Shara Crookston, Ph.D.
Shara Crookston, Ph.D., is associate professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Toledo. She earned her doctorate in Higher Education at the University of Mississippi in 2009. Her dissertation, “You Know You Love Me XOXO: A Feminist Analysis of Gossip Girl Readers’ Interpretation of the College Experience,” focused on the consumer and lifestyle expectations of college women. Dr. Crookston holds a M.A. in Women’s Studies from the University of Alabama (2006), and a B.A. in Women’s Studies from Arizona State University (2004).
Originally a Northern California native, Dr. Crookston has been teaching at the University of Toledo since 2009. Her research interests are focused on depictions of girlhood and adolescence in popular culture and reproductive justice. She is particularly interested in postfeminist narratives in teen magazines such as Seventeen and Teen Vogue. Her work has appeared in Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics, Women in Sport and Physical Activity, Girlhood Studies, and Jeunesse: Young people, Texts, Cultures.
Dr. Crookston has developed and taught several courses related to girlhood and adolescence in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Toledo. These include Girlhood in Film and Popular Teen Literature. She is currently developing a course about girls and sports participation. In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Crookston enjoys reading fiction, true crime podcasts, and spending time with her dogs.
