Rayanne Streeter

Rayanne Streeter is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Division of Social Sciences at Maryville College. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Virginia Tech and a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. Her academic work is centered on gender, embodiment, and popular culture, with strong ties to feminist theory and media analysis.

Her research focuses on how women navigate societal boundaries in spaces such as social media, film, television, and sports. She has conducted in-depth studies on flat track roller derby and feminist media, with current work analyzing body-positive influencers on Instagram and their role in reshaping ideals of beauty, health, and femininity. Her research intersects with broader themes of identity, resistance, and cultural reproduction.

The available publication, “’Bargaining with the status quo’: Reinforcing and expanding femininities in the #bodypositive movement,” published in Fat Studies, reflects a trend in her scholarly output that critically engages with digital culture, gender performativity, and the paradoxes of empowerment within commercialized feminist movements. Her work has also appeared in the Women’s Sport and Physical Activity Journal and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Crime, Media, and Popular Culture.

• Co-author of Gender in Film and Video, exploring gender dynamics in media production and representation.
• Minor Coordinator for the Gender and Women’s Studies program at Maryville College.
• Regularly teaches courses in introductory sociology, research methods, sociology of culture, and gender studies.

Dr. Streeter is actively involved in curriculum development and interdisciplinary academic leadership. She advises the Gender and Women’s Studies minor and integrates her research into pedagogy, fostering critical engagement with contemporary social issues. There is no mention of external grants in the provided text, but her collaborative publications and interdisciplinary reach suggest potential for future funded research initiatives.