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Staff Profile

Emerita Professor Diane Richardson

Emerita Professor

Background

Background

I joined Newcastle as Professor of Sociology.  Prior to this I worked in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield. During my time at Newcastle I held various positions including Head of Sociology, Director of the Centre for Gender and Women's Studies, Sociology Research Director and School of GPS Research Director.

Qualifications

B.A. Cambridge University; M.A. Nottingham University; PhD. Cambridge University. FAcSS.

Fellowships

Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellow (2013-2016) Visiting Scholar in the Department of Sociology and the Center for the Study of Women at the University of California at Los Angeles 2014; Visiting Scholar at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, Columbia University, New York 2015. Previous international Visiting Fellowships in the US include  Harvard and San Francisco State Universities ,and Murdoch University, Australia and Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo.


Recent Books


D. Richardson and V. Robinson (eds) (2026) Introducing Gender and Women's Studies, 6th edition. Bloomsbury Publishing.


J. Hart and D. Richardson (2024) The Theory and Practice of Homosexuality. Routledge Revivals Book Series.


D. Richardson (2017) Sexuality and Citizenship, Polity   http://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509514205


Recent Articles/Chapters:

D.Richardson (2026) 'Understanding Gender', in D. Richardson and V. Robinson (eds) Introducing Gender and Women's Studies, 6th edition. Bloomsbury Publishing.

D. Richardson(2026) Sexual Politics and Knowledge Production, Sexualities 29 (1-2): 246-261. (Open Access)

D. Richardson (2023)Interactions and Intersections, Sexualities 26 (4): 528-531.

D.Richardson (2023) 'Sexuality and the turn to citizenship', in P. Aggleton, R. Cover, C.H. Logie, C.E. Newman and R. Parker (eds) Routledge Handbook of Sexuality, Gender, Health and Rights. Routledge.

S. Monro and D.Richardson (2023) 'Citizenship',in A.E.Goldberg (ed) The Sage Encyclopaedia of LGBTQ+ Studies. Sage Publications.

Laurie, N. and Richardson, D. (2021) Geographies of Stigma: Post-Trafficking Experiences, Transactions 46 (1): 120-134. (Open Access)

Richardson, D. and Laurie, N. (2019) Rethinking Sexual Stigma: Post-Trafficking Lives, British Journal of Sociology 70(5): 1926-1945. 


Research Interests: I have broad interests in the field of feminist theory and sociological understandings of sexuality and gender including theorising the relationships between concepts of citizenship and sexuality, contemporary sexual politics, feminist and queer theory, and the inter/connections between gender and sexuality. I am the author/editor of numerous books and articles (see above and under publications) I also co-edit, with Victoria Robinson, the book series Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences for Palgrave Macmillan. (https://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4SKPT_enGB398GB398&q=Gender and sexualities in the social sciences Palgrave Macmillan) Together we co- edited Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. The 6th edition was published by Bloomsbury in 2026. This book has been continuously in print for over 30 years. The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology refers to it as a 'classic text in the field'.



Research

Research Interests

Diane Richardson is internationally recognised for her work in the area of feminist and sociological study of sexuality and gender, with many related publications. She has supervised 29 postgraduate research students successfully to completion.

See below for details of funded research, and previous PhD supervision.

Research

Sexuality and Citizenship was based on my Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2013-16) project entitled ‘Transforming Citizenship: Sexuality, Gender and Citizenship Struggles'. The focus was on understanding how models of citizenship are constructed and deployed by marginalised groups as new democratic moments emerge. The project addressed a number of interlinked themes including the relation between cultural and material aspects of recognition, as well as the conceptualisation of sexual citizenship and the democratisation of intimate life.

Economic and Social Research (ESRC) Funded Projects 

My research on gender, sexuality and citizenship has raised important questions about the way citizenship is understood. Specifically, it establishes how citizenship is connected to sexuality, as well as to gender, race and class. This theoretical work underpinned two Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded empirical studies, in different global contexts, concerned with the rights demands of different minority groups.

