




- Representing and prioritizing the health of people in understudied Black communities
- AIDS 2018 Poster: Sexual partner types and condom use among Black heterosexual men
- MEN Count: Making Employment Needs Count for unemployed and/or unstably housed Black men
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Team Represent Staff at AIDS 2018

Lisa Bowleg, Ph.D., M.A.
Title: | Professor of Applied Social Psychology |
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Office: | Room 345 - Lisner Hall |
Address: | 2125 G St NW Washington, District Of Columbia 20052 United States |
Phone: | 202-994-1367 |
Email: |
[email protected] |
Lisa Bowleg is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at GW. She holds a BS in Psychology from Georgetown University, an MA in Public Policy with a concentration in Women’s Studies, and a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology from GW. She is a leading scholar of intersectionality in behavioral and social science research, and for almost 20 years her qualitative and mixed methods research has examined: (1) the effects of masculinity and social-structural context on Black men’s sexual HIV risk and protective behaviors; and (2) Black lesbian, gay, and bisexual people’s experiences with stress and resilience (see current projects listed below). Her work has been published in many high-impact journals such as the American Journal of Public Health, Health Psychology, and AIDS and Behavior.
Dr. Bowleg is an editorial board member of several journals, including the Archives of Sexual Behavior, Journal of Sex Research, and LGBT Health. She is a member of the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR) and the incoming Director of the DC CFAR's Social and Behavioral Sciences Core. Her awards include the 2014 Psychology and AIDS Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Psychology and AIDS.
Current Research
Dr. Bowleg is the Principal Investigator (PI) and joint-PI of two ongoing National Institutes of Health/National Institutes of Mental Health-funded R01 HIV prevention studies in Washington, DC. MEN Count is an intervention with unemployed and/or unstably housed Black heterosexual men. Menhood examines the effects of neighborhood and individual-level stressors and resilience on Black men’s sexual risk. Her previous NIH-funded R01 study, Represent, examined the effects of social-structural context, gender ideologies, sexual scripts, and resilience on Black heterosexual men’s sexual risk.
Education
PhD, Applied Social Psychology, George Washington University (1997)
MA, Applied Social Psychology, George Washington University (1996)
MA, Public Policy (concentration in Women’s Studies), George Washington University (1991)
BS, Psychology, Georgetown University (1988)
Publications
2017
Bowleg, L. (in press). Towards a critical health equity research stance: Why epistemology and methodology matter more than qualitative methods. Health Education and Behavior. doi:10.1177/1090198117728760
Bowleg, L. (2017). Intersectionality: An underutilized but essential theoretical framework for social psychology. In B. Gough (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology (pp. 507-529). UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bowleg, L., del Rio-Gonzalez, A. M., Holt, S., L., Pérez, C., Massie, J. S., Mandell, J. E., & Boone, C. (2017). Intersectional epistemologies of ignorance: How behavioral and social science research shapes what we know, think we know, and don’t know about U.S. Black men’s sexualities. Journal of Sex Research, 54, 577-603. doi:10.1080/00224499.2017.1295300
Bowleg, L. (2017). President Barack Obama: Black man extraordinary and ordinary. Invited op-ed. American Journal of Public Health, 107. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303552.
2016
English, D., Bowleg, L., del Rio-Gonzalez, A. M., Tschann, J. M., Agans, R., & Malebranche, D. J. (2016). Measuring Black men's police-based discrimination experiences: Development and validation of the Police and Law Enforcement (PLE) Scale. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. doi:10.1037/cdp0000137
Mertens, D. M., Bazeley, P., Bowleg, L., Fielding, N., Maxwell, J., Molina-Azorin, J. F., & Niglas, K. (2016). Expanding thinking through a kaleidoscopic look into the future: Implications of the Mixed Methods International Research Association’s Task Force Report on the Future of Mixed Methods. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1-7. doi: 10.1177/1558689816649719.
