FOCUS
Wes’ research focuses on mental health disparities of gender-expansive people (transgender, genderqueer, non-binary, agender, two-spirit, intersex, etc.). Specifically, he explores how transgender people experience substance use and access/maintain recovery from addiction and alcoholism. Wes uses qualitative, community-informed methodology to better understand substance use in the trans and gender-expansive community; and with this research hopes to develop creative and lasting policy and programs that prioritize the specific needs of transgender people coping with substance abuse.
MORE ABOUT WES
Wes’ vision of health equity is informed by his experiences as a trans and disabled person in recovery, as well as his work in the realm of disability justice. He is invested in creating a community-informed culture of health for transgender and disabled people that transcends the medicalization so often experienced by marginalized communities.
DISSERTATION GRANT AWARDEE — WINTER 2024
Doing Disabled Gender and Sexuality: An Examination of Experiences in the Medical Establishment, the Family, and Schools
Disabled people face numerous barriers to agentic autonomy related to their sexuality and gender. This dissertation brings together the fields of health, gender, sexuality, and disability to understand how disabled people experience, and do, gender and sexuality. It brings an institutional frame to examine how three key social sites – the medical establishment, the family, and schools –play a core role in the sexuality and gender development of all people.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HPRS DISSERTATION AWARDS, CLICK HERE.
