JesÚs Gregorio Smith
"The reality is that for queer men of color, finding a home is no easy feat."
Activist, educator, writer, and dancer are only a few ways to describe Dr. Jesus Smith and his many contributions to academia, the Borderland, and society. Dr. Smith is currently an Assistant professor of the Ethnic Studies department at Lawrence University in Wisconsin ( https://jesussmith.academia.edu/ ).
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Dr. Smith is from El Paso, Texas. He earned both his B.A in Psychology in 2010, and his Master's in Sociology in 2012, at the University of Texas at El Paso. In 2017, he received his Ph.D. in Sociology at Texas A&M University. Dr. Smith worked at UTEP as a teaching assistant for the Sociology department. During his time at UTEP, Dr. Smith was involved in several clubs and organizations. He helped found and was the first intern for UTEP’s Rainbow Miner Initiative and served as both president and vice president of the Queer Student Alliance which allowed him to organize and create UTEP’s Queer History month on campus. Dr. Smith even contributed his own story to the “Engendering Community” oral history project and museum exhibit which focused on the personal experiences of the LGBTQ Borderland community
( http://news.utep.edu/exhibit-sheds-light-on-lgbtq-history-in-the-borderland/ ). Dr. Smith established UTEP’s Queer Leadership and Academic Conference and was head of the Rainbow Miner Initiative LGBTQ speaker’s bureau SpeakOUT group. SpeakOUT served as a chance for the LGBTQ community and their allies to tell their stories about how their sexuality and sexual orientation impacted their lives. Jesus was also one the co-founders of Delta Lambda Phi colony, which lead to a chapter at UTEP. Delta Lambda Phi is a queer and progressive men’s fraternity.
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While Dr. Smith was working towards obtaining his Ph.D., he began working as a graduate instructor for the sociology department at Texas A&M. After earning his Ph.D., Dr. Smith started working as an Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at Lawrence University in Wisconsin in 2017.
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Throughout his many years in academia, Dr. Smith has written, presented, and published several book reviews, essays, and journal entries. His areas of study focus on the kinds of effects race, gender, sexuality, and the internet have on a person’s life and sexual health habits. Some of his writing has made appearances on The Washington Post, BBC, and Vice
( https://www.vice.com/en/article/3k7bjy/are-gay-dating-apps-doing-enough-to-respond-to-user-discrimination ). Dr. Smith continues to have a growing list of published academic articles and book chapters.
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Dr. Smith’s contributions in the classroom and society have earned him several awards and honors including the UTEP Women’s Studies Rainbow Graduation Reception Student Leadership Award in 2010, for his work on campus related to Queer Academics. In 2019, he received the Lawrence University Beta Psi Nu Chapter Faculty Excellence Award. Dr. Smith is also an Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Andrew W. Mellon Fellow and has won a Woodrow Wilson National Foundation Career Enhancement Fellowship for Junior Faculty. He was recently awarded the Lawrence University Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award in 2020, for his efforts to promote diversity, self-expression, and academic and personal success.
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Dr. Smith recently danced for the “Shall We Dance?” community event organized by the Sexual Assault Crisis Center- Fox Cities to raise money to continue providing services to the survivors and their families. He was named a 2021 Fox Cities Future 15 Young Professional. In this role he will act as an ambassador to recruit and retain talented young professionals in the Fox City region.
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No matter where he goes, Dr. Smith continues to use the power of knowledge, advocacy, and inclusion to positively influence the people, community, and world around him.
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PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES
Smith, J.G.; Esmeralda Liz*; & Promise Addy*. (Forthcoming). “F*ck The Police: Resistance, Agency and Power in Black Male Racial-Sexual Pleasure.” Porn Studies. Accepted for Publication. * Denotes undergraduate student
Colon, Sigma, Thelma Jimenez-Anglada, & Jesus Gregorio Smith. (2021). “The Racial Politics of Emotion: Teaching an Interdisciplinary Border Institute in the Midwest.” Humanity & Society. 45 (2): 146-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160597621991551
Smith, J.G. & Gabriel Amaro. (2021). “No Fats, No Femmes, No Blacks or Asians”: The Role of Body-type, Sex Position, and Race on Condom Use Online. AIDS and Behavior. 25 (1): 2166–2176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-03146-z
Smith, J.G., & Maria Cristina Morales. 2018. “Racial Constructions among Men Who Have Sex with Men: The Utility of the Latin Americanization Thesis and Colorblind Racism on Sexual Partner Selection.” Issues in Race & Society: An Interdisciplinary Global Journal. 6(1): 25-44.
Smith, J.G., & Aurolyn Luykx. 2017. “Race Play in BDSM Pornography: The Erotization of Oppression.” Porn Studies. 4(4): 443-456. DOI: 10.1080/23268743.2016.1252158
BOOK CHAPTERS/SCHOLARLY ESSAYS
Smith, J.G., Sally Brown*. 2020. “No Fats, Femmes, or Blacks: The Role of Body-Types, Gender Roles, and Race in Condom Usage Online.” In Gender, Sexuality, and Race in the Digital Age. Edited by Nicole Farris, D’Lane Compton & Andrea P. Herrera. New York, NY: Springer Press.
