Verta Taylor

Verta Taylor is a sociologist whose research focuses on gender, social movements, sexuality, and women’s health. She is the author of 15 books and edited volumes and over 100 scholarly articles on women’s and lesbian and gay movements, which have made important insights into rethinking the conditions associated with collective action, the role of activist networks, emotions, and collective identity.  Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the American Psychological Association Foundation, among others. Taylor was the 2011 recipient of the American Sociological Association’s Jessie Bernard Award, and in 2008, she received the John D. McCarthy Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Movements and the American Sociological Association’s Simon and Gagnon Award for the Lifetime of Scholarly Contributions to the Study of Sexuality. Her current research focuses on the same-sex marriage movement, the cultural outcomes of the gay and lesbian movement, and sexual fluidity and queer identity among college women.