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'''Suzanne Kessler''' (born October 13, 1946 in [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania) is an [[United States|American]] [[Social psychology|social psychologist]] known for the application of [[ethnomethodology]] to gender. She and Wendy McKenna pioneered this application of ethnomethodology to the study of gender and sex with their groundbreaking work, ''Gender an Ethnomethodological Approach''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Feminism and Psychology|last=Crawford|first=Mary|publisher=SAGE|year=2000|isbn=|location=London|pages=7–152|quote=|via=}}</ref> Twenty years later, Kessler extended this work in a second book, ''Lessons from the Intersexed''.<ref name="Open Scholar" />
'''Suzanne Kessler''' (born October 13, 1946 in [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania) is an [[United States|American]] [[Social psychology|social psychologist]] known for the application of [[ethnomethodology]] to gender. She and Wendy McKenna pioneered this application of ethnomethodology to the study of gender and sex with their groundbreaking work, ''Gender an Ethnomethodological Approach''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Feminism and Psychology|last=Crawford|first=Mary|publisher=SAGE|year=2000|isbn=|location=London|pages=7–152|quote=|via=}}</ref> Twenty years later, Kessler extended this work in a second book, ''Lessons from the Intersexed''.<ref name="Open Scholar" />


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Kessler received her doctoral degree in [[Sociology|social psychology]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley|City University of New York Graduate Center]] (1972) and a B.A. at [[Carnegie Mellon University]] (1968). She taught psychology for 30 years at [[State University of New York at Purchase|Purchase College, State University of New York]] after which she became the dean of Natural and Social Sciences and then the dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences.<ref name="Open Scholar">{{Cite web|url=http://openscholar.purchase.edu/suzanne_kessler/biocv|title=Suzanne Kessler|last=Kessler|first=Suzanne|date=17 February 2017|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>
Kessler received her doctoral degree in [[Sociology|social psychology]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley|City University of New York Graduate Center]] (1972) and a B.A. at [[Carnegie Mellon University]] (1968). She taught psychology for 30 years at [[State University of New York at Purchase|Purchase College, State University of New York]] after which she became the dean of Natural and Social Sciences and then the dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences.<ref name="Open Scholar">{{Cite web|url=http://openscholar.purchase.edu/suzanne_kessler/biocv|title=Suzanne Kessler|last=Kessler|first=Suzanne|date=17 February 2017|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>


== Legacy ==
== Career ==
Kessler and McKenna’s work was influenced by [[Harold Garfinkel]] in ethnomethodology (especially his analysis of ''Agnes'' in Studies in Ethnomethodology), [[Stanley Milgram]], their social psychology professor, and sociologist, Peter McHugh, McKenna’s professor. Kessler and McKenna were the first to argue that the distinction between “gender” and “sex” is a socially constructed one and the latter (defined by biological markers) should not be privileged. Their articulation of what later became known as the [[social construction of gender]], was part of the foundation for works of ultimately more well-known gender theorists, [[Judith Butler]] (1990), [[Anne Fausto-Sterling]] (1992), and [[Kate Bornstein]] (1994). Kessler and McKenna’s concept of “gender attribution” predated William Zimmerman and Candace West’s concept of ''[[doing gender]]'' and Butler’s concept of ''[[gender performativity]]''.
Kessler and McKenna’s work was influenced by [[Harold Garfinkel]] in ethnomethodology (especially his analysis of ''Agnes'' in Studies in Ethnomethodology), [[Stanley Milgram]], their social psychology professor, and sociologist, Peter McHugh, McKenna’s professor. Kessler and McKenna were the first to argue that the distinction between “gender” and “sex” is a socially constructed one and the latter (defined by biological markers) should not be privileged. Their articulation of what later became known as the [[social construction of gender]], was part of the foundation for works of ultimately more well-known gender theorists, [[Judith Butler]] (1990), [[Anne Fausto-Sterling]] (1992), and [[Kate Bornstein]] (1994). Kessler and McKenna’s concept of “gender attribution” predated William Zimmerman and Candace West’s concept of ''[[doing gender]]'' and Butler’s concept of ''[[gender performativity]]''.
[[File:Phall-O-meter%27, Intersex Society of North Wellcome L0031936.jpg|thumb|The [[Phall-O-Meter]] by the [[Intersex Society of North America]] satirizes clinical assessments of appropriate clitoris and penis length at birth. It is based on work by Kessler.]]
Kessler's work in her book, ''Lessons from the Intersexed'', summarized the range of medically acceptable infant penis and clitoris sizes in the book ''Lessons from the Intersexed''.<ref name="kess">{{cite book |last=Kessler |first=Suzanne |date=1998 |title= Lessons from the Intersexed |location= New Brunswick, New Jersey |publisher=Rutgers University Press |page=43 |isbn=0-8135-2530-6}}</ref> Kessler states that normative tables for clitoral length appeared in the late 1980s, while normative tables for penis length appeared more than forty years before that. She combined those standard tables to demonstrate an "intermediate area of phallic length that neither females nor males are permitted to have", that is, a [[clitoris]] larger than 9mm or a [[penis]] shorter than 25mm.<ref name="kess" /> Her findings were then presented visually by the (now-defunct) advocacy organization [[Intersex Society of North America]] in the [[Phall-O-Meter]]. Copies of the Phall-O-Meter are now held by the [[Wellcome Library]] in London,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0031936.html | title = L0031936 | location = [[Wellcome Library]] }}</ref> and the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref>{{cite book| publisher = Springer Netherlands| isbn = 978-1-4020-4314-7 | pages = 73–86| editors = Professor Sharon E. Sytsma (ed.)| last = Dreger| first = Professor Alice D.| title = Ethics and Intersex| chapter = Intersex and Human Rights: The Long View| series = International Library of Ethics, Law and the New Medicine| accessdate = 2016-04-19| date = 2006| chapterurl = http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/1-4220-4314-7_4}}</ref>