Bowleg, L., & Bauer, G. R. (2016). Invited reflection: Quantifying intersectionality. Psychology of Women Quarterly. Retrieved from http://pwq.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/06/29/0361684316654282 doi:10.1177/0361684316654282
Zea, M.C. & Bowleg, L. (2016). The final frontier — Transitions and sustainability: From mentored to independence. AIDS & Behavior, 1-7. doi: 10.1007/s10461-016-1368-z
Bowleg, L., English, D., del Rio-Gonzalez, A.M., Burkholder, G.J., Teti, M. & Tschann, J.M. (2016). Measuring the pros and cons of being a Black man: Development of the Black Men’s Experiences Scale (BMES). Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 17, 177-188. doi: 10.1037/men000026.
2015
Bowleg, L., Heckert, A.L., Brown, T.L. & Massie, J.S. (2015). Responsible men, blameworthy women: Black heterosexual men’s discursive constructions of safer sex and masculinity. Health Psychology, 34(4), 314-327. doi: 10.1037/hea0000216.
Bowleg, L., Burkholder, G. J., Noar, S. M., Teti, M., Malebranche, D., & Tschann, J. M. (2015). Sexual scripts and HIV risk and behaviors among Black heterosexual men: Development of the Sexual Scripts Scale (SSS). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 639-654. doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0193-y
Nakhid, C., Majavu, A., Bowleg, L., Mooney, S., Ryan, I., Mayeda, D., . . . Halstead, D. (2015). "Intersectionality revisited: Moving beyond the contours of race, class, gender" – Notes on an intersectionality symposium. New Zealand Sociology, 30, 190-198.
Bowleg, L., Teti, M., Massie, J., Patel, A., J., M. D., & Tschann, J. M. (2015). “What does it take to be a man? What is a real man?”: Ideologies of masculinity and HIV sexual risk among Black heterosexual men. In P. Aggleton, R. Parker & F. Thomas (Eds.), Culture, Health and Sexuality: An Introduction (pp. 65-79). Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
2014
Bowleg, L., Neilands, T., Tabb-Phillips, L., Burkholder, G. J., Teti, M., Malebranche, D. J., & Tschann, J. M. (2014). Neighborhood context and Black heterosexual men’s sexual HIV risk behaviors. AIDS and Behavior, 18, 2207-2218. doi: 10.1007/s10461-014-0803-2
Bowleg, L., Fitz, C.C., Burkholder, G.J., Massie, J.S., Wahome, R., Teti, M. Malebranche, D.J. & Tschann, J.M. (2014). Racial discrimination and posttraumatic stress symptoms as pathways to sexual HIV risk among urban Black heterosexual men. AIDS Care, 26(8),1050-1057. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2014.906548.
Baker, J.L., Rodgers, C.R., Davis, Z.M., Graceley, E. & Bowleg, L. (2014). Results from a secondary analysis regarding satisfaction with health care among African American women living with HIV/AIDS. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 43(5), 664-676. doi: 10.1111/1552-6909.12491
Bowleg, L., Mingho, M. & Massie, J.S. (2014). ““The skill is using your big head over your little head ”: What Black heterosexual men say they know, want, and need to prevent HIV. American Journal of Men’s Health, 7, 31S-42S. doi: 10.1177/1557988313483305
Bowleg, L. (2014). When Black + Woman + Lesbian? ≠ Black Lesbian Woman. In P. R. Grzanka (Ed). Intersectionality: A foundation and frontiers reader (pp. 314-321). Boulder, CO: Westview.
2013
Doshi, R. K., Malebranche, D. J., Bowleg, L., & Sangaramoorthy, T. (2013). Health care and HIV testing experiences among Black men in the South: Implications for "Seek, Test, Treat, and Retain" HIV prevention strategies. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 27, 123-133. doi: 10.1089/apc.2012.0269. PMID: 23268586
Bowleg, L., Burkholder, G.J., Massie, J.S., Wahome, R., Teti, M. Malebranche, D.J. & Tschann, J.M. (2013). Racial discrimination, social support, and sexual HIV risk among Black heterosexual men. AIDS and Behavior, 17(1), 407-418. doi: 10.1007/s10461-012-0179-0. PMID: 22437347
Bowleg, L., Teti, M., Malebranche, D.J., & Tschann, J.M. (2013). “It’s an uphill battle everyday": Intersectionality and the implications of social-structural factors for sexual HIV risk among Black heterosexual men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(1), 25-34. doi: 10.1037/a0028392. PMCID: 3591486.
