Trina Smith, PhD

Research Statement  

 Introduction:

           As a gender and inequalities scholar, I am interested in how diverse identities impact gendered experiences, particularly reproduction. My current work focuses on reproduction in relation to globalization, and future work considers gender and reproduction in health and medicine. Broadly, my research is driven by the notion that ideals and norms do not always equate with reality and practices. Beyond my gender research, I have examined the link between ideals and practices using the lens of youth to examine globalization and through work on neighborhoods, diversity, and social boundaries. The following summarizes my dissertation research and chronicles my research plans for the next five years.

 Dissertation:

          “Reproductive Discourses: International Organizations and Questions of Representation”: Rooted in globalization literature, I examine if universal interpretations of international reproductive rights are able to account for diverse practices. Internationally, reproductive rights is a questioned concept and not all reproductive practices are seen as legitimate (i.e. female genital cutting). Yet, international human rights discourse and law, including the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, tends to approach human rights, including reproductive rights, as something universal that can be or should applied the same everywhere. This poses problematic issues. First, universal human rights’ discourse and laws tend to be stated in ambiguous terms. Second, human rights have been critiqued as a Western concept. Third, scholars have argued that women’s reproductive rights are a façade for population control under the rubric of development. Thus, if international reproductive rights’ norms are presented in ambiguous terms, does this allow room for diverse reproductive practices or instead does it reify global stratification? I utilize neo-institutionalism and feminist theories of globalization to compare and contrast international reproductive rights organizations’ discourse and advocacy in assessing their inclusivity of diverse views. While neo-institutionalism sees globalization as top-down process and places emphasis on legitimacy gained from the international system, even if this contradicts with local contexts, feminist theories of globalization emphasize the interactive process between the local and global. Previous work in these areas tends to critique each other, while my work employs both theories in tandem with each other to help explain why some organizations may define and advocate reproductive rights in more or less inclusive ways.
    To assess organizations’ reproductive rights’ discourse and advocacy, I implement a multi-method approach, including participant observation at international events, including Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meetings at the UN, in-depth interviews with organizational representatives, and analysis of organizations’ websites. I have three main findings. First, in assessing organizations’ sources of legitimacy, organizations more concerned with the international system tend to be less inclusive in their framing of reproductive rights. On the other hand, organizations that have multiple sources of legitimacy, which in my work points to both the local/diverse and the international system, tend to have a more inclusive framing and construction of reproductive rights because they must be sympathetic to different actors at both ends of the spectrum. Second, how organizations do their work to enact these international ideas about human and reproductive rights affects their inclusivity. Thus, legal advocacy and health rights organizations tend to be more inclusive of diverse practices and views, while research or policy orientated organizations are less inclusive. Lastly, I found that organizations that had a narrow focus—either topical or geographical—seemed to facilitate pragmatic inclusivity. Organizations that did not have this narrow focus, because they did not have a specific rationale beyond funding and/or concerns stemming from the international system , in selecting the places and people they focus made it difficult for them to be inclusive. This is because they tended to interpret universal norms in a Western, top-down fashion. The results of my study are not only important in advancing the globalization and gender literature, but also to both advocates and scholars who engage in NGO and activist work to better understand how to build bridges among diverse groups to advocate solutions to gendered issues. Lastly, even though some organizations are more inclusive than others, this does not mean that they do not add to the reproductive rights’ agenda. Organizations are needed that both work pragmatically on immediate problems such as HIV/AIDs and organizations that work to change how the world views human and reproductive rights by including more voices.

Future Research:
   
    Globalization, Human Rights, & Reproduction: While I am developing my next research study on pregnancy and mental health, described below, I am also working on other papers stemming from my dissertation and other data collected at the UN. First, I am revising the empirical chapters of my dissertation into journal articles. The first sent to a journal for review details three organizations that best typify the differences in sources of legitimacy and inclusivity of diverse views and reproductive practices. This paper is important in adding to both feminist theories of globalization and neo-institutionalism with its focus on where sources of legitimacy can stem from. Second, from my dissertation, I plan on developing further papers for journal submission detailing organizational cases in relation to human and reproductive rights’ literatures. One paper will detail a unique organization advocating individualism to such an extent it is near impossible to talk about group based identity or rights. Other papers will be comparative case studies of the different organizations based on theoretical ideas in my dissertation.
    Second, I have plans for two papers based on other data I collected at the UN. One, which I presented at a conference this past year, utilizes social movement framing theories and international feminist literature to examine the events and transpiring interactions of on an umbrella of American pro-life groups’ presence and presentations at the 2007 Commission on the Status of Women meetings. The second paper I plan to publish from my observations at the United Nations will be about representation and voice in an international setting based on Chapter 4 of my dissertation. Through empirical analysis, this paper will advance feminist theory in the areas of social movements and globalization. Lastly, I will publish a methodological piece based on the realities of conducting interviews with large, established organizations. I will analyze my experiences to address gate keeping, saturation points, and validity of the data in relation to gaining entrée into organizations. 

