100 Women We Love: Jen Jack Gieseking, Ph.D.

Dr. Jen Jack Gieseking wants to know where you live. No, she's not a stalker. She's an urban cultural geographer and environmental psychologist who's mapping lesbian-queer spaces and places to study just how where we live, work and play influences who we are. Gieseking has already done research toward that end in Berlin and New York. Now, as a Visiting Assistant Research Professor at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Gieseking is writing her first book, Queer New York: Lesbians’ and Queer Women’s Geographies of Social and Spatial Justice in New York City, 1983-2008. She hopes to answer this burning question: “From AIDS to The L Word, did things really get better for urban lesbians and queer women?” Using stories from lesbian/queer women and archival data, Gieseking’s book will break new ground and help amplify the voices in our community. "My research has showed me that we have much more in common than we could ever imagine," she said. "And [there's] so much more work to do together to change it. [Our] community is out there for the taking." –DN