One of these (funded 2007-2010) was a study of sexualities equalities initiatives in the UK (http://research.ncl.ac.uk/selg/). This study highlighted the importance of implementation mechanisms in driving forward the equalities agenda for sexual and gender minorities, and identified barriers and patterns of resistance to such work that affect implementation and access to citizenship. A key research finding was that despite legislative and policy shifts extending rights to sexual and gender minority communities, sexualities equalities work is unevenly spread and far from becoming normalised. Rurality, political hostility, lack of local authority interest and associated stigma are limiting factors. In particular, this research showed the importance of understanding implementation processes and barriers for policy debates about the delivery of equality measures.

The second project (funded 2009-2012) was an examination of gender inequalities and citizenship issues in Nepal for post- trafficked women on their return ‘home’ (www.posttraffickingnepal.co.uk). This study was one of the first to systematically analyse women’s post-trafficking experiences. Most work on trafficking addresses its causes and characteristics, feeding into policy frameworks targeting the ‘rescue’ of those experiencing diverse trafficking situations. Post-trafficking starts when these scenarios end and describes the processes and practices associated with leaving trafficking situations. The research was carried out through an innovative collaborative partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Shakti Samuha, one of the first anti-trafficking NGO’s, globally, to be founded by post-trafficked women. It broun being unable to confer citizenship on their children, either because they lack citizenship themselves or their children were born in trafficking situations (and lack a known father).This research has significantly advanced understandings of how stigma associated with being outwith sexual/gender norms can make accessing rights of citizenship difficult or even impossible in some circumstances.

Postgraduate Supervision 

Pilar d'Alo (NUAcT funded award) Colonial Legacies of Knowledge Production: The Political Spirituality of the Green Tide Movement.

Melissa Whitaker (ESRC DTP award) From Love Aptually: An analysis of how heterosexual users construct, negotiate and use dating apps. 

Ankita Mukherjee. (Newcastle University award) Exploring Social and Political Lives of Gender Nonconforming People in India. 

James Cummings. Male Same-Sex Desire and Identity Construction in a Rapidly Changing Society: A study of emergent male non-normative sexual identities in Hainan Province China (ESRC DTC collaborative award)

Pardis Asadi Zeidabadi. The perspectives of Iranian Feminists and women Activists on their political Identities and priorities.

Justine Uvuza. Women’s Political Participation in Rwanda

Emily Nicholls. Young Heterosexual Women’s Understanding of Contemporary Feminine (Hetero)sexuality as an Embodied, Everyday Experience (ESRC DTC)

Natalie Hoskins. A Cultural analysis of Sex Education Programmes in North East Brazil (ESRC DTC)

Ingrid Young. Re-Imagining Risk: Developing Patterns of STDs and their Influence on Risk Assessment among Gay Men and MSM. (ESRC CASE)

Edmund Coleman-Fountain. The Construction of Sexual Identities: Gay and Lesbian Youth (ESRC)

Rachel Jones-Wild. Gay Men and Lesbians Experiences and Meanings of ‘Family’ (ESRC)

Angela Scott. Domestic Abuse in Same-Sex relationships- An Invisible or Ignored Reality? (ESRC)

June Lin. Transnational Marriage, Smuggling and Sex Trafficking in Taiwan.

Mandy Cheetham. Young People, Sexuality and Relationships: Promoting Sexual Health (ESRC CASE)

Meena Poudel. Dealing with Hidden Issues: Social Rejection of Trafficked Women in Nepal.

Ann McNulty. Great Expectations: Teenage Pregnancy and Intergenerational Transmission. (ESRC CASE)

Megan Todd. Troubling Tales? Towards a Feminist Analysis of Lesbian Domestic Violence. (ESRC)

Elizabeth Brace. The influence of institutional processes on women with learning disabilities and their sense of self in relation to sexuality. (ESRC)

Alison Jobe. Accessing Services: Trafficking Victims’/ Survivors’ Experiences in the UK. (ESRC)

Maria Panagos. “We Thought We Shouldn’t Have Children”: An Exploratory Study of Women’s Views on HIV Infection, Testing and Reproduction.

Mark Casey. Lesbians and Gay Men’s Experiences of Heterosexualised and Queered Urban Spaces in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. (ESRC)

Paul Johnson. Making Love, Doing Heterosexuality: A study of the social construction of heterosexuality in the love relationship. (ESRC)

Surya Monro. Transgender Politics (ESRC)

Jan Winn. An Exploration of Media Representations of Female Multiple Murderers and Feminist Understandings of Female Violence. (University of Sheffield scholarship)

Donna Luff. Sisters or Enemies? Women in the British Moral Lobby and Feminism (ESRC)

Lola Salinas ( MPhil) The Social Construction of Female Sexual Identities: A Multi Representative Analysis.