The importance of their work in feminist/gender theory was acknowledged in Mary Hawkesworth’s 1997 article in [[Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society]] called, “Confounding Gender.” In it she investigates four efforts to theorize gender (Steven Smith’s, Judith Butler’s, R.W. Connell’s, and Kessler and McKenna’s). “The four works are the most ambitious efforts that I have found to theorize gender in ways that connect psyche, self, and social relations. They also represent some of the major methodological approaches (phenomenology, postmodern deconstruction, dialectical materialism, ethnomethodology) currently vying for the allegiance of feminist scholars.” Three years later, most of a 2000 issue of [[Feminism & Psychology]] was devoted to a reappraisal of their book with commentary by seven theorists (Mary Crawford, Carla Golden, [[Leonore Tiefer|Lenore Tiefer]], Holly (later [[Aaron Devor|Aaron) Devor]], [[Milton Diamond]], [[Eva Lundgren]], and [[Dallas Denny]]). The introductory essay states that when Kessler and McKenna wrote their book, “the social construction of gender", let alone sex, was still a relatively novel idea. They not only made the claim that sex is a belief system rather than a fact, but went on to analyze the interpretive practices that enable each of us to create the “fact” of two and only two sexes…The continuing importance of Kessler and McKenna’s work is twofold: First, it provides compelling, lived examples of the social construction of gender in interaction….The second reason…is the current multiplicity of theoretical positions on gender mutability, coupled with the increased visibility of transgendered and intersex people.” That visibility has only increased in the 21st century and it is clear that Kessler and McKenna’s theorizing both presaged and legitimized it. Gender fluidity is now taken-for-granted in many circles and codified in some laws.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Feminism and Psychology|last=Crawford|first=Mary|publisher=Sage|year=2000|isbn=|location=London|pages=7–152|quote=|via=}}</ref>
The importance of the work of Kessler and McKenna in feminist/gender theory was acknowledged in Mary Hawkesworth’s 1997 article in [[Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society]] called, “Confounding Gender.” In it she investigates four efforts to theorize gender (Steven Smith’s, Judith Butler’s, R.W. Connell’s, and Kessler and McKenna’s). “The four works are the most ambitious efforts that I have found to theorize gender in ways that connect psyche, self, and social relations. They also represent some of the major methodological approaches (phenomenology, postmodern deconstruction, dialectical materialism, ethnomethodology) currently vying for the allegiance of feminist scholars.” Three years later, most of a 2000 issue of [[Feminism & Psychology]] was devoted to a reappraisal of their book with commentary by seven theorists (Mary Crawford, Carla Golden, [[Leonore Tiefer|Lenore Tiefer]], Holly (later [[Aaron Devor|Aaron) Devor]], [[Milton Diamond]], [[Eva Lundgren]], and [[Dallas Denny]]). The introductory essay states that when Kessler and McKenna wrote their book, “the social construction of gender", let alone sex, was still a relatively novel idea. They not only made the claim that sex is a belief system rather than a fact, but went on to analyze the interpretive practices that enable each of us to create the “fact” of two and only two sexes…The continuing importance of Kessler and McKenna’s work is twofold: First, it provides compelling, lived examples of the social construction of gender in interaction….The second reason…is the current multiplicity of theoretical positions on gender mutability, coupled with the increased visibility of transgendered and intersex people.” That visibility has only increased in the 21st century and it is clear that Kessler and McKenna’s theorizing both presaged and legitimized it. Gender fluidity is now taken-for-granted in many circles and codified in some laws.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Feminism and Psychology|last=Crawford|first=Mary|publisher=Sage|year=2000|isbn=|location=London|pages=7–152|quote=|via=}}</ref>


