PROJECT LEADERS
Sophia Choukas-Bradley
Brianna Ladd (University of Maryland)
Jioni Lewis, Ph.D. (University of Maryland)
Project ROSE is a qualitative interview study focused on understanding Black young women’s gendered racial identity development, with an emphasis on experiences related to sexual objectification, self-objectification and body image, sexual relationships, and the intersection of sexism and racism. This project represents a collaboration with Dr. Jioni Lewis of the University of Maryland, and Brianna Ladd, formerly the lab manager of the TAYA Lab and now a doctoral student in Dr. Lewis's lab. Dr. Choukas-Bradley received the University of Delaware's 2021 Women's Studies Faculty Research Award to fund this project, and qualitative interviews began in 2022.
Related to this work, the TAYA Lab is studying the intersection of gender identity and racial identity in the context of body image, sexuality, and mental health. For example, in 2022, we published a paper in Body Image, "Black adolescents' appearance concerns, depressive symptoms, and self-objectification: Exploring the roles of gender and ethnic–racial identity commitment," authored by Brianna Ladd, TAYA doctoral students Annie Maheux and Savannah Roberts, and Dr. Choukas-Bradley.