          Mental Health & Pregnancy: While previous research has looked at mothering, post-partum depression, teenage pregnancy, and high fertility rates among certain groups, few seem to look solely at the experience of pregnancy and mental health. Thus, expanding my interest in reproduction, my future research will examine mental health during pregnancy. Building upon my graduate coursework in the sociology of health and medicine, my foundation in the gender and reproduction literatures, and my prior work experiences in the mental health and disability field, I will explore mental health and pregnancy through an intersectional gendered analysis. Looking at pregnancy through this framework shows the different ways diverse women experience this time and how social institutions and other actors involved view and construct this experience for diverse women in different ways.
    My interest is in comparing how diverse social statuses, such as race, class, religion, and other social factors and institutions, such as welfare, social networks, and medical providers, impact how women experience pregnancy and mental health during this time. What cultural and gendered discourses do women use to understand their pregnancy experience? How does this relate to which women are more likely to suffer depression during pregnancy or how depressive symptoms might escalate for women with chronic depression? Who is more likely to admit their difficulties and seek help?  Why might this differ across diverse women? This is important research because not only is mental illness stigmatized in society, but it is even more so during pregnancy because of gendered expectations to be happy, self-sacrificing, and a good mother while pregnant. While the medical sociology literature shows that in general those who are white and higher status have better mental health because of access to health care and social networks, does this hold true during pregnancy because of the increased attention to gender and motherhood as social statuses?  Are diverse women held up to the same “perfect motherhood” standards that begin when women are pregnant? Are higher status women less likely to admit feelings of depression and not take medication if needed because they see it as a potential risk to their social standing and ideas of being a good mother? How do social support networks that may buffer depression vary during pregnancy among diverse women, particularly when we take into account not only race, ethnicity, and social class, but age, educational background, and career status?
    Furthermore, new medical discourse states that depression and a mother’s stress can have a negative effect on the fetus. Yet, the medical studies on the effects of mothers’ use of anti-depressants during pregnancy are limited in a few ways.  First, the studies are few and have low numbers of participants. Second, the studies usually only compare infants of mothers who have taken anti-depressants versus mothers who did not. This not a great comparison because it does assess differences among depressed mothers who did and did not take medication. Thus, how do the few medical studies on the effects of anti-depressants during pregnancy on the fetus affect medical providers’ recommendations and/or  pregnant women’s decisions to take medication if needed? How might these decisions about medication, or even conversations about medication with care providers, be affected by women’s differing social statuses?  How does this relate to gendered discourse about the self-sacrificing good mother who should not ingest anything that might be harmful to the baby, even if the mother’s mental health might be in question and affecting the fetus? 
    This will be a qualitative study consisting of interviews with both women and medical professionals, observations of support groups and other events if possible, and content analysis of both the literature presented to pregnant women concerning mental health and internet resources where pregnant women seek and discuss information on pregnancy. My research will make important contributions to the growing fields of the medicalization of pregnancy and illness and mental health and gender. This research is timely and fundable because of the current debates centering on the risks and benefits of using any medication during pregnancy, but particularly anti-depressants. Lastly, the results of this study would be of use not only to sociologists, but also medical professionals who have increased their attention to this issue, which augments this study’s fundability.

          Neighborhoods, Community, & Diversity: I am also interested in neighborhoods and communities stemming from my research with the American Mosaic Project (AMP) at the University of Minnesota and my community work. Based on the  ethnographic and interview data I collected  in two Twin Cities’ neighborhoods, I examine how diversity is a unifying or divisive force as people develop community in neighborhoods. My analysis shows that perceptions of diversity differ across the types of neighborhoods. Racially homogenous neighborhoods tend to have more distinct racial and class boundaries rooted in lifestyle concerns. Diverse neighborhoods tend to embrace their diversity, but have pragmatic issues implementing social cohesion across diverse lines. This paper is being revised to be submitted to a journal.   
    In addition, with the wealth of data I collected from the neighborhoods and community and ethnic fairs, my vision is to present opportunities to develop students’ research skills by collaborating with them in further analyzing the data resulting in co-authored presentations and publications. Furthermore, because of the excitement this research spurs with students and social scientists, I would be interested in replicating a similar study in local areas to enhance student research, collaboration with other faculty, and to perpetuate community relations and ideals of public sociology.