Dr. Emily Fairchild: Examining How Gender Shapes Who We Are

When it comes to understanding how our gender affects our everyday lives, there’s hardly a better person to turn to than Dr. Emily Fairchild, an associate professor of sociology at New College of Florida.
She may be going on her eighth year as a professor of sociology at New College of Florida, but Dr. Emily Fairchild has always been drawn to the subject, particularly the role gender plays.
“I’ve always been concerned with how the world functions, not just as a group of individuals but how we’re connected with one another, and recognizing the importance of social structure — that we don’t just create our lives from scratch but that we’re affected by the people, the organizations and the legal institutions that shape our lives,” she said.
While the topic of gender can be an overwhelmingly broad one, this article will focus on Fairchild’s most influential research to date:
Gendered rituals in weddings
The feminine/athlete paradox
What are “gendered rituals in weddings”?
In her most recent paper, “Examining Wedding Rituals Through a Multidimensional Gender Lens: The Analytic Importance of Attending to (In)consistency,” Fairchild takes a closer look at the behavior of couples as they plan and celebrate this particular occasion, the traditional gendered rituals that take place, such as a woman having her dad walk her down the aisle, and more.
To do so, Fairchild took part in eight different wedding ceremonies, interviewing the bride and groom before and after and several people who had been guests at the ceremony.