Dr Debra Gimlin

Dr Debra Gimlin The University of Aberdeen School of Social Science

Senior Lecturer work +44 (0)1224 272771 pref d.gimlin@abdn.ac.uk

Senior Lecturer

Personal Details

Telephone:	+44 (0)1224 272771
Email:	d.gimlin@abdn.ac.uk

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Biography

2008 - present: Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Aberdeen

2003 - 2008: Lecturer in Sociology, University of Aberdeen

2002 - 2003: Senior Lecturer in Sociology. Bath Spa University

2001 - 2002: Lecturer in Sociology, Bath Spa University

1991 - 1997: PhD in Sociology, State University of New York at Stony Brook

1989 - 1991: MA in Sociology, State University of New York at Stony Brook

1985 - 1989: BS in Sociology and Psychology, Vanderbilt University

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Research Interests

Most generally, my work deals with issues of gender, embodiment and narrative from a comparative perspective. Focusing largely on the linguistic and other symbolic resources provided by 'body work' groups and organisations, I have studied a range of sites in which women negotiate identity as they manage and modify their bodies.

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Current Research

I am particularly interested in differences between British and American cultures, and have conducted extensive research on women's accounts of cosmetic surgery in these two national settings. Drawing upon repertoire theory, my analysis links cross-national differences in those narratives to the distinctive healthcare systems of Great Britain and the US. The findings will be presented in a book published by Palgrave Macmillan in early 2012.

I have recently started to explore the representation, in popular media and medical texts, of the 'risks' of cosmetic surgery tourism and participants' efforts to manage those risks. While public discourse tends to emphasise the burden placed on NHS resources when surgical tourists present with post-operative complications that arise after their return home, little is known about patients' self-care or advice-seeking prior to their presentation to the NHS. My research examines these latter points via in-depth interviews with cosmetic surgery tourists who have required NHS treatment and Internet-based travel agents who specialise in surgical tourism and advise clients when problems arise. I plan to eventually conduct research among similar groups in other EU countries.

I am also interested in bodies and their management within public places. In a recent project, I collected data on the experiences of 'public runners' – i.e, individuals who regularly run in physical spaces where non-exercising others are present. The first publication from that work draws from the literature on fan violence and that concerning public interactions more generally to examine the aggression frequently targeted at such community athletes. It argues that jogger harassment can be understood in relation to the particular bodily form that running takes – that is, to the sweating, dishevelled, panting body of the public runner – which both violates rules of public vs. private bodily display and may signal an unacceptable degree of what Goffman described as 'self involvement'. More generally, the harassment of public runners is arguably one form of the 'anti-social' behaviour that has recently become both the target of UK legislation and policing efforts and the subject of numerous media stories, which characterise it as a growing threat to social order. The associated image of public space as increasingly hostile and anarchic contradicts traditional sociological conceptualisations of the public realm as governed by security-enhancing rituals such as 'civil inattention'. It also represents a counter to more contemporary sociological claims regarding the ever greater emotional intimacy of private social relations. Both perspectives provide a starting point for my long-term research agenda, which addresses transformations in the nature of (embodied) public encounters.

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Research Grants

British Academy. Paying for 'Bargain Beauty': An Exploration of the Risks of Cosmetic Surgery Tourism. (Under review). Gimlin, D.

British Academy. National Repertoires for Evaluating Cosmetic Surgery: Assessing the Relevance of Changing Cultural Practice. 2007-2009. Gimlin, D.

NHS Grampian. Quality of Life Following Radical Cystectomy. 2006-2007. Somani, B., N'Dow, J., Gimlin, D., Fayers, P.

British Academy. Accounting for Cosmetic Surgery in the US and UK: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Women's Narratives. 2002-2003. Gimlin, D.

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Teaching Responsibilities

In the Autumn term, I co-ordinate the level-two module, Studying Social Life I: From the private to the public and convene a medical humanities options associated with that course. I also teach a fourth-year option, Body Work and Body Workers, and lecture in one of the new 6th Century Courses, Sustainability.

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External Responsibilities

I am currently the external examiner for Sociology at the University of the Highlands and Islands. I have also served as the external examiner for PhDs vivas in both Great Britain and Ireland.

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Admin Responsibilities

I am a member of the Research Excellence Framework Committee for the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Law, the Research and Knowledge Transfer Committee in Social Sciences, the Postgraduate Committee in Sociology, and the Exam Review Committee in Sociology. In addition, I am the Research Liaison Officer for Sociology and Chair of the School Advisory Committee for Social Sciences. Finally, I am the Advisor of Studies for all junior honours sociology students.

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