B. Ethan Coston, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Principal Investigator - Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Pioneering Ideas"
Crenshaw House, 919 W. Franklin St., Room 301A
Office hours: To schedule a time to meet one-on-one: https://calendar.app.google/m6X2Vf8PtdhhMZZPA
Education
- Ph.D., Sociology, Stony Brook University, 2014
- Advanced Graduate Certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, 2012
- M.A. Sociology, Stony Brook University, 2011 B.A., Communication Studies and English, Albion College, 2008
Research Interests
Ethan Coston (they/he) is broadly interested in questions related to:
- Health justice (mental health and wellbeing)
- Critical sexuality studies (including the sociolegal construction and regulation of sexual selves, sexual cultures, and sexual citizenship)
- QuantCrit, feminist and queer research methodologies
As an inter-and-transdisciplinary activist-scholar, Ethan takes up critical concepts and theories from sociology, health psychology, public health, and feminist science and technology studies, to tell complex stories about the how and why of human sexuality and gender.
As the facilitator of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneering Ideas community-led grant to support and promote embodiminded autonomy for all, Ethan spends most of their time ruminating on how to facilitate queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent healing.
Select Publications
For a full list of citations, visit: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C8Z2-wMAAAAJ&hl=en
*Indicates post-doctoral fellow co-author.
**Indicates graduate student co-author.
***Indicates undergraduate student co-author.
- B. Ethan Coston, Kristian E. Robinson, M.C., NCC**, and Tyler D. Gaedecke, BSN, RN**. 2022. “Disabled Trans College Student Engagement in Sex Work Economies: Results from the 2015 National Transgender Discrimination Survey.” Disability Studies Quarterly, 42(2). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v42i2.9134
- Andrés Cordero, Jr., B. Ethan Coston, Deandra Escañuela, and Natalie Malone (alphabetical order). 2022. “Introduction to Series: Living an LGBTQIA2+ Life: Enacting Health Justice for a Flourishing Future.” Spark: Elevating Scholarship on Social Issues. The Online Magazine of the National Center for Institutional Diversity. https://medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/living-an-lgbtqia2-life-f2ca12d6804a
- Kyle Liam Mason**, Shelby A Smout**, Catherine S. J. Wall**, B. Ethan Coston, Paul B. Perrin, and Eric G. Benotsch. 2022. “Transgender and Gender Independent Individuals Weighing Risks: The Impact of Exposure to Healthcare Discrimination in Childhood on Adult Healthcare Underutilization During a Global Pandemic.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12): 7440. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127440
- Natasha Dickerson-Amaya** and Bethany M. Coston. 2019. “Invisibility is Not Invincibility: The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Gay, Bisexual, and Straight Men's Mental Health.” American Journal of Men’s Health, 13(3): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988319849734
- Bethany M. Coston. 2019. “Disability, Sexual Orientation, and the Mental Health Outcomes of Intimate Partner Violence: A Comparative Study of Women in the U.S.” Disability & Health Journal, 12(2): 164-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2018.11.002
Affiliations
- 2022 – Neurodiversity and Disability Community Advisor, Reconceptualizing Gender and Health (RGH) Project at SP2’s Sex-Gen Lab
- 2021 – Editorial Board, Contemporary Sociology
- 2021 – Editorial Board, Spark: Elevating Scholarship on Social Issues
- 2021 – Board of Directors, Albion College Alumni Association
- 2008 - American Sociological Association Sexualities Section (former elected council member, current volunteer and member)
Courses
- GSWS 301: Feminist Theory
- GSWS 358: Sex and Power
- GSWS 393: Feminist Research and Methods of Inquiry
- GSWS 409: LGBTQ Health and Wellness
- GSWS 602: Feminist Research Epistemology and Methods
Awards
- 2020 Burnside Watstein LGBTQIA Award. Equality VCU, Virginia Commonwealth University
- 2020 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Emerging Faculty Leaders Award (finalist)
- 2019 Excellence in Access, Course Content, and Inclusion Champion of Accessibility (Faculty). Transforming Accessibility Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University.
- 2014 Madeline Fusco Fellowship Award ($5000). Stony Brook University Graduate School.
- 2013 Martin P. Levine Memorial Dissertation Fellowship Award ($3000). American Sociological Association, Sexualities Section.
Other
- June 2022. LGBTQIA+ health research is not niche, it’s necessary, and one nursing student is showing us why.
- January 2022. VCU researcher receives major grant to design and test a comprehensive assessment of sexual health.
- December 2019. Anti-trans discrimination begins in the classroom.
- April 2019. Students present ideas about accessibility in interactive symposium.
- August 2017. Two students will use research fellowships to advance inclusiveness.