* Denotes undergraduate student
Smith, J.G. 2019. “Home is Where the Heart is: Invisibility and Marginalization for Queer Men of Color.” In Home and Community for Queer Men of Color: The Intersection of Race and Sexuality. Edited by Jesus Gregorio Smith and C. Winter Han. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Smith, J.G. 2019. “The Crime of Black Male Sexuality: Tiger Mandingo and Black Male Vulnerability.” In Home and Community for Queer Men of Color: The Intersection of Race and Sexuality. Edited by Jesus Gregorio Smith and C. Winter Han. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Smith, J.G., Cristina Morales & C. Winter Han. 2018. “How Sexual Racism Shapes Erotic Capital.” In The Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations. Edited by Pinar Batur and Joe Feagin. New York, NY: Springer Press.
Smith, J.G. 2017. “It Can’t Possibly Be Racism”: The White Racial Frame and Sexual Racism. Pp. 105-120 in The Psychic Life of Racism in Gay Men’s Communities. Edited by Damien Riggs. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Smith, J.G. 2017. “Two-faced Racism in Online Gay Sex: Preferences in the Frontstage or Racism in the Backstage?” Pp. 134-146 in Sex in the Digital Age. Edited by Nixon, Paul. Howick Place, London: Ashgate/Routledge Publishing Co.
Smith, J. 2014. “Getting Off Online: The intersections of race, gender and sexuality in cyber space.” Pp. 109-114 in Illuminating How Identities, Stereotypes and Inequalities Matter through Gender Studies. Edited by Nicole Farris, Mary Ann Davis, & D’Lane Compton. New York, NY: Springer Press.
BOOK REVIEW
Smith, J.G. 2019. The Man Not Race Class Genre and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood by Tommy J Curry. The Black Scholar. 49(1): 71-74. DOI:10.1080/00064246.2019.1549422
Smith, J.G. 2020. Private Racism. By Sonu Bedi. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2019. 198 pp., $84.99 Cloth, $29.99 paperback. The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 1-3. doi:10.1017/rep.2020.29
ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRY
Smith, J. G. 2019. “The Politics of a Latinx Identity.” In Latinos in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Latinos as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holder. Edited by Montforti, Jessica. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Publishing.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA APPEARANCES
Interviews:
2021 Mendez II, Moises. “Why Queerbaiting Matters More Than Ever.” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/queerbaiting-lgbtq-community-1201273/
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2020 Kumar, Naveen. “Can the Gay Adult Film Industry Solve Its Race Problem?” Edge Media Network. https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/story.php?299310
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2019 Rachel Myrow. “The Decade in Dating.” Forum. National Public Radio (NPR) KQED. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum
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2019 Bari, Shahidha. “Love Island, dating apps and the politics of desire.” Analysis. British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Radio 4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005f5m
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2019 Smith, C. Bryan. “Heterosexual Men Are Using Grindr to Meet Trans Women. MEL Magazine.
https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/heterosexual-men-are-using-grindr-to-meet-trans-women
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2019 Gallant, Paul. “How Gay Trends Get Transmitted.” IN Magazine.
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2018 Shadel, Jon. “Grindr was the first big dating app for gay men. Now it’s falling out of favor.” The
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2018 Shadel. Jon. “Are Gay Dating Apps Doing Enough to Respond to User Discrimination? Some say it is high time that apps like Grindr changed their filter features.” VICE. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k7bjy/are-gay-dating-apps-doing-enough-to-respond-to user-discrimination
2017 Lang, Nico. “In Trump’s America, racism on gay dating apps is getting worse.” The Daily Dot.
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/racism-gay-dating-apps/
Op Eds:
2020 Smith, JG. “Organizing on the Ground for BLM: A Gay Mixed Black and Mexican Perspective.” Latinx Talks. https://latinxtalk.org/2020/11/18/organizing-on-the-ground-for-blm-a-gay-mixed-black-and-mexican-perspective/
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2019 Smith, JG. “Gender, Blackness, and the Oppression Olympics.” Black Perspectives. https://www.aaihs.org/gender-blackness-and-the-oppression-olympics/?fbclid=IwAR0WL8I7ETnncKruDM4R6gAkSTLjcKrrGZtHe-x2hj2yBaU-k3Xt-86rDkY
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2019 Smith, JG. “Log Cabin Republicans: Gay Racism.” RacismReview.
http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2019/08/28/log-cabin-republicans-gay-racism/
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2016 Smith, JG. “Homophobia, Religion, and Racism.” RacismReview.
http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2016/06/17/homophobia-religion-racism/
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2015 Smith, JG. “Gay Marriage and the Illusion of Equality.” RacismReview.
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Sources
https://jesussmith.academia.edu/
http://news.utep.edu/exhibit-sheds-light-on-lgbtq-history-in-the-borderland/
https://shallwedancefoxcities.com/cth_speaker/jesus-smith-2/
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=prospector
https://www.lawrence.edu/academics/study/ethnic_studies/faculty