== Books ==
== Books ==
Kessler, S. and McKenna, W. <u>Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach: NY: Wiley Interscience</u> (1978); reprinted University of Chicago Press (1985).
* Kessler, S. and McKenna, W. ''Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach: NY: Wiley Interscience'' (1978); reprinted University of Chicago Press (1985).


Kessler, S. J. <u>Lessons from the Intersexed</u>. New Brunswick, N. J. Rutgers University Press, (1998).<ref name="Open Scholar" />
* {{Cite book| publisher = Rutgers University Press| isbn = 978-0-8135-2529-7 | last = Kessler| first = Suzanne J.| title = Lessons from the intersexed| location = New Brunswick, N.J| date = 1998}}<ref name="Open Scholar" />


== Articles and chapters ==
== Articles and chapters ==
Michals, I. & Kessler, S. ''Prison Teachers and Their Students: A Circle of Satisfaction and Gain''. <u>The Journal of Correctional Education</u>, 66, (2015) 47- 62.
* Michals, I. & Kessler, S. ''Prison Teachers and Their Students: A Circle of Satisfaction and Gain''. ''The Journal of Correctional Education'', 66, (2015) 47- 62.


Kessler, S. ''Psychology Students Learn How to use Evidence to Inform Practice, to Think Critically, and Write well''. In K. Vaidya (ed.) <u>Psychology for the Curious: Why Study Psychology</u>. Curious Academic Publishing, (2015).
* Kessler, S. ''Psychology Students Learn How to use Evidence to Inform Practice, to Think Critically, and Write well''. In K. Vaidya (ed.) ''Psychology for the Curious: Why Study Psychology''. Curious Academic Publishing, (2015).


Halperin, R., Kessler, S., & Braunschweiger, D. ''Rehabilitation Through the Arts: Impact on participants’ engagement in educational programs''. <u>The Journal of Correctional Education</u>, 63, 1, (2012) 6 – 23.
* Halperin, R., Kessler, S., & Braunschweiger, D. ''Rehabilitation Through the Arts: Impact on participants’ engagement in educational programs''. ''The Journal of Correctional Education'', 63, 1, (2012) 6 – 23.


Kessler, S. ''A Scientist Advocates for Better Science''. <u>Sex Roles</u>, 65, 1-2, (2011): 140-142.
* Kessler, S. ''A Scientist Advocates for Better Science''. ''Sex Roles'', 65, 1-2, (2011): 140-142.


Reis, E. and Kessler, S. ''Why History Matters: Fetal Dex and Intersex''. <u>The American Journal of Bioethics</u>, 10, 9, (2010): 58 – 59.
* {{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/15265161.2010.499586| issn = 15265161| volume = 10| issue = 9| pages = 58–59| last1 = Reis| first1 = Elizabeth| last2 = Kessler| first2 = Suzanne| title = Why History Matters: Fetal Dex and Intersex| journal = American Journal of Bioethics| accessdate = 2016-09-26| date = September 2010}}


Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Dolezal, C., Johnson, L.L., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & Zucker, K.J. ''Development and Validation of the Pregnancy and Infant Orientation Questionnaire''. <u>Journal of Sex Research</u>. 47, 6, (2009): 598-610.
* [[Heino Meyer-Bahlburg|Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L.]], Dolezal, C., Johnson, L.L., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & Zucker, K.J. ''Development and Validation of the Pregnancy and Infant Orientation Questionnaire''. ''Journal of Sex Research''. 47, 6, (2009): 598-610.


Deogracias, J.J., Johnson, L.L., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & Zucker, K. J. ''The Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults''. <u>The Journal of Sex Research</u>, 44, 4, (2007): 370-379.
* Deogracias, J.J., Johnson, L.L., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & Zucker, K. J. ''The Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults''. ''The Journal of Sex Research'', 44, 4, (2007): 370-379.


Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Dolezal, C., Zucker, K. J., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & New, M. I. ''The Recalled Childhood Gender Questionnaire-Revised: A Psychometric Analysis in a Sample of Women with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia''. <u>The Journal of Sex Research</u>, 43, 4, (November 2006): 364–367.
* Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Dolezal, C., Zucker, K. J., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & New, M. I. ''The Recalled Childhood Gender Questionnaire-Revised: A Psychometric Analysis in a Sample of Women with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia''. ''The Journal of Sex Research'', 43, 4, (November 2006): 364–367.


McKenna W. and Kessler, S. ''Transgendering''. In M. Evans, K. Davis, & J. Lorber (eds.) <u>Handbook of Gender and Women's Studies</u>.London: Sage (2006): 342- 354. Reprinted in M. S. Kimmel and A. Aronson (eds.) <u>The Gendered Society Reader</u>. NY. : Oxford University Press, 2008.
* McKenna W. and Kessler, S. ''Transgendering''. In M. Evans, K. Davis, & J. Lorber (eds.) ''Handbook of Gender and Women's Studies''.London: Sage (2006): 342- 354. Reprinted in M. S. Kimmel and A. Aronson (eds.) ''The Gendered Society Reader''. NY. : Oxford University Press, 2008.


Kessler, S.J. and McKenna, W. ''The Primacy of Gender Attribution'' In Devine and -Devine (eds.) <u>Sex and Gender: A Spectrum of Views</u>. Adsworth/Thompson, (2003):43 - 53.
* Kessler, S.J. and McKenna, W. ''The Primacy of Gender Attribution'' In Devine and -Devine (eds.) ''Sex and Gender: A Spectrum of Views''. Adsworth/Thompson, (2003):43 - 53.


Kessler, S. ''Questioning Assumptions about Gender Assignment in Cases of Intersexuality''. <u>Dialogues in Pediatric Urology</u>, 25, 6, (June 2002): 3-4.
* Kessler, S. ''Questioning Assumptions about Gender Assignment in Cases of Intersexuality''. ''Dialogues in Pediatric Urology'', 25, 6, (June 2002): 3-4.


McKenna, W. and Kessler, S.J. ''Who put the ‘Trans’ in Transgender''? <u>International Journal of Transgenderism</u>, 4, 3, (September 2000). Reprinted in S. LaFont (ed) <u>Constructing Sexualities: in Sexuality, Gender, and Culture</u>. N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002.
* McKenna, W. and Kessler, S.J. ''Who put the ‘Trans’ in Transgender''? ''International Journal of Transgenderism'', 4, 3, (September 2000). Reprinted in S. LaFont (ed) ''Constructing Sexualities: in Sexuality, Gender, and Culture''. N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002.


McKenna, W. and Kessler, S.J. <u>Gender Retrospective</u>, <u>Feminism and Psychology</u>, 10, 1, (2000): 7-72.
* McKenna, W. and Kessler, S.J. ''Gender Retrospective'', ''Feminism and Psychology'', 10, 1, (2000): 7-72.


Kessler, S. J. ''Meanings of Genital Variability'', <u>Chrysalis: The Journal of Transgressive Gender Identities,</u> 2, (4) (Fall 1997/Winter 1998).
* {{Cite journal| last = Kessler| first = Suzanne| title = Meanings of Gender Variability Constructs of Sex and Gender| work = Chrysalis: The Journal of Transgressive Gender Identities | url = http://www.isna.org/books/chrysalis/kessler | volume = 2 | issue = 4 | date = Fall 1997}}


McKenna, W. and Kessler, ''Who Needs Gender Theory''? <u>Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society</u>, Spring (1997): 687-691. Also in and A.. (eds.) <u>Provoking Feminisms</u>. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (2000): 179-183.
* McKenna, W. and Kessler, ''Who Needs Gender Theory''? ''Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society'', Spring (1997): 687-691. Also in and A.. (eds.) ''Provoking Feminisms''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (2000): 179-183.


Kessler, S. J. Cre''ating Good-Looking Genitals in the Service of Gender''. In M. Duberman (ed.) <u>A Queer World: The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader</u>, vol 1. New York: New York University Press, (1997): 153-173.
* Kessler, S. J. Cre''ating Good-Looking Genitals in the Service of Gender''. In M. Duberman (ed.) ''A Queer World: The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader'', vol 1. New York: New York University Press, (1997): 153-173.


Kessler, S. J. ''The Medical Construction of Gender: Case management of intersexed infants''. <u>Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society</u>, 15(1), (1990): 3-26. Reprinted in Taylor, Whittier and Rupp (eds.) <u>Feminist Frontiers VII.</u> McGraw-Hill (2006); Hussey (ed.) <u>Masculinities: Interdisciplinary Readings</u> . NJ: Prentice Hall, (2003): 25-41; Wyer, Barbercheck, Giesman, Ozturk, and (eds.) <u>Women, Science, and Technology</u>. NY: Routledge, (2001): 161-174; (ed.) Sex/Machine: in Culture, Gender, and Technology. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, (1998); Nelson and Robinson (eds.) Gender in the 1990s: Images, Realities, and Issues. , (1996); Frankin (ed.) The Sociology of Gender. : Edward Elgar Publishing LTD. (1996). Laslett, Kohlstedt, Longino, and (eds). Gender and Scientific Authority. : Press, (1996): 340-363. Herrmann and (eds.) Theorizing Feminism. : Westview Press, (1994): 218-256; Gender in Science Workbook. Kendall/Hunt (forthcoming).
* {{Cite journal| volume = 16| issue = 1| pages = 3–26| last = Kessler| first = Suzanne| title = The Medical Construction of Gender: Case Management of Intersexed Infants| journal = Signs| date = 1990| url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/3174605| jstor = 3174605}} Reprinted in Taylor, Whittier and Rupp (eds.) ''Feminist Frontiers VII.'' McGraw-Hill (2006); Hussey (ed.) ''Masculinities: Interdisciplinary Readings'' . NJ: Prentice Hall, (2003): 25-41; Wyer, Barbercheck, Giesman, Ozturk, and (eds.) ''Women, Science, and Technology''. NY: Routledge, (2001): 161-174; (ed.) Sex/Machine: in Culture, Gender, and Technology. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, (1998); Nelson and Robinson (eds.) Gender in the 1990s: Images, Realities, and Issues. , (1996); Frankin (ed.) The Sociology of Gender. : Edward Elgar Publishing LTD. (1996). Laslett, Kohlstedt, Longino, and (eds). Gender and Scientific Authority. : Press, (1996): 340-363. Herrmann and (eds.) Theorizing Feminism. : Westview Press, (1994): 218-256; Gender in Science Workbook. Kendall/Hunt (forthcoming).


Kessler, S., etal. Voices. In ACT UP/NY Women and AIDS Book Group (eds.) <u>Women, AIDS, and Activism</u>. Boston : South End Press, (1990): 143-155.
* Kessler, S., etal. Voices. In ACT UP/NY Women and AIDS Book Group (eds.) ''Women, AIDS, and Activism''. Boston : South End Press, (1990): 143-155.


Kessler, S. J. Psychology. In A. Waldhorn , O.S. Webber & A. Zeiger (eds.). <u>Good Reading: A guide for serious readers</u>. New York : R. R. Bowker, (1990): 277-283. (earlier edition 1985)
* Kessler, S. J. Psychology. In A. Waldhorn , O.S. Webber & A. Zeiger (eds.). ''Good Reading: A guide for serious readers''. New York : R. R. Bowker, (1990): 277-283. (earlier edition 1985)


McKenna, W. & Kessler, S. ''Asking taboo questions and doing taboo deeds''. In & (eds.) <u>The Social Construction of the Person</u>. N.Y. Springer‑Verlag, (1986): 241‑257.
* McKenna, W. & Kessler, S. ''Asking taboo questions and doing taboo deeds''. In & (eds.) ''The Social Construction of the Person''. N.Y. Springer‑Verlag, (1986): 241‑257.


Kessler, S. J. etal. (eds.). <u>Heresies: Sex Issue</u>. (1981): 3(4), issue l2.
* Kessler, S. J. etal. (eds.). ''Heresies: Sex Issue''. (1981): 3(4), issue l2.


Leslie, S., R., Saron, C., Kessler, S., & , W. ''Event related potentials in response to ambiguous male and female faces: Biocognitive substrates of gender recognition''. <u>Psychophysiology</u> (abstract), (1980).
* Leslie, S., R., Saron, C., Kessler, S., & , W. ''Event related potentials in response to ambiguous male and female faces: Biocognitive substrates of gender recognition''. ''Psychophysiology'' (abstract), (1980).


Kessler, S. J., McKenna, W. & Graham, R. ''The effect of generic pronouns on imaging and recall''. <u>Behaviorists for Social Action Journal</u>, (1979): 2, l‑3.
* Kessler, S. J., McKenna, W. & Graham, R. ''The effect of generic pronouns on imaging and recall''. ''Behaviorists for Social Action Journal'', (1979): 2, l‑3.


Albert, S. & Kessler, ''Empirical characteristics of ending social encounters''. <u>Journal of Experimental Social Psychology</u>, (1978): l4, 54l‑553.
* Albert, S. & Kessler, ''Empirical characteristics of ending social encounters''. ''Journal of Experimental Social Psychology'', (1978): l4, 54l‑553.


McKenna, W. & Kessler, ''Experimental design as a source of bias in social psychology''. <u>Sex Roles</u>, (1977): 3, 117‑128.
* McKenna, W. & Kessler, ''Experimental design as a source of bias in social psychology''. ''Sex Roles'', (1977): 3, 117‑128.


Albert, S. & Kessler, ''Six processes of ending: A conceptual archeology of temporal place''. <u>Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior,</u> (1976): 6, 147‑171.
* Albert, S. & Kessler, ''Six processes of ending: A conceptual archeology of temporal place''. ''Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior,'' (1976): 6, 147‑171.


Kessler, S. J., McKenna, W., Stang, D., Sweet, S. & Russell, V. ''The job market in psychology: A study of despair''. <u>Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin</u>, (1976): 2(1), 22‑26.
* Kessler, S. J., McKenna, W., Stang, D., Sweet, S. & Russell, V. ''The job market in psychology: A study of despair''. ''Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin'', (1976): 2(1), 22‑26.


Milgram, S., Greenwald, J., Kessler, S., McKenna, W. & Waters, J. ''A Psychological Map of New York City''. <u>American Scientist</u>. (1972): 60, 194‑200.<ref name="Open Scholar" />
* Milgram, S., Greenwald, J., Kessler, S., McKenna, W. & Waters, J. ''A Psychological Map of New York City''. ''American Scientist''. (1972): 60, 194‑200.<ref name="Open Scholar" />


Milgram, S. (1977), ''The Individual in a social world'': Essays and experiments. 3rd expanded edition published 2010 by Pinter and Martin.
* Milgram, S. (1977), ''The Individual in a social world'': Essays and experiments. 3rd expanded edition published 2010 by Pinter and Martin.


== Community Service ==
== Community Service ==
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== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}Crawford, Mary. <u>Feminism and Psychology.</u> London: SAGE (2000). 7-152.


Kessler, Suzanne. <u>Open Scholar.</u> http://openscholar.purchase.edu/suzanne_kessler/biocv. 17 February 2017.
Kessler, Suzanne. <u>Open Scholar.</u> http://openscholar.purchase.edu/suzanne_kessler/biocv. 17 February 2017.
*


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Suzanne}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Suzanne}}

Revision as of 08:57, 28 March 2017

Suzanne Kessler (born October 13, 1946 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American social psychologist known for the application of ethnomethodology to gender. She and Wendy McKenna pioneered this application of ethnomethodology to the study of gender and sex with their groundbreaking work, Gender an Ethnomethodological Approach.[1] Twenty years later, Kessler extended this work in a second book, Lessons from the Intersexed.[2]

Academic career

Kessler received her doctoral degree in social psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center (1972) and a B.A. at Carnegie Mellon University (1968). She taught psychology for 30 years at Purchase College, State University of New York after which she became the dean of Natural and Social Sciences and then the dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences.[2]

Career

Kessler and McKenna’s work was influenced by Harold Garfinkel in ethnomethodology (especially his analysis of Agnes in Studies in Ethnomethodology), Stanley Milgram, their social psychology professor, and sociologist, Peter McHugh, McKenna’s professor. Kessler and McKenna were the first to argue that the distinction between “gender” and “sex” is a socially constructed one and the latter (defined by biological markers) should not be privileged. Their articulation of what later became known as the social construction of gender, was part of the foundation for works of ultimately more well-known gender theorists, Judith Butler (1990), Anne Fausto-Sterling (1992), and Kate Bornstein (1994). Kessler and McKenna’s concept of “gender attribution” predated William Zimmerman and Candace West’s concept of doing gender and Butler’s concept of gender performativity.

The Phall-O-Meter by the Intersex Society of North America satirizes clinical assessments of appropriate clitoris and penis length at birth. It is based on work by Kessler.

Kessler's work in her book, Lessons from the Intersexed, summarized the range of medically acceptable infant penis and clitoris sizes in the book Lessons from the Intersexed.[3] Kessler states that normative tables for clitoral length appeared in the late 1980s, while normative tables for penis length appeared more than forty years before that. She combined those standard tables to demonstrate an "intermediate area of phallic length that neither females nor males are permitted to have", that is, a clitoris larger than 9mm or a penis shorter than 25mm.[3] Her findings were then presented visually by the (now-defunct) advocacy organization Intersex Society of North America in the Phall-O-Meter. Copies of the Phall-O-Meter are now held by the Wellcome Library in London,[4] and the Smithsonian Institution.[5]

The importance of the work of Kessler and McKenna in feminist/gender theory was acknowledged in Mary Hawkesworth’s 1997 article in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society called, “Confounding Gender.” In it she investigates four efforts to theorize gender (Steven Smith’s, Judith Butler’s, R.W. Connell’s, and Kessler and McKenna’s). “The four works are the most ambitious efforts that I have found to theorize gender in ways that connect psyche, self, and social relations. They also represent some of the major methodological approaches (phenomenology, postmodern deconstruction, dialectical materialism, ethnomethodology) currently vying for the allegiance of feminist scholars.” Three years later, most of a 2000 issue of Feminism & Psychology was devoted to a reappraisal of their book with commentary by seven theorists (Mary Crawford, Carla Golden, Lenore Tiefer, Holly (later Aaron) Devor, Milton Diamond, Eva Lundgren, and Dallas Denny). The introductory essay states that when Kessler and McKenna wrote their book, “the social construction of gender", let alone sex, was still a relatively novel idea. They not only made the claim that sex is a belief system rather than a fact, but went on to analyze the interpretive practices that enable each of us to create the “fact” of two and only two sexes…The continuing importance of Kessler and McKenna’s work is twofold: First, it provides compelling, lived examples of the social construction of gender in interaction….The second reason…is the current multiplicity of theoretical positions on gender mutability, coupled with the increased visibility of transgendered and intersex people.” That visibility has only increased in the 21st century and it is clear that Kessler and McKenna’s theorizing both presaged and legitimized it. Gender fluidity is now taken-for-granted in many circles and codified in some laws.[6]

Books

  • Kessler, S. and McKenna, W. Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach: NY: Wiley Interscience (1978); reprinted University of Chicago Press (1985).
  • Kessler, Suzanne J. (1998). Lessons from the intersexed. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2529-7.[2]

Articles and chapters

  • Michals, I. & Kessler, S. Prison Teachers and Their Students: A Circle of Satisfaction and Gain. The Journal of Correctional Education, 66, (2015) 47- 62.
  • Kessler, S. Psychology Students Learn How to use Evidence to Inform Practice, to Think Critically, and Write well. In K. Vaidya (ed.) Psychology for the Curious: Why Study Psychology. Curious Academic Publishing, (2015).
  • Halperin, R., Kessler, S., & Braunschweiger, D. Rehabilitation Through the Arts: Impact on participants’ engagement in educational programs. The Journal of Correctional Education, 63, 1, (2012) 6 – 23.
  • Kessler, S. A Scientist Advocates for Better Science. Sex Roles, 65, 1-2, (2011): 140-142.
  • Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Dolezal, C., Johnson, L.L., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & Zucker, K.J. Development and Validation of the Pregnancy and Infant Orientation Questionnaire. Journal of Sex Research. 47, 6, (2009): 598-610.
  • Deogracias, J.J., Johnson, L.L., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & Zucker, K. J. The Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults. The Journal of Sex Research, 44, 4, (2007): 370-379.
  • Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Dolezal, C., Zucker, K. J., Kessler, S. J., Schober, J. M., & New, M. I. The Recalled Childhood Gender Questionnaire-Revised: A Psychometric Analysis in a Sample of Women with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. The Journal of Sex Research, 43, 4, (November 2006): 364–367.
  • McKenna W. and Kessler, S. Transgendering. In M. Evans, K. Davis, & J. Lorber (eds.) Handbook of Gender and Women's Studies.London: Sage (2006): 342- 354. Reprinted in M. S. Kimmel and A. Aronson (eds.) The Gendered Society Reader. NY. : Oxford University Press, 2008.
  • Kessler, S.J. and McKenna, W. The Primacy of Gender Attribution In Devine and -Devine (eds.) Sex and Gender: A Spectrum of Views. Adsworth/Thompson, (2003):43 - 53.
  • Kessler, S. Questioning Assumptions about Gender Assignment in Cases of Intersexuality. Dialogues in Pediatric Urology, 25, 6, (June 2002): 3-4.
  • McKenna, W. and Kessler, S.J. Who put the ‘Trans’ in Transgender? International Journal of Transgenderism, 4, 3, (September 2000). Reprinted in S. LaFont (ed) Constructing Sexualities: in Sexuality, Gender, and Culture. N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002.
  • McKenna, W. and Kessler, S.J. Gender Retrospective, Feminism and Psychology, 10, 1, (2000): 7-72.
  • McKenna, W. and Kessler, Who Needs Gender Theory? Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Spring (1997): 687-691. Also in and A.. (eds.) Provoking Feminisms. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (2000): 179-183.
  • Kessler, S. J. Creating Good-Looking Genitals in the Service of Gender. In M. Duberman (ed.) A Queer World: The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, vol 1. New York: New York University Press, (1997): 153-173.
  • Kessler, Suzanne (1990). "The Medical Construction of Gender: Case Management of Intersexed Infants". Signs. 16 (1): 3–26. JSTOR 3174605. Reprinted in Taylor, Whittier and Rupp (eds.) Feminist Frontiers VII. McGraw-Hill (2006); Hussey (ed.) Masculinities: Interdisciplinary Readings . NJ: Prentice Hall, (2003): 25-41; Wyer, Barbercheck, Giesman, Ozturk, and (eds.) Women, Science, and Technology. NY: Routledge, (2001): 161-174; (ed.) Sex/Machine: in Culture, Gender, and Technology. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, (1998); Nelson and Robinson (eds.) Gender in the 1990s: Images, Realities, and Issues. , (1996); Frankin (ed.) The Sociology of Gender. : Edward Elgar Publishing LTD. (1996). Laslett, Kohlstedt, Longino, and (eds). Gender and Scientific Authority. : Press, (1996): 340-363. Herrmann and (eds.) Theorizing Feminism. : Westview Press, (1994): 218-256; Gender in Science Workbook. Kendall/Hunt (forthcoming).
  • Kessler, S., etal. Voices. In ACT UP/NY Women and AIDS Book Group (eds.) Women, AIDS, and Activism. Boston : South End Press, (1990): 143-155.
  • Kessler, S. J. Psychology. In A. Waldhorn , O.S. Webber & A. Zeiger (eds.). Good Reading: A guide for serious readers. New York : R. R. Bowker, (1990): 277-283. (earlier edition 1985)
  • McKenna, W. & Kessler, S. Asking taboo questions and doing taboo deeds. In & (eds.) The Social Construction of the Person. N.Y. Springer‑Verlag, (1986): 241‑257.
  • Kessler, S. J. etal. (eds.). Heresies: Sex Issue. (1981): 3(4), issue l2.
  • Leslie, S., R., Saron, C., Kessler, S., & , W. Event related potentials in response to ambiguous male and female faces: Biocognitive substrates of gender recognition. Psychophysiology (abstract), (1980).
  • Kessler, S. J., McKenna, W. & Graham, R. The effect of generic pronouns on imaging and recall. Behaviorists for Social Action Journal, (1979): 2, l‑3.
  • Albert, S. & Kessler, Empirical characteristics of ending social encounters. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, (1978): l4, 54l‑553.
  • McKenna, W. & Kessler, Experimental design as a source of bias in social psychology. Sex Roles, (1977): 3, 117‑128.
  • Albert, S. & Kessler, Six processes of ending: A conceptual archeology of temporal place. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, (1976): 6, 147‑171.
  • Kessler, S. J., McKenna, W., Stang, D., Sweet, S. & Russell, V. The job market in psychology: A study of despair. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, (1976): 2(1), 22‑26.
  • Milgram, S., Greenwald, J., Kessler, S., McKenna, W. & Waters, J. A Psychological Map of New York City. American Scientist. (1972): 60, 194‑200.[2]
  • Milgram, S. (1977), The Individual in a social world: Essays and experiments. 3rd expanded edition published 2010 by Pinter and Martin.

Community Service

Since 2002, Kessler has been on the board of Rehabilitation Through the Arts. She has also been on the Board of The Children's Center at Purchase College, SUNY since 1986.

References

  1. ^ Crawford, Mary (2000). Feminism and Psychology. London: SAGE. pp. 7–152.
  2. ^ a b c d Kessler, Suzanne (17 February 2017). "Suzanne Kessler". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  3. ^ a b Kessler, Suzanne (1998). Lessons from the Intersexed. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. p. 43. ISBN 0-8135-2530-6.
  4. ^ "L0031936". Wellcome Library.
  5. ^ Dreger, Professor Alice D. (2006). "Intersex and Human Rights: The Long View". Ethics and Intersex. International Library of Ethics, Law and the New Medicine. Springer Netherlands. pp. 73–86. ISBN 978-1-4020-4314-7. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Crawford, Mary (2000). Feminism and Psychology. London: Sage. pp. 7–152.

Kessler, Suzanne. Open Scholar. http://openscholar.purchase.edu/suzanne_kessler/biocv. 17 February 2017.

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