Bowleg, L. (2013). “Once you’ve blended the cake, you can’t take the parts back to the main ingredients”: Black gay and bisexual men’s descriptions and experiences of intersectionality. Sex Roles, 68, 754-767. doi: 10.1007/s11199-012-0152-4
Bowleg, L. (2013). Re-theorizing women’s health through the prism of intersectionality. In M. Spiers, P.A. Geller, & J. D. Kloss (Eds.). Women’s health psychology (pp. 25-46). NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Malebranche, D.M. & Bowleg, L. (2013). Beyond gay, bisexual, or DL: Structural determinants of sexual HIV risk among Black men in the United States. Social determinants of health among African American men. In H.M. Treadwell, C. Xanthos, & K.B. Holden (Eds.) (pp. 161-182). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
2012
Bowleg, L. & Raj, A. (2012). Shared communities, structural contexts, and HIV risk: Prioritizing the HIV risk and prevention needs of Black heterosexual men. American Journal of Public Health, 102(S2), S173-S177. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300342. PMID: 22401513
Bowleg, L. (2012). The problem with the phrase “women and minorities”: Intersectionality, an important theoretical framework for public health. American Journal of Public Health, , 102(7), 1267-1273. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300750. PMID: 22594719
Hussen, S., Bowleg, L., Sangaramoorthy, T., and Malebranche, D. (2012). "Parents, peers and pornography: The influence of formative sexual scripts on adult HIV sexual risk behaviour among Black men. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 14(8), 863-877. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2012.703327. PMID: 22823577
Reed, E., Santana, M. C., Bowleg, L., Welles, S. L., Horsburgh, C., & Raj, A. (2012). Experiences of racial discrimination and relation to sexual risk for HIV among a sample of urban African American men. Journal of Urban Health. doi: 10.1007/s11524-012-9690-x. PMID: 22674464
Raj, A. & Bowleg, L. (2012). Heterosexual risk for HIV among Black men in the United States: A call to action against a neglected crisis in Black communities. American Journal of Men’s Health, 6(3), 178-181. doi: 10.1177/1557988311416496. PMID: 21831928
Teti, M., Martin, A.E., Randade, R., Massie, J., Malebranche, D.J., Tschann, J.M., & Bowleg, L. (2012). “I’m a keep rising. I’m a keep going forward, regardless ”: Exploring Black men’s resilient responses to socio-structural challenges and stressors. Qualitative Health Research, 22(4), 524-533. doi: 10.1177/1049732311422051. PMID: 21911505
Caldwell, K. L. & Bowleg, L. (2012). Enfoques contrários: Examinar o uso de raça e status socioecónomico nas pesquisas e políticas para HIV/Aids no Brasil e os Estados Unidos de uma perspectiva interseccional (Mirror Opposites: Examining Race and Socioeconomic Status in HIV/AIDS Research and Policies in Brazil and the United States from an Intersectional Perspective). Saúde da População Negra da Coleção Negras e Negros: Pesquisa e Debates. (Health of the Black Population: Study and Debates). In F. Lopes, L.E. Batista & J. Werneck (Eds.). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: DP at Alii.
2011
Bowleg, L., Teti, M., Massie, J., Patel, A., Malebranche, D.J. & Tschann, J.M. (2011). “What does it Take to be a Man? What is a real man?”: Black heterosexual men’s masculinity ideologies and sexual HIV risk. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 13(5), 545-559. PMID: 21390949
Choi, K. H., Bowleg, L., & Neilands, T.B. (2011). The effects of sexism, psychological distress, and difficult sexual situations on U.S. women's sexual risk behaviors. AIDS Education and Prevention, 23(5), 397-411. doi: 10.1521/aeap.2011.23.5.397
Teti, M. & Bowleg, L. (2011). Shattering the myth of invulnerability: Exploring the prevention needs of sexual minority women living with HIV/AIDS. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 23, 69-88.
