Bio

Dr. Nia Baker is a Research Assistant Professor for the Department of Sociology and member of the Bridge to Faculty Program in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of South Carolina. As a scholar of race, sexuality, and Black feminist theory, she uses qualitative methods to explore cultural shifts in sex and intimacy, queer politics, and the Black experience. She double majored in Sociology and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Lehigh University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts. She earned her Master's degree at the University of Virginia; her thesis, "The Sexual Politics of Hookup Culture: A Black feminist intervention" is currently published in Sexualities. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Virginia where she also earned a graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her dissertation, Transformations in race and intimacy: Black women and sex work, explores transformation in sexual commerce, investigating the impact of commodified intimacy on meanings of race, identity, political resistance, and pleasure for Black women.
 
Dr. Baker also has extensive experience in DEI-related research and programming. Her subject matter expertise in gender and sexuality and race and ethnicity has been informed by over 7 years of experience working in LGBTQ and gender-equity organizations with a strong emphasis on intersectional programming. Her current research interests include sex work, racial identity meaning-making, LGBTQ identity, Black feminisms, and BDSM and subversive sexual cultures.