JINSUN YANG

SOCIOLOGIST · EDUCATOR · ACTIVIST

Jinsun
Yang

Ph.D. in Sociology

Researching gender, globalization, sport, and social change.

I study how sex classification and gender norms are constructed, contested, and transformed across borders through sport, institutions, and grassroots activism.

Explore my research View CV

Visiting Professor · Lewis & Clark College · Google Scholar ↗

Portrait of Jinsun Yang outdoors, standing with arms crossed in front of leafy trees
Jinsun Yang
GENDER & SEXUALITYSPORT & EMBODIMENTSOCIAL MOVEMENTSTRANSNATIONAL POLITICS
01 / ABOUT

Making sense of
boundaries.

I am a sociologist whose work explores the politics of sex classification, gender, and social change, with a focus on South Korea and transnational sport.

My research examines how sex and gender classifications are globalized and travel across borders, becoming introduced, contested, and institutionalized in local contexts. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative research, I explore LGBTQ+ sports activism and the ways grassroots communities reimagine sex categories and justice in sport.

I am currently a Visiting Professor in Sociology & Anthropology and Korean Studies at Lewis & Clark College. I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology and a Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Oregon in 2026.

Download full CV
02 / RESEARCH

Questions that
move us.

Gender, sport, governance, and the possibilities of collective action.

DISSERTATION RESEARCH

Decolonizing Sex Segregation in Sports

Global Gender Policing and LGBTQ+ Sports Activism in South Korea

My dissertation examines sex segregation in sport as a contested political and institutional arrangement. It brings questions of global gender policing into conversation with LGBTQ+ sports activism in South Korea.

01
POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Gender Discrimination vs. Workplace Sexual Harassment

Comparative research on distinct legal frames used to advocate for female athletes’ rights in sex-testing debates.

02
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Protest or Festival? Sports Activism in East Asia

Comparative ethnographic research on LGBTQ+ sports activism in South Korea and Hong Kong.

03
DIGITAL CULTURE

How Does K-pop Become a Moral Object?

Geopolitics and moral surveillance in transnational digital discourse.

03 / PUBLICATIONS

Selected
writing.

Peer-reviewed research on gender, sex classification, and globalization.

2026

Challenging the Binary: A Quantitative Exploration of College Athletes’ Exposure and Support for Sex-Integrated Sport

Melody Huslage and Jinsun Yang · Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education

Read article ↗
2025

Localization of Sex Testing: Transnational Knowledge Production of Sex

Jinsun Yang · Women's Studies International Forum, 111, 103078

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Graduate Paper Award, SSSP Gender, Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division (2025)
2023

Creating a Non–Gender Binary Sports Space: The Nonbinary Policy of Korean “Queer Women Games”

Jinsun Yang · Transgender Studies Quarterly, 10(2), 116–132

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Honorable Mention, Graduate Paper Award, International Sociology of Sport Association (2023)
See full publication record in CV
04 / SELECTED HONORS

Selected honors.

Selected awards recognizing research, scholarship, and teaching.

2025
Graduate Paper Award

Gender, Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division · Society for the Study of Social Problems

2024
Graduate Paper Award

Teaching Social Problems Division · Society for the Study of Social Problems

2025
Dissertation & Thesis Award

University of Oregon

View all awards in CV ↗
05 / TEACHING

Learning as
Interdependent Inquiry and Practice.

I approach teaching as a collaborative process of asking questions, developing research skills, and making sociological knowledge meaningful beyond the classroom.

My courses emphasize transparent expectations, active learning, and research projects that connect theory to students’ experiences and communities.

At Lewis & Clark College

FALL 2026Sociology of the Body
FALL 2026Contemporary Korean Culture
SPRING 2027 · PLANNEDGender & Sexuality in East Asia
SPRING 2027 · PLANNEDGender and Technology
SPRING 2027 · PLANNEDIntroduction to Sociology

Previously taught courses at the University of Oregon include Feminist Theory, Gender and Space, Sports and Social Issues, Bodies and Power, and Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

06 / CURRICULUM VITAE

Academic
CV.

My curriculum vitae includes education, academic appointments, publications, teaching, service, and selected presentations.

View or download CV (PDF)

Updated October 2026. PDF opens in a new tab.

07 / MEDIA

Conversations
& media.

INTERVIEW · SEXGENLAB

Sexcavation Ep. 7: Gendered Sports with Jinsun Yang

An interview with SexGenLab, discussing gender and sport.

SEXGENLAB · SEXCAVATION EP. 7Gendered Sports with Jinsun YangWatch interview on YouTube ↗Watch on YouTube ↗
08 / CONTACT

Let's stay in
conversation.

I welcome conversations about research, teaching, collaboration, and shared interests in gender, sport, and social change.

jinsun@lclark.edu
Jinsun Yang, Ph.D.Lewis & Clark College · Portland, Oregon