Teti, M., Bowleg, L., & Lloyd, L. (2011). "Pain on top of pain, hurtness on top of hurtness": Social discrimination, psychological well-being, and sexual risk among women living with HIV/AIDS. International Journal of Sexual Health, 22(4).
2010
Teti, M., Bowleg, L., Cole, R., Lloyd, L., Rubinstein, S., Spencer, S., Ricksecker, A.E., Berhane, Z. & Gold, M. (2010). A mixed methods evaluation of the effect of the Protect and Respect intervention on the condom use and disclosure practices of women living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS and Behavior, 14(3), 567-579.
Estes, L.J., Lloyd, L.E., Teti, M., Raja, S., Bowleg, L., Allgood, K.L., et al. (2010). Perceptions of audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) among women in an HIV-positive prevention program. PLoS ONE 5(2): e9149. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009149.
Bowleg, L., Valera, P., Teti, M. & Tschann, J.M. (2010). Silences, gestures, and words: Nonverbal and verbal communication about HIV risk and condom use in Black/African American heterosexual relationships. Health Communication, 25(1), 1-11. PMID: 20390673
Cooper-Nicols, M. & Bowleg, L. (2010). “My voice is being heard”: Exploring the experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth in schools. Beyond progress, beyond marginalization: LGBTQ youth in educational contexts. In C.C. Bertram, M.S. Crowley, & S.G. Massey (Eds.) (pp. 15-51). NY: Peter Lang.
2009
Teti, M., Bowleg, L. & Spencer, S. (2009). Who helps the helpers? A clinical supervision model to support peers and health educators who deliver sexual risk reduction interventions to people living with HIV/AIDS. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 8(4), 430-446.
2008
Bowleg, L., Neilands, T.B., & Choi, K.H. (2008). Evaluating the validity and reliability of a modified Schedule of Sexist Events: Implications for public health research on women’s HIV risk behaviors. Women and Health, 47(2), 19-40.
Bowleg, L., Burkholder, G., Teti, M. & Craig, M. L. (2008). The complexities of outness: Psychosocial predictors of coming out to others among Black lesbian and bisexual women. Journal of LGBT Health Research, 4(4), 153-166.
Bowleg, L. (2008). When Black + Woman + Lesbian? ≠ Black Lesbian Woman: The methodological challenges of qualitative and quantitative intersectionality research. Sex Roles, 59(5-6), 312-325. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9400-z
Bowleg, L., Brooks, K., & Ritz, S.F. (2008). “Bringing home more than a paycheck:” An exploratory analysis of Black lesbians’ experiences of stress and coping in the workplace, Journal of Lesbian Studies, 12(1) 69-84.
Quinlen, K., Bowleg, L., & Ritz, S.F. (2008). Virtually invisible women: Women with disabilities in mainstream psychological theory and research. Review of Disability Studies, 4(3), 4-17.
2007
Teti, M., Bowleg, L., Rubinstein, S., Lloyd, L., Berhane, Z., & Gold M. (2007). Present but not accounted for: Exploring the sexual risk practices and intervention needs of non-heterosexually identified women in a prevention program for women with HIV/AIDS. Journal of LGBT Health Research, 3(4), 37-51.
Bowleg, L. (2007). The health risks of being Black, Latino, Woman, and/or poor: Redefining women’s health within the context of social inequality. Invited chapter to Lectures in the Psychology of Women (4th ed., pp. 204-219). J.C. Chrisler, C. Golden, P.D. Rozee (Eds). Boston: McGraw Hill. status among minorities. In S. Loue (Ed.) (pp. 41-64). Sexualities and identities of minority women. NY: Springer.
2004
Bowleg, L. (2004). Love, sex, and masculinity in sociocultural context: HIV concerns and condom use among African American men in heterosexual relationships. Men and Masculinities, 7(2),166-186.
Bowleg, L., Craig, M., & Burkholder, G. (2004). Rising and surviving: A conceptual model of active coping among Black lesbians. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 10(3), 229-240.