Jill Shipway (MPhil) HIV/AIDS Policy in Rwanda.

Jean Carabine. ‘Constructing Women’: Women’s Sexuality and Social Policy. (ESRC)

Melinda Firth. A Study of the Psycho-Social Effects of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy on Boys and their Parents.

 


 


 



Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

Conceptualising Gender

Postgraduate Teaching 

Social Divisions

 

Past Courses

Sexuality,Culture and Society

Theories of Gender 

 

Publications

  • Articles

  • Authored Books

  • Book Chapters

    • Richardson D. Understanding Gender. In: Richardson D; Robinson V, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. London: Bloomsbury, 2026, pp.7-24.
    • Richardson D, Robinson V. Introduction. In: Richardson, D; Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. Bloomsbury, 2026.
    • Monro S, Richardson D. Citizenship. In: Golberg, A, ed. The Sage Encyclopaedia of LGBTQ Studies. Sage, 2024.
    • Richardson D. Sexuality and the Turn to Citizenship. In: Aggleton P; Cover C; Logie C; Newman C; Parker R, ed. The Routledge Handbook on Sexuality, Gender, Health and Rights. Routledge, 2023.
    • Robinson V, Richardson D. Introduction. In: Richardson, D; Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. London: Red Globe Press, 2020, pp.1-7.
    • Robinson V, Richardson D. Introduction. In: Richardson, D; Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. Red Globe Press, 2020.
    • Richardson D. Conceptualising Gender. In: Richardson, D; Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. London: Red Globe Press, 2020, pp.8-23.
    • Richardson D. Sexual Citizenship. In: Turner, B et al, ed. Encyclopedia of Social Theory. Wiley-Blackwell, 2018. In Preparation.
    • Richardson D, Laurie N, Poudel M, Townsend J, Shakti S. Participatory Citizenship, Gender and Human Trafficking in Nepal. In: Beresford, P; Carr, S, ed. Social Policy First Hand: An International Introduction to Participatory Social Welfare. Bristol: Policy Press, 2018, pp.406-417.
    • Richardson D. Neoliberalism, Citizenship and Activism. In: Paternotte, D; Tremblay, M, ed. The Ashgate Research Companion to Lesbian and Gay Activism. London: Ashgate, 2015, pp.259-271.
    • Richardson D, Robinson V. Introduction. In: Robinson, D; Richardson, D, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. Palgrave, 2015.
    • Townsend J, Laurie N, Poudel M, Richardson D. Gender, post-trafficking and citizenship in Nepal. In: Coles, A; Gray, L; Momsem, J, ed. Routledge Handbook of Gender and Development. London: Routledge, 2015, pp.319-329.
    • Richardson D. Conceptualising Gender. In: Robinson, V; Richardson, D, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp.3-22.
    • Monro S, Richardson D. Citizenship, Gender and Sexuality. In: Van der Heijden, H.A, ed. The Handbook of Political Citizenship and Social Movements. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2014, pp.60-85.
    • Monro S, Richardson D. Crossroads or Categories? Intersectionality Theory and the Case of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equalities Initiatives in UK Local Government. In: Wilson, A.R, ed. Situating Intersectionality: Politics, Policy, and Power. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, pp.189-208.
    • Richardson D. Constructing Sexual Citizenship: Theorising Sexual Rights. In: J. Shaw and I. Stiks, ed. The International Library of Essays on Rights: Citizenship Rights. London, UK: Ashgate, 2013.
    • Richardson D. Citizenship and Sexuality. In: Meiners, E.R., Quinn, T, ed. Sexualities in Education: A Reader. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2012, pp.448.
    • Richardson D. Bordering Theory. In: Richardson, D; McLaughlin, J; Casey, M E, ed. Intersections Between Feminist and Queer Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
    • McLaughlin J, Casey ME, Richardson D. At the Intersections of Feminist and Queer Debates. In: Richardson,D; McLaughlin, J; Casey, ME, ed. Intersections Between Feminist and Queer Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
