Derek P. Siegel (they/them)

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology & Criminal Justice at Old Dominion UniversIty where I teach classes such as Introduction to Sociology and Health, Illness, & Society. My scholarly work addresses 1) race, class, and gender inequalities with a focus on 2) reproduction, parenting, and family, and 3) transgender people's experiences in other institutional contexts (i.e., healthcare and the law). My research has been published in journals such as Gender & Society, Social Problems, Medical Anthropology, Social Science & Medicine, and Catalyst: Feminism, theory, technoscience.

I am currently conducting interviews with Jewish mothers about how they talk with their children about Israel, Palestine, and the events of 10/7. Like women in other communities, Jewish mothers in the U.S. work hard to pass along culture and build cross-generational identity. As such, they face pressures to be "good mothers," as well as "good Jews." This research is supported by the Aaron and Sylvia Wechter Family Excellence Fund, for research supporting the greater El Paso Jewish Community.

My previous work examines how race, class, and gender shape trans women's parenting journeys in a moment when anti-trans discourse and legislation are at an all-time high. I conducted 54 semi-structured interviews with current and prospective parents across North America, including 27 white trans women and 27 trans women of color. Using the concepts of racialized transmisogyny and reproductive governance, I argue that anti-trans stereotypes reinforce the power of regulatory institutions, policing the legal and symbolic boundaries of motherhood and constructing motherhood as a white, cisgender category. These boundaries shape both the distribution of parenting rights and how trans women are mis/recognized as mothers in everyday interactions (i.e., street harassment). I also examine transformations in family structure (i.e., how trans women navigate motherhood in both their nuclear families and families of choice). This project is funded by the American Sociological Association, the UMass Graduate School, and the UMass Center for Research on Families. 

Public Engagement

Teaching

Awards