Bowleg, L., Lucas, K.,J., & Tschann, J.M. (2004). “The ball was always in his court”: An exploratory analysis of relationship scripts, sexual scripts, and condom use among African American women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28(1), 70-82.
Bowleg, L. (2004). Risk behavior. In M. Kimmel & A. Aronson (Ed.) Men and masculinities: A social, cultural, and historical encyclopedia (pp. 675-677). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio Press.
Bowleg, L. (2004). Risk behavior, sexual. In M. Kimmel & A. Aronson (Ed.) Men and masculinities: A social, cultural, and historical encyclopedia (pp. 678-680). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio Press.
Bowleg, L. (2004). Men of color. In M. Kimmel & A. Aronson (Ed.) Men and masculinities: A social, cultural, and historical encyclopedia (pp. 520-524). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio Press.
Bowleg, L. (2004). Condom use. In M. Kimmel & A. Aronson (Eds.) Men and masculinities: A social, cultural, and historical encyclopedia (pp. 171-173). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio Press.
2003
Bowleg, L., Huang, J., Brooks, K., Black, A., & Burkholder, G. (2003). Triple jeopardy and beyond: Multiple minority stress and resilience among Black lesbians. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 7(4), 87-108.
Bowleg, L. (2003). Varying angles and wider lenses: A multicultural transformation of the undergraduate social psychology course. In P. Bronstein & K. Quina (Eds.), Teaching gender and multicultural awareness: Resources for the psychology classroom (pp. 59-72). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bowleg, L., Brooks, K., Huang, J., Black, A., & Burkholder, G. (2003). Triple jeopardy and beyond: Multiple minority stress and resilience among Black lesbians. In K. F. Balsam (Ed.), Trauma, stress, and sexual minority women: Rising like the phoenix (pp. 87-108). Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.
2000
Bowleg, L., Belgrave, F.Z., & Reisen, C. (2000). Gender roles, relationship power strategies & precautionary sexual self-efficacy: Implications for women’s condom/latex barrier use [Special issue: Gender, power, and women’s relationships: Implications for HIV]. Sex Roles, 42(7/8), 613-635.
1990s
Bowleg, L. (1992). Pollutants, criminals and incubators: The conceptualization of women under state HIV/AIDS laws. Iris: A Journal About Women, 27, 11-20.
Stepakoff, S., & Bowleg, L. (1998). Sexual identity in sociocultural context: Clinical implications of multiple marginalization. In R.A. Javier & W.G. Herron (Eds.). Personality development and psychotherapy in our diverse society: A source book (pp. 618-653). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Distinctions
Dr. Bowleg is a member of the DC Developmental Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and an editorial board member of the Archives of Sexual Behavior, Journal of Sex Research, and LGBT Health. Below are her honors and awards:
2014 Psychology and AIDS Distinguished Leader Award, Ad Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS (COPA), American Psychological Association
2012 President’s Award for Intercultural Engagement & Diversity, Drexel University
2009, Certificate of Appreciation, Behavioral and Social Science Volunteer Program, American Psychological Association
2008 Red Ribbon Award for Research, University of Pennsylvania Center for AIDS Research Community Advisory Board
2007-2010, National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program – Health Disparities Research,
2007, Honorable Mention, Carolyn Payton Early Career Award, Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35), American Psychological Association
2006, Teacher’s Appreciation Award, Uhuru SaSa, African American Student Association, University of Rhode Island
2004, Wayne F. Placek Investigator Development Award, American Psychological Foundation
2002, Diversity Award for Faculty Excellence in Leadership and Service, University of Rhode Island Multicultural Center
2001-2002, Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education Excellence in Technology Award,
2000, Margaret Stetz Woman of Distinction Award, Georgetown University Women’s Center
1999, Louise Kidder Early Career Award, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, American Psychological Association
1997, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, 1996-1997 Grants-In-Aid Award
1996, American Psychological Association Science Directorate Dissertation Research Award
Classes Taught
PSYC 8257/8258: Qualitative Research and Analysis in Psychology
PSYC 4202W: Applied Social Psychology Research Lab: Discrimination and Health