies at the University of Georgia. "Previous Coley Lectures." 30 Mar. 2009.

What would you have done if you weren't doing what you're doing now?

"You know, sometimes I think about this and I just don't know!" Dr. Taylor says on the phone with me. She talks about how there are so many different paths open now that were not available to her when she was in school. Maybe she could have been a Doctor or Lawyer, she says, but this is the field she is really passionate about. She can't really see herself anywhere but where she is now. She never even really considered other options because she was such a good student who set herself on a path that she was determined to follow to the end.

Interesting Facts

• She was the first from her family to graduate from college.
• She was almost kicked out of school for her campus activism in the 1960s
• A lesbian colleague has told her she is known as the "lesbian den mother of sociology" for her mentoring of lesbian students and junior scholars.
• Her father was an elected county official during the civil rights movement.
  
• She has witnessed a real Ku Klux Klan protest where there was several hundred Klansmen dressed in their signature garb burning a cross while protesting a movie that showed a kiss between a black man and a white woman.
  
• She led a demonstration against the differential rules for women and men in residence halls while at Indiana State University.
• She was confused for being a black woman when she applied and received the fellowship to attend Ohio State University; she had to apply and receive a subsequent an applicable fellowship!
• She has been with her life partner, Leila Rupp, since 1978.
• Her curriculum vitae is over 27 pages containing information on: 15 books and edited volumes, 100+ articles, chapters and reviews, and 20+ awards!

All information taken from:

Estrada, Andrea. University of California, Santa Barbara. "Press Release: UCSB Sociologist Receives Career Achievement Awards." 15 May, 2008. Accessed 30 Mar. 2009.

Taylor, Verta. 2003. "My Life in Social Movements: From Sixties Activist to Lesbian Den Mother." Pp. 263-278 in Our Studies, Ourselves, eds. Barry Glassner and Rosanna Hertz. New York: Oxford University Press.

Memorable Moments in Dr. Taylor's Life

The Drag Queens come to visit UCSB, and Dr. Taylor and Dr. Rupp get to grace the stage alongside them!
Dr. Taylor also informed me that the Drag Queens would be returning on April 30th for Pride Week! She's excited to see them again.

For Dr. Taylor, there seems to be many different memorable moments in her life. Here are some of the more prominent ones:

• The McCarthy Award event at Notre Dame was particularly memorable for her. Her mother had just died a few months before, and at the Notre Dame event, the presenters of the award had brought back many of her old colleagues, graduate students, friends and family to see her receive the award. One of the most memorable moments of the event is when one of her colleagues was speaking about all her accomplishments, and she said something along the lines of "There is not a person in this room who hasn't be helped by Verta Taylor and her work." That was such a memorable moment, Dr. Taylor said, because she feels that if she has been able to help others with her work, then she is doing something right.
  
• The Sociologists for Women in Society Mentoring Award.
• Many of the teaching awards she received at Ohio State were very memorable. She hasn't received as many at UCSB because, as the chair of the Sociology department, she doesn't have a full load to teach and cannot be nominated.
• When she began to talk about her lifetime partner, Leila Rupp, she sounded the happiest. She first met Leila at Ohio State when she was going through the rough time with her adviser. Leila really helped focus her research and helped her get into studies of sexuality. Together, they have published many amazing publications from books to journal articles. They have been together for over 30 years; last year on their 30th anniversary they got married in California in the summer.
• One other important memory for Dr. Taylor is when Leila's father gave Verta and Leila the money to buy the house they own in Key West. This is very important because not only did it become a center for research for them (Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret) but it also has a very good gay and lesbian community that they have not been able to find anywhere else. They also spend time vacationing there when they have time away from their very busy schedules. There is a possibility that once the time is right, both Verta and Leila will have to choose whether they would like to retire in either Santa Barbara or Key West; either way they will still be beach front!

Resources provided from a phone interview between Dr. Verta Taylor and myself.

Dr. Taylor's Thoughts on the Future of the Discipline

Dr. Taylor has seen how much the field of sociology has been changing. Women are becoming the majority of the field, she says, and it has helped change it. It will continue to change, she believes, as more and more people enter the field and bring their own ideas and experiences to the table. This doesn't seem to be a bad thing, however, but rather a thing to be very excited about!


Resources provided from a phone interview between Dr. Verta Taylor and myself.

Goals

Despite Dr. Taylor's very busy schedule, she still has a lot of different projects she is working on and hoping to finish:

• She is, of course, the current Chair for the Department of Sociology at UCSB, which takes up a lot of her time but she seems very happy with this position.
• She is currently working on a publication about the same-sex marriages of 2004. She already has a lot of interviews with people who got married at the time as a form of protest. She is looking to explore how same-sex marriages can be seen as a social protest.
• She is also working on a co-edited book on same-sex marriage.
• Alongside Leila Rupp and Paula England, Taylor is working on a publication about "girls kissing girls in public"with the ultimate goal of exploring queer identities among college aged girls, and the fluidity of sexual identity on college campuses.
• Ultimately she hopes to publish her own book with her own social theories on social movements and social identities. She has a lot on her plate right now, however, so it may take a while for her to get this one out she says.

