Education

1997 B.A., SUNY Stony Brook, Sociology, Cum Laude
1999 M.A., University of Texas at Austin, Sociology
2004 Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, Sociology

Research Interests

Gender/Sexuality, Sexuality and Religion, Social Movement Organizing, Moral Social Movements

Teaching Interests
Sexual Identities, Sexuality and Public Policy, Sexuality and Religion, Identity-based Social Movements

Publications
Cortese, Daniel K. 2006. Are We Thinking Straight?: The Politics of Straightness in a Lesbian and Gay Social Movement Organization. New Approaches in Sociology: Studies in Social Inequality, Social Change, and Social Justice book series. Nancy A. Naples, series editor. New York: Routledge.

Abstract: This qualitative research project highlights the strategic deployment of a straight identity by an LGBT organization, which vary according to the national and local socio-political environments of the Untied States in which it operates. For this project, I completed thirty in-depth interviews with activists from an LGBT organization Straight and Gay Alliance (SAGA) in five regions in the United States, as well as analyzed organizational records, to uncover the ways in which activists deploy straight identities differently in different geographic locations achieve movement goals. In this dissertation, I first ask: why would an LGBT organization use a straight identity as one tool by which to effectively achieve their political goals? Utilizing the identity deployment theory devised by Mary Bernstein (1997), I explore the ways in which activists strategically use a “straight” identity as a social movement tool in order to successfully achieve the movement objectives. However, it is a particular kind of straight person—one who speaks with LGBT people and not for them—that are most embraced by Straight and Gay Alliance (SAGA). In addition to the strategic use of a straight identity, I found that SAGA activists infuse both moral and injustice frames in their movement framing. I argue that SAGA’s ability to bridge together these frames, which are often theorized as oppositional in the “culture war” debates, permit the inclusion of straight people into the organization. In my dissertation, I also ask: Would the local politics of particular regions of the United States effect the deployment of a straight identity? Building on identity deployment theory, I draw on political ecology models of Debra Minkoff (1993, 1997) to examine the ways in which organizations alter these strategies in conservative and liberal political environments. I find that activists in SAGA rely more on a straight identity for political validation in more conservative political areas of the United States. And, although activists in more liberal areas continue to deploy a straight identity as well, they rely less on this as a form of political legitimacy and more on gaining broader access into “straight” social networks in order to secure more resources for the organization.

Teaching and Research Experience

Adjunct Faculty, Fall 2005 – Present
Department of Social Science and Creative Arts
Skyline Community College, San Bruno, CA
Courses: “Introduction to Sociology”

Assistant Instructor, Fall 1998 – Spring 2004
Department of Sociology
University of Texas at Austin
Courses: “Sociology of Gender,” “Sociology of Love and Relationships,” “Introduction to the Study of Society,” and “Contemporary Moral Problems” (Philosophy Department).

Instructor, Spring 2001 – Present
Distance Education Center
University of Texas at Austin
Courses: “Introduction to the Study of Society," “Sociology of Gender” (Upper-Division on-line distance education course)

Papers Presentations at Professional Meetings

“Straightening Out?: ‘Straightness’ as Identity Strategy in an LGBT Social Movement Organization” at the Scientific Study of Social Problems Conference in San Francisco, California, 2004.

“The Effects of Sociopolitical Environments on Grassroots Organizational Strategy” at the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, California, 2004.

“‘God is on our Side’: Religion, Morality, and Organizational Culture of an LGBT Movement Organization” at the Pacific Sociological Association, San Francisco, California, 2004.

“You Call This the Ghetto?: Gay Urban Space in Dallas, Texas” at the American Sociological Association, Atlanta, Georgia, 2003. (Co-authored with Julie A. Dowling)

“Parity (in)Equality?: The Dilemma of Gender in Queer Social Movement Organizations” at the Pacific Sociological Association, Pasadena, California, 2003.

“Lesbian Leaders in GLBT Social Movement Organizations” at the American Sociological Association, Chicago, 2002.

“Fashioned Beauty: The Perpetuation of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Modeling Industry Through Gay Sensibilities” at the American Sociological Association, Washington DC, 2000.

“The Lesbigay Enclave of Dallas, Texas” at the Southwestern Social Science Association, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1998.

Other Conference/Workshop Participation

Session Organizer at the ASA Sociology of Sexualities paper session, 2005.
Co-Organizer at the ASA for Sociology of Sexualities roundtable session, 2004.
Organizer for Social Movements section at the Pacific Sociological Association, 2004 and 2005.
Discussant for Social Movements Session at the Pacific Sociological Association, 2004 and 2005.
American Sociological Society Honors Program, 1998.

Professional Association Memberships

Phi Beta Kappa, Member since 1997.
American Sociological Association (ASA)
Section Member: Collective Behavior/Social Movements, Sociology of Sexualities, Sex and Gender
Pacific Sociological Association (PSA)
American Political Science Association (APSA)

Service to the Discipline

Article reviewer for Sociological Perspectives
Programming Committeemember for the 2006 Pacific Sociological Association Conference, 2004 – 2006.
Programming Committeemember for Sociology of Sexualities section, ASA meetings, 2004 – 2005.
Intern for California Democratic Party, 2004.
Graduate Student Assembly representative, 2003.
Adviser for Democratic National Committee on Hate Crimes in Texas, 2000.