Marysol Asencio

Professor Emerita of Sociology and Puerto Rican and Latina/o Studies

Dr.P.H., 1994, Public Health with a concentration in Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University

Marysol Asencio is a full professor at the University of Connecticut with a joint appointment with El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies. She received her doctoral degree with distinction in 1994 from Columbia University School of Public Health with a concentration in Sociomedical Sciences.  Her scholarly interests revolve around race/ethnicity; gender; sexuality; health; and social inequality, in particular Latina/o sexualities. She has produced a body of work that includes books, guest edited journal issues, peer-reviewed articles and chapters as well as other publications. Her research has been published in top journals such as Gender & Society and Medical Anthropology. Professor Asencio has also received significant internal and external funding for her research and projects, including from prestigious organizations such as the Social Science Research Council and the Ford Foundation. She has received a teaching excellence award from Columbia University as well as teaching commendations at UCONN. Her service within UCONN and minority communities around social justice and diversity issues has been recognized with several awards and honors.

Selected Publications:
Asencio, Marysol (editor). 2010.  Latina/o Sexualities: Probing Powers, Passions, Practices and Policies. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Asencio, Marysol and Juan Battle (editors). 2010. Black and Latina Sexuality and Identities. Special Issue of Black Women, Gender, and Families 4 (1)

Asencio, Marysol and Juan Battle (editors). 2010. Black and Latina/o Sexualities Research. Special Issue of Sexuality Research and Social Policy 7 (2)

Peer Reviewed Articles:
Asencio, Marysol. 2011. “Locas,” Respect, and Masculinity: Gender Conformity in Migrant Puerto Rican Gay Masculinities. Gender & Society 25(3):335-354.

Asencio, Marysol. 2009. Migrant Puerto Rican Lesbians Negotiating Gender, Sexuality and Ethno-nationality. National Women’s Studies Association Journal 21(3):1-23. (Lead article)

Asencio, Marysol  and Katie Acosta. 2009. Migration, Gender Conformity, and Social Mobility among Puerto Rican Sexual Minorities. Sexuality Research and Social Policy6(3):34-43.