I’m a sociologist who studies gender, sexuality, the family, and culture– particularly as they relate to occupations. Specifically, I analyze non-normative (“deviant”) behaviors and how they illuminate core features of social life.
I received my BA in English/Creative Writing from Princeton University in 2002, my PhD in Sociology from Columbia University in 2010, and I’m currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University.
I am the author of three books: Dominatrix: Gender, Eroticism, and Control in the Dungeon (University of Chicago Press, 2012), Commuter Spouses: New Families in a Changing World (Cornell University Press, 2019), and True Story: What Reality TV Says about Us (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022).
True Story was listed as a “Best Nonfiction Book of 2022” by Esquire and as one of Behavioral Scientist’s “Notable Books of 2022.” It was a “Most Anticipated” book of 2022 in both Literary Hub and Vulture, as well as a “Must-Read Book of February 2022” in the Chicago Review of Books. It received positive reviews in The New York Times Book Review, the Chicago Review of Books, The Washington Post, Booklist, Kirkus, The Nation, and Publishers Weekly. In 2023, the paperback version was listed as one of “Six New Paperbacks to Read This Week” in The New York Times‘s “Paperback Row.”
My work has also been published in scholarly journals such as Social Science & Medicine, the Journal of Marriage and Family, Poetics, Work and Occupations, American Behavioral Scientist, Men and Masculinities, Sex Roles, Labor Studies Journal, Sociological Perspectives, Sociological Forum, Sexualities, Women’s Health Issues, and Social Currents.
My research has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, CNN, Jezebel, USA Today, and Rolling Stone. I’ve been interviewed about my work on television programs such as ABC News and radio shows like NPR’s “It’s Been a Minute,” and I’ve written opinion pieces for CNN, Newsweek, Salon, Fortune, and Quartz.
I’ve taught courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, on topics such as gender, sexuality, the family, and popular culture, as well as general interest sociology courses, including Introduction to Sociology, Classical Theory, and Research Methods. I have won awards for my teaching and mentorship.
I live in Princeton, NJ with my husband, two daughters, and three (updated 4/14/23) goldfish. In my downtime, I’m a fan of crossword puzzles and really, really terrible reality television.
You can follow me on Twitter @djlindee
Image: Cyndi Shattuck Photography
Danielle J. Lindemann 