Marc Settembrino, Ph.D. (they/them)
Woman's Hospital Endowed Professor in the Humanities
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice
Southeastern Louisiana University
Campus Representative, United Federation of College Teachers
Biography & Reflexive Statement
White Supremacy, Cis-Hetero-Patriarchy, Ableism, Anti-Fatness, and Capitalism actively repress our humanity. As a result, many of us accept that we are unworthy of dignity. Worse yet, we allow other people to suffer because we don’t recognize them as humans either. I spent most of my fat-queer life thinking that I was unworthy of love, acceptance, or kindness. I believed that I needed to shrink myself before I could be worthy. I lived disembodied, for a future thinner self. One day I could be happy, but not until I took up less space.
I am a fat-white-queer educator and researcher at Southeastern Louisiana University. My research and teaching interests are broad and ever-changing. Much of my work has examined the intersections of social inequality, disasters, and the climate crisis. More recently, my focus has been on trans*/queer community building in the Northshore region of southeast Louisiana, a place that I have learned to call “home”. Along with these efforts, I have begun performing in drag as “Tuffy Love” to challenge political efforts to erase trans* and queer people from social life. Ultimately, my goal as a teacher, mentor, researcher, and performer is to spread joy, encourage empathy, and hopefully make life better for everyone.
Notes & statements from the President*
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