    • McLaughlin J, Phillimore P, Richardson D. Introduction: Why Contesting Recognition?. In: McLaughlin, J., Phillimore, P., Richardson, D, ed. Contesting Recognition: Culture, Identity and Citizenship. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, pp.1-19.
    • Richardson D. The Transformation of Sexuality. In: Kimiko, K., Kido, Y, ed. Gender and Society: History of Masculinities, Military and Sexuality. Tokyo, Japan: Jyunpo-sha, 2010, pp.392.
    • Monro S, Richardson D. Intersectionality and Sexuality: The Case of Sexuality and Transgender Equalities Work in UK Local Government. In: Taylor Y; Hines S; Casey M, ed. Theorizing Intersectionality and Sexuality. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
    • Robinson V, Richardson D. Introduction. In: Richardson,D; Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. Palgrave, 2008.
    • Richardson D. Heterosexuality and Social Theory. In: Marinelli, M., Laurie, N., Olliart, P., Richardson, D, ed. Género y Sexualidad Rural [Rural Development and Sexuality: Comparative Reflections]. Lima, Peru: San Marcos University Press, 2008, pp.123-153.
    • Richardson D. Conceptualizing Gender. In: Richardson, D., Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Gender and Women's Studies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp.3-19.
    • Richardson D. Desiring sameness?: The rise of a neoliberal politics of normalisation. In: Nina Laurie and Liz Bondi, ed. Working the spaces of neoliberalism: activism, professionalisation and incorporation. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006, pp.122-142.
    • Richardson D. Bordering theory. In: Diane Richardson, Janice McLaughlin and Mark E. Casey, ed. Intersections between feminist and queer theory. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, pp.19-37.
    • McLaughlin J, Casey ME, Richardson D. At the Intersections of Feminist and Queer Debates. In: Richardson,D; McLaughin, J; Casey, ME, ed. Intersections Between Feminist an Queer Theory. Palgrave, 2006.
    • Richardson D. Claiming citizenship? Sexuality, citizenship and lesbian feminist theory. In: Chrys Ingraham, ed. Thinking straight: The power, the promise and the paradox of heterosexuality. New York: Routledge, 2005, pp.63-84.
    • Richardson D. Constructing sexual citizenship: theorizing sexual rights. In: Ken Plummer, ed. Sexualities and their futures. New York and London: Routledge, 2003, pp.382-407.
    • Richardson D, Seidman S. Introduction. In: Richardson,D; Seidman, S, ed. Handbook of Lesbian and Gay Studies. Sage, 2002.
    • Richardson D. Heterosexuality and social theory. In: Robert Heasley and Betsy Crane, ed. Sexual lives: a reader. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002, pp.371-387.
    • Richardson D. Sexuality and gender. In: Smelser, Neil J. and Baltes, Paul B, ed. International encyclopedia of the social & behavioural sciences. Oxford: Elsevier, 2001, pp.14018-14021.
    • Richardson D. Sexuality and citizenship. In: Nicholas Abercrombie and Alan Warde, ed. The contemporary British society reader. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001, pp.270-278.
    • Richardson D. Extending citizenship: cultural citizenship and sexuality. In: Nick Stevenson, ed. Culture and citizenship. London: SAGE, 2001, pp.153-166.
    • Richardson D, Robinson V. Introduction. In: Robinson,V; Richardson, D, ed. Introducing Gener and Women's Studies. Palgrave, 1997.
    • Richardson D. Feminism and Sexuality. In: V. Robinson and D. Richardson, ed. Introducing Women's Studies: Feminist Theory and Practice. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997.
    • Richardson D. Representing Other Feminisms. In: S. Wilkinson and C. Kitzinger, ed. Representing the Other. London: Sage, 1996.
    • Richardson D, Robinson V. Repackaging Women and Feminism. In: D. Bell and R. Klein, ed. Radically Speaking. London: Zed Books, 1996.
    • Richardson D. Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong: On the Maligning of Radical Feminism. In: Bell,D; Klein, R, ed. Radically Speaking. Spinifex Press; Zed Books, 1996.
