Her teaching and research interests center on gender and sexuality, medicine, and the body, and her writings on topics as wide ranging as philanthropy, disability, and romance have been published in a range of edited volumes and academic journals. She is currently completing a book tentatively titled Sociology of the Face: Aesthetic Surgery as Life Saving Work (New York University Press). As an engaged scholar, she has employed the sociological imagination in the service of feminist activism through Act like a Grrrl, a Nashville based organization which invites girls to share and transform their personal experiences through writing and the arts and through her service to Asheville, NC based Women at Risk. Her hope is to continue integrating teaching, scholarly research, and community activism. She is an editorial collective member of Feminist Teacher.