Resources provided from a phone interview between Dr. Verta Taylor and myself.

Advice for Women Starting Out a Career in Social Sciences

"This is something you're going to be doing for the rest of your life," Dr. Taylor says to me as I ask her for advice for women who could be pursuing careers in her kind of field, "follow your passion, study what's important to you, it's going to change if you help change it." She is perhaps one of the greatest case studies of this; just looking at all the obstacles she had where she was told she shouldn't follow her passion, she should stay away from the field of sexuality because it was not going to get her tenure. And yet she continued on, pushed past her obstacles and began publishing research on it anyway. "If you stick to it, and do the best work you can do, you can make a change," she says, advising anyone looking for a career as an academic to make sure that is what you want to do. "You're going to spend a lot of time teaching, writing, researching, and advising, so make sure it's something you really want to do!"

Resources provided from a phone interview between Dr. Verta Taylor and myself.

My Final Thoughts

I had a rocky start, beginning this project. Dr. Verta Taylor was the fourth woman I had correspondence with, and the first who agreed to help me with this project despite her very busy schedule! I now wish I would have had her first, because she is arguably one of the most interesting for me to learn about, not to mention that her field and research closely matches that of which I'm interested in. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to learn about her and her research. Her accomplishments are awe-inspiring, her research amazing, her writing and lectures excellent. Her work can be no less than a great role model for women's and gender's studies students, as well as student of sociology. I am very, very, very thankful that she was willing to work with me despite her schedule that leaves her with, what seems like, no time to herself!

I faced a lot of challenges while working on this project, the first being finding a woman who had even a little bit of time to work with me on it. This is not something that is easily avoidable, however, for with the economy and overall state of the nation right now, there really is no time to slow down and take time for an undergrad with a small class project like this it seems! This is something I overcame, however, once I found Dr. Taylor.

Doing the research and getting a chance to read more about her and her work was relatively easy. It took a little digging, but doesn't all research? I truly wish I would have had more time to work with her and work around her schedule. I felt really bad each time I asked her for help knowing that she has a full schedule for what seems like every day of the week! It was nice to find, however, that she was very nice about it and answered the questions I needed. She even sent me a chapter about her from a book through the mail, something I was very grateful for.

There is no way I can truly find criticism regarding this project. Other than the difficulty of finding a woman to do research on, it is a fantastic project that will hopefully serve as a great resource for women hoping to join the realm of sociology.

I would also like to take this space to thank Verta Taylor for working with me so:
Thank You!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Talking with her was just so refreshing! It was really nice to put a voice to her picture, and she did it despite have an entirely full schedule for the day. She was so enthusiastic and happy for me to be doing this, and I just wanted to tell her how enthusiastic and happy I was to have found her! So thank you so much, Verta, for helping me! I know you're constantly busy so it really meant a lot to me that you would take time to help me.

She told me a bit about the Feminist Studies department at UCSB and encouraged me to look into it, and even invited me up to a big Sociology conference being held there next year. Thanks!

Useful Links

Want to learn more about Dr. Verta Taylor?? Here are some links that could be useful with regards to her:

http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/taylor.htm
This is her homepage for the sociology department at UCSB. It contains all her contact information, her curriculum vitae, a bit about her and her life, her key publications and what she is currently teaching.

http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=1780
"UCSB Press Release: UCSB Sociologist Receives Career Achievement Award" This is an article that was published about Dr. Taylor after she recieved the McCarthy Award. It has information about the award, and other tidbits of information about her accomplishments.

http://books.google.com/books?id=FsGxTL0gtZUC&dq=dr+verta+taylor&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=m-DnSceqDIKItgfP4LGdBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11
Want to know more about Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret?? This is a link to Google Books, which gives a preview of the book. You can read the preface and some of the first chapter, as well as some pieces from other chapters. Check it out!

http://www.independent.com/news/2007/apr/19/l-lesbian/
An interview with Verta Taylor and Leila Rupp from the Santa Barbara Independent publications. Talks about a lot of different experiences from being a lesbian in the field, to the Drag Show Taylor brought to her Soc 1 Class!

http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=7567
Article written by one of Taylor's students about the drag show brought to class. Very funny and insightful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWR9K9HvNzQ
Hopefully Verta won't be upset about this! But this is a link to a youtube video where Verta sings a song at what looks like the McCarthy Award Event!