    • Richardson D. Heterosexuality and Social Theory. In: D. Richardson, ed. Theorising Heterosexuality. Buckingham, Uk: Open University Press, 1996.
    • Richardson D. Deconstructing Feminist Critiques of Radical Feminism. In: M. Ang-lygate, M. Corrin and M. Henry, ed. Desperately Seeking Sisterhood: Still Challenging and Building. London: Taylor and Francis, 1996.
    • Richardson D. Contradictions in Discourse: Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS. In: J. Holland and L. Adkins, ed. Sex, Sensibility and the Gendered Body. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996.
    • Richardson D. Constructing Lesbian Sexualities. In: S. Jackson and S. Scott, ed. Feminism and Sexuality: A Reader. University of Edinburgh Press, 1996.
    • Richardson D. Inclusions and Exclusions: Lesbians and HIV/AIDS. In: L. Doyal, J. Naidoo and T. Wilton, ed. AIDS: Setting a Feminist Agenda. London: Falmer Press, 1994.
    • Richardson D. AIDS: Issues for Feminism. In: L. Doyal, J. Naidoo and T. Wilton, ed. AIDS: Setting a Feminist agenda. London: Falmer Press, 1994.
    • Richardson D. William Masters and Virginia Johnson. In: Gilbert, H, ed. The Sexual Imagination. Jonathan Cape, 1993.
    • Richardson D. The Challenge of AIDS. In: Jackson, S et al, ed. Women's Studies: A Reader. Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993.
    • Richardson D. Sexuality and Male Dominance. In: Richardson,D; Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Women's Studies. Macmillan, 1993.
    • Richardson D. Sexology. In: Gilbert,H, ed. The Sexual Imagination. Jonathan Cape, 1993.
    • Richardson D. Origins of Sexual Orientation Contemporary Issue: Choice versus No Choice - Recent Challenges to Traditional Assumptions about Homosexuality. In: Garnetts, LD; Kimmel, DC, ed. Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Experiences. Columbia University Press, 1993.
    • Richardson D. Magnus Hirschfeld. In: Gilbert, H, ed. The Sexual Imagination. Jonathan Cape, 1993.
    • Robinson V, Richardson D. Introduction. In: Richardson,D; Robinson, V, ed. Introducing Women's Studies: Feminist Theory and Practice. Macmillan, 1993.
    • Richardson D. Alfred Kinsey. In: Gilbert, H, ed. The Sexual Imagination. Jonathan Cape, 1993.
    • Richardson D. AIDS and Reproduction. In: G. Hart, P. Aggleton and P. Davies, ed. AIDS: Facing the Second Decade. London: Falmer Press, 1993.
    • Richardson D. Women and HIV/AIDS. In: G. Dubf and A. Smails, ed. AIDS and Human Rights: Sharing the Challenge. Vancouver World AIDS Group, 1992.
    • Richardson D. Constructing Lesbian Sexualities. In: K. Plummer, ed. Modern Homosexualities. London: Routledge, 1992.
    • Richardson D. AIDS Education and Women: Sexual and Reproductive Issues. In: P. Aggleton and G. Hart, ed. AIDS: Individual, Cultural and Policy Dimensions. London: Falmer Press, 1990.
    • Richardson D. Sexual Identity: Considerations for Psychotherapy. In: Foeken, I, ed. Between Self-help and Professionalism. Amsterdam: Moon Foundation, 1989.
    • Richardson D. Sexuality and AIDS. In: Kolmer, JB et al, ed. Homosexuality Which Homosexuality: Current Issues. Amsterdam: Schorer Foundation, 1987.
    • Richardson D. Homosexuality: On Doing, Desiring and Being. In: De Cecco, JP, ed. Origins of Sexuality and Homosexuality. Harrington Park Press, 1985.
    • Richardson D. Homosexuality: On Doing, Desiring and Being. In: De Cecco, JP; Shivley, MG, ed. Bisexual and Homosexual Identities: Biological, Psychological and Socio-Cultural Theories. The Haworth Press, 1984.
    • Newson J, Newson E, Richardson D, Scaife J. Perspectives in Sex-Role Stereotyping. In: Chetwynd, J; Hartnett, O, ed. The Sex Role System: Psychological and Sociological Perspectives. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

    • Richardson D. Changing practices, changing institutions?. In: The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) 2004 conference. 2004, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia: The Australian Sociological Association.

  • Edited Books

  • Reports