Zachary Androus
PhD Candidate in Race, Gender, and Social Justice
Department of Anthropology
American University, Washington, D.C.



Background and Research Interests

My current research is founded in the principles of critical medical anthropology and is focused on socially and culturally motivated genital modification in various contexts: neonatal male circumcision in the United States, elective adult genital surgery in the U.S. and Europe, and the interactions between individuals seeking these surgeries and the medical professionals providing them. My other research interests include mainstream and transgressive body modification, theories of gender and the body, and indigenous history and politics. I hold the BA (1997) and MA (2002) in Anthropology from the University of Montana. I was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia and currently reside in Florence, Italy with my wife. My hobbies include music and metalsmithing. You can reach my by email to zachary@zacharyandrous.com

Papers Presented

The United States, FGM, and Global Rights to Bodily Integrity
Presented at the Rothermere American Institute
Conference on The United States and Global Human Rights
Oxford University November 2004

When Engagement is Not Activism: Dilemmas of Public Anthropology on Infant Circumcision in the U.S.
Presented at the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association
Washington, DC November 2005

Cultural Relativism at Home and Abroad: An American Anthropologist Confronts the Genital Modification of Children
Presented at the Ninth International Symposium on Circumcision and Human Rights
University of Washington August 2006

Fitting In and Getting Off: Adult Elective Circumcision in the United States
Presented at the Ninth International Symposium on Circumcision and Human Rights
University of Washington August 2006

Anthropology and Circumcision: Why So Us and Them?
Presented at the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association
San Jose, CA November 2006

Ethnography in the Cyberspace of Sexuality: Participant Observation Among the Online Erotic Circumcision Community
Poster Presented at The Future of Sexuality Research: From Methodology to Social Policy Innovation
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction
Bloomington, IN April 2007

Publications

"Beefsteak for Solidarity": A Chance Encounter with Globalization
Anthropology News May 2006

Review of Female Genital Cutting by Elizabeth Heger Boyle
International Journal of Human Rights Iss. 9 Vol. 4