Higher Education

OU activist-scholar recognized for LGBTQ research

September 30, 2024

Ray Carter

Meredith Worthen, a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma, has been globally ranked among the top 10 Social Sciences scholars based on data from the past five years gathered by ScholarGPS.

Worthen’s research focuses on deviance, LGBTQ stigma, and feminist/queer criminology. Worthen and Samuel Perry, a presidential professor in the Department of Sociology, are currently the only OU researchers recognized in the ScholarGPS ranking.

“We are thrilled to have two faculty from the college ranked so highly in the ScholarGPS rankings,” Randy Hewes, OU Graduate College Dean and the Interim Dean of the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, said in a release posted on the OU website. “This is a testament to the quality and impact of the research, scholarship, and creative work of our faculty. These rankings also highlight the rich opportunities provided at OU for students to learn from and work with true leaders in their fields.”

Worthen’s research touts transgenderism

Worthen’s biography describes her as “a social justice activist for the LGBTQ community” and states that her “work in LGBTQ studies critically analyzes the relationships between attitudes toward LGBTQ people, stigma, and sexual behavior as well as LGBTQ people’s experiences with violence and discrimination.”

Worthen has authored numerous academic articles, including “Anti-Femininity or Gender-Nonconformity Prejudice? An Investigation of Femme, Twink, and Butch LGBTQ Victimization using Norm-Centered Stigma Theory,” “‘Homophobia’ in the Country? Rural America and the Stigmatization of LGBTQ People: An Empirical Test of Norm-Centered Stigma Theory,” and “Fifty Shades of Leather and Misogyny: An Investigation of Anti-Woman Perspectives among Leathermen” (published in the journal Deviant Behavior).

In another academic article, “‘Mom and Dad’ = Cis Woman + Cis Man and the Stigmatization of Trans Parents: An Empirical Test of Norm-Centered Stigma Theory,” published in the International Journal of Transgender Health, Worthen decried societal norms that portray a man who identifies as a man being married to a woman who identifies as a woman as the societal norm for parents.

Worthen wrote that disapproval of other parental pairings, such as those involving transgender individuals, “is presented as a religious issue, with opponents calling upon Biblical principles and the ‘laws of nature.’”

But the article did not simply downplay heterosexual couples.

Worthen also noted that gay men and lesbian women often “express some discomfort at the thought of interacting with trans individuals due to the belief that trans identities somehow challenge their own cisgender identities,” and declared that gay men often have “negative attitudes toward trans individuals.”

In another article, “This is my TERF! Lesbian Feminists and the Stigmatization of Trans Women,” Worthen warned that some lesbian women do not welcome transgender individuals (males who identify as female) as feminists.

Worthen wrote that there is “evidence of an historical exclusion of trans women from lesbian feminist separatist spaces supported by radical feminist lesbian anti-trans discourse as well as modern examples of anti-trans perspectives promoted by feminists sometimes described as Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists …”

The article claimed to provide “ample evidence of anti-trans perspectives among some lesbian cis women feminists.” It said Worthen’s research provided “a starting point” to “work toward a trans-inclusive future of feminism.”

That article prompted a response from Callie H. Burt of the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Georgia State University, who wrote an article declaring that “mischaracterizations pervade Worthen’s article,” including the “use of ad hominem in lieu of logic and evidence.”

The abstract for Burt’s article noted she concluded her response by “considering how we arrived at this socio-cultural situation, where feminists who believe that sex is biologically real and matters in some contexts are derided, their concerns are denounced as hateful, and flawed articles purporting to demonstrate feminist lesbians’ uniquely ‘anti-trans’ sentiment are published despite factual inaccuracies.”

The “Mom and Dad” and “TERF” articles are not the only instances in which Worthen has targeted lesbian women for criticism. She is also the author of “L v. B and Feminist Identity: Examining Lesbians’ Bi-Negativity and Bisexuals’ Lesbian Negativity using Norm-Centered Stigma Theory,” published in the Journal of Bisexuality.

According to ScholarGPS, Worthen has 67 publications and more than 1,500 citations, earning her a top 10 ranking among researchers on human sexuality (7th) and the top 20 among social policy (13th). Overall, Worthen is among the top 0.5 percent of scholars in her field.“To me, this means that my work and research are now globally recognized as highly impactful,” Worthen stated in OU’s press release. “As an activist-scholar, being globally ranked as seventh in human sexuality and thirteenth in social policy means that my work is making a difference both in academia and in public policy in ways that improve the lives of LGBTQ people.”

Worthen called the recognition “a powerful signal that the Department of Sociology at OU is a growing powerhouse of academic strength” that is “the home of cutting-edge research and groundbreaking studies of human behavior.”

OU lacks staff diversity but ranks high for surging cost

A recent review conducted by The College Fix looked up professors’ political party affiliations using the public Oklahoma Election Data Warehouse. The Fix identified the affiliations of 134 of 209 OU professors across 13 humanities departments.

Only nine were registered Republicans.

Six of 13 humanities departments at OU had no Republican professors on staff, including the anthropology, English, psychology, philosophy, religion, and African American Studies departments.

The Wall Street Journal found that between 2002 and 2022, enrollment at OU increased 15 percent, but tuition increased by 36 percent even after adjusting for inflation. Once student fees were included, the combined rate of growth was even more dramatic and was the highest in the nation.

“At the University of Oklahoma, per-student tuition and fees rose 166%,” the Journal reported, “the most of any flagship.”

[For more stories about higher education in Oklahoma, visit AimHigherOK.com.]