Savannah Claire Bastian
Graduate Student
Savannah Claire Bastian is a sociologist of gender, sexuality, and work whose research examines how cultural forces shape intimate experiences. She uses qualitative methods to study heterosexual women’s experiences of sexual pleasure across the life course and is currently collaborating on a project exploring how disclosures of sexual harm unfold in clinical settings. Her dissertation investigates the labor of frontline workers in adult retail environments, focusing on their work to spread sexual literacy and pleasure in their communities.
Specializations
Gender, Sexuality, Life Course, Work, Qualitative Methods
Representative Publications
Dissertation: "Selling Pleasure, Teaching Pleasure: Frontline Service Work in Adult Retail."
Bastian, Savannah C., Lisa R. Miller, and Laura M. Carpenter. 2025. “Heterosexual women's pleasure trajectories: How aging helps undo gendered sexual scripts.” Sociological Forum. Https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.13050
Miller, Lisa R. Savannah C. Bastian (Equal coauthors). 2025. “Sexual Opportunities and Constraints. Women’s Intimate Relationships across the Life Course.” Chapter for Caitlin Killian’s Anthology Understanding Reproduction in Social Contexts. Rowman and Littlefield.