Portal
Dr. Amanda Fehlbaum
Associate Professor
Humanities & Social Sciences
DeBartolo Hall 507
phone: (330) 941-2716
Bio
Dr. Fehlbaum received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma in 2014 and joined the Youngstown State University faculty in the Fall of 2014 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences (formerly Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Gerontology). She is currently the Director of the Women's and Gender Studies program. She was a contributor to the Sociology in Focus blog. She achieved tenure and promotion to Associate Professor as of Fall of 2020. In 2022, she was awarded the YSU Distinguished Professor in Service Award.
Mandy was born and raised in Texas. She attended the University of Texas at Dallas where she received her B.A. in Gender Studies and M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies.
She currently lives in a Youngstown suburb with her spouse and three dogs. She is a triathlete coached by Crew Racing and a member of Steel Valley Triathlon Club. Mandy enjoys doing flower gardening and cross-stitching as well as engaging in lots of activist endeavors, such as the League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown and the Steel Valley Reproductive Freedom Coalition.
Dr. Fehlbaum stands in solidarity and supports the fight against systemic racism and oppression of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and non-binary individuals. She stands with Pride and strongly believes that Black Lives Matter. She agrees with the American Sociological Association’s statement: “As sociological scholars and citizens, we have a responsibility to study and speak out regarding all forms of racism and injustice.”
Research Interests
Gender and Sexuality, Feminism, Race and Ethnicity, Body and Embodiment, Qualitative Methods, Media and Culture, Family, Stratification, Sociology of the Life Course, Adolescence, Health and Medical Sociology, Deviance
Teaching Interests
Gender and Sexuality, Feminism, Race and Ethnicity, Family, Body and Embodiment, Qualitative Methods, Health and Medical Sociology, Deviance
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2014
Ph D, Sociology
The University of Oklahoma
Dissertation/Thesis Title — "Sex Ex Libris: Abstinence Messages in High School Health Textbooks Cultivate Sex Negativity Among Teens "
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2012
Other, Women's and Gender Studies
The University of Oklahoma
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2009
MA, Interdisciplinary Studies
The University of Texas at Dallas
Dissertation/Thesis Title — "Reading is Feministing: Third Wave Feminism in Literary Theory, History, and the Internet"
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2007
BA, Gender Studies
The University of Texas at Dallas
Dissertation/Thesis Title — "Reading LOST: A Show Built for Fans"
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2022
Youngstown State University
Distinguished Professor in Service Award
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2020
Mahoning Valley Young Professionals
25 Under 35 Honoree
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2020 -
Youngstown State University
Associate Professor of Sociology
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2014 - 2020
Youngstown State University
Assistant Professor of Sociology
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2024
"Book Review: Body and Gender: Sociological Perspectives by Roberta Sassatelli and Rosella Ghigi and Interpreting the Body: Between Meaning and Matter edited by Anne Marie Champagne and Asia Friedman"
A. Fehlbaum
Gender and Society, volume 39, issue 1, p. 156-159
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2024
"Sex Work in the United States"
A. Fehlbaum
Cognella Publishing -
2023
"Hair and Career: The Impact of Hair Bias on Women of Color"
C. Jackson Leftwich, N. Powe, A. Fehlbaum
IGI Global, p. 126-153 -
2021
"Adolescent Sexuality"
A. Fehlbaum
Routledge Books: Criminology Series, issue 2nd -
2020
"The Role of Health Educators in a Variety of Work Settings: A Scoping Review on Roles and Responsibilities"
N. Powe, C. Rosario, A. Fehlbaum, D. Brown, J. Martin, C. Kabore
Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Health Promotion Practice -
2020
"Battling Against Demeaning and Abusive Selfie Shaming: Empowerment Through Activism After Image Abuse"
A. Fehlbaum, K. Bowden
IGI Global, p. 30-53 -
2019
"Delayed Gratification: How High School Health Textbooks Portray Marriage and Sex"
A. Fehlbaum
Sexuality Research and Social Policy, volume 17, issue 3, p. 454-468
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2017
"How to be Human: Lessons in Socialization from Elf"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2017
"Dysfunctional Donations: Situational Altruism and the Sending of Stuff After Disasters"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2016
"Trump's Locker Room Talk: Proving Masculinity Through Objectification"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2016
"Gotta Catch 'Em All: Pokémon Go and Hyperreality"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2016
"Weighty Matters: The Biggest Loser and Framing Fatness"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2016
"Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (
PFLAG )"A. Fehlbaum
Wiley, p. 1-4 -
2016
"Cult of Domesticity"
A. Fehlbaum
Wiley, p. 1-4 -
2016
"Matching Men: Tinder & The Presentation of Masculinity"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2016
"Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)"
A. Fehlbaum
Wiley-Blackwell -
2016
"Bun in a New Oven: Our Social Bodies in the Age of Uterus Transplants"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2016
"Don't Drink the Water: The Crisis in Flint from a Sociological Perspective"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2015
"Running on Red: A Marathoner Tests the Menstruation Taboo"
A. Fehlbaum
Sociology in Focus Blog -
2015
"Defiantly Fat, Gay, and Sexual: Negotiating Shame of Size and Sexuality: Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma by Jason Whitesel, New York, NYU Press 2014."
A. Fehlbaum
Sex Roles, volume 72, p. 262-264
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2025 - 2025
Session Chair
American Sociological Association Family Committee -
2024 - 2024
Committee Member
American Sociological Association Sex and Gender Section Feminist Activist-Scholar Award Committee -
2024 - 2024
Committee Member
American Sociological Association Bodies and Embodiment Book Award Committee -
2020 - 2020
Committee Member
American Sociological Association Sex and Gender Section Book Award Committee -
2017 - 2017
Committee Member
American Sociological Association Sex and Gender Section Sally Hacker Award Committee -
2011 - 2011
Committee Member
American Sociological Association Sexualities Student Paper Award Committee -
2011 - 2011
Committee Member
American Sociological Association Bodies and Embodiment Student Paper Award Committee
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2024 - present
President
The League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown