Miss Stephanie Love

  • Research Assistant (Sociological & Cultural Studies)

Biography

Following several years of work within community based criminal justice settings, I returned to academia in 2022/23, where I earned an MRes in Criminology at the University of Glasgow. I then worked as a Research Assistant (RA) at Strathclyde University before joining the University of Glasgow in April 2024 as an RA at the Scottish Centre for Crime & Justice Research (SCCJR). Alongside fellow SCCJR colleagues I am part of the Bluestone Soteria project also providing RA support to other SCCJR projects including the SPARROW project.

As of October 2024, I have continued my RA work alongside my PhD studentship in Criminology at the University - funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Social Sciences. My thesis aims to explore the ways in which gender hierarchies and inequalities manifest in online dating contexts. Specifically, by examining women’s experiences and understanding of what feminist scholars interchangeably refer to as men’s ‘intrusions’.

Research interests

Research interests

My research interests sit within the 'violence against women and girls' (VAWG) sphere and include: gender inequality; gender-based violence (GBV); technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV); intersectional feminism; relationships; online dating; gender scripts.

Current research 

My thesis - funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Social Sciences (SGSSS) - aims to explore the ways in which gender hierarchies and inequalities manifest in online dating contexts. Specifically, by examining women’s experiences and understanding of what feminist scholars interchangeably refer to as men’s ‘intrusions’. Within online dating, intrusions range from ‘seemingly’ flirtatious messages to rape threats and in-person violence.

The project will explore the similarities and differences of intrusions across and within dating apps. Thus, allowing for consideration of the impact of specific app affordances and culture on intrusions. By utilising Gavey’s (2018) ‘cultural scaffolding of rape’ as a conceptual framework the project examines how intrusions can be understood as a reflection of gendered sexuality that is skewed in ways that can accommodate intrusive and abusive behaviour as unremarkable or even normal.

Research projects

Research groups

  • Criminology