Juliet A. Williams

Juliet A. Williams is Professor of Gender Studies and Chair of the UCLA Social Science Interdepartmental Program, where she directs the Master of Social Science Program. Dr. Williams also is Faculty Director of the UCLA Quarter in Washington Program and Faculty Co-Lead of the Mellon UCLA Data & Social Justice Initiative. She holds a B.A. in Government from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University. Dr. Williams is a socio-legal scholar whose research and teaching specializations include feminist theory and politics, masculinities studies, gender discrimination law, and Title IX. She is the author of The Separation Solution?: Single-Sex Education and the New Politics of Gender Equality (University of California Press, 2016), and contributing co-editor of Public Affairs: Politics in the Age of Sex Scandals (Duke UP, 2004). Dr. Williams has published numerous research articles in academic journals including Signs, Gender & Society, Law & Society Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Gender, and Political Research Quarterly. Her recent research projects include a multi-year study, NSF-supported study of gender neutrality in U.S. law, the media and activism (conducted with Dr. Abigail Saguy). Currently, Dr. Williams is working on a book project entitled The Politics of Patriarchy: From Radical Feminism to Barbie.

Ph.D., Government, Cornell University

B.A., Government, Harvard University

Feminist theory and politics, masculinities studies, gender discrimination law, Title IX and education

Books:

The Separation Solution?: Single-Sex Education and the New Politics of Gender Equality. University of California Press.  2016.

• Reviewed in Sex Roles
• Reviewed in Psychology of Women Quarterly
• Reviewed in American Journal of Sociology
• Featured in The Atlantic

Liberalism and the Limits of Power. Palgrave Macmillan. 2005.

Public Affairs: Politics in the Age of Sex Scandals. Eds. Juliet A. Williams and Paul Apostolidis.  Duke University Press. 2004.

Selected Articles, Book Chapters, and Reviews:

“A Little Word That Means A Lot: A Reassessment of Singular They in a New Era of Gender Politics.” 2022.  Co-authored with Abigail Saguy. Gender & Society 36(1): 5-31.

“Reassessing Gender Neutrality.” 2020. Co-authored with Abigail Saguy and Mallory Rees. Law & Society Review 54(1): 7-32.

Review of Butterfly Politics. By Catharine A. Mackinnon. 2019. Politics & Gender (15) 1: 17-19.

“Reimagining Gender Neutrality in the News.” 2019. Co-authored with Abigail Saguy. Signs 44(2): 465-489.

“Sex Scandals, Reputational Management, and Masculinities Under Neoliberal Conditions.” 2019. Co-authored with Paul Apostolidis.  Sexualities. Special issue editors Gary A. Fine and Rebecca Plante. 1-22.

“Feminist Jurisprudence.”  2015.  Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory.  Eds. Mary  Hawkesworth and Lisa Disch.  Oxford University Press.

“The Possibilities and Perils of Social Justice Feminism: What We Can Learn form the Single-Sex Public Education Debates.”  2014.  University of Cincinnati Law School Freedom Center Journal, Special Issue on Social Justice Feminism: 87-100.

“Same DNA, But Born This Way”: Lady Gaga and the Possibilities of Post-Essentialist Feminisms.”  2014.  Journal of Popular Music Studies 26 (1): 28-46.

“Thinking Through ‘The Boy Crisis’: Multiple Masculinities and the Politics of Difference.”  2013.  In Exploring Masculinities: Feminist Legal Theory Reflections.  Eds. Martha Albertson Fineman and Michael Thompson.  Hart Publishing: 163-175.

“Girls Can Be Anything…But Boys Will Be Boys: On Gender Essentialism and the ‘Boy Crisis.’” 2013.  University of Nevada Law Review 13: 533-546.

“Neo-Orientalism.” Co-authored with Ali Behdad.  2010.  In Globalizing American Studies.  Eds. Brian Edwards and Dilip Gaonkar.  University of Chicago Press, 283-299.

“Learning Differences: Sex-Role Stereotyping in Single-Sex Public Education.” 2010.  Harvard Journal of Law and Gender 33 (2): 555-580.

“Unholy Matrimony: Feminism, Orientalism, and the Possibility of Double Critique.”  2009.  Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society34 (3): 611-632.

“On the Popular Vote.”  2005.  Political Research Quarterly 58 (4): 637-646.

“The Personal is Political: Thinking Through the Clinton/Lewinsky/Starr Affair.”  2001.  PS: Political Science and Politics. 24 (1): 93-98.

Op-Eds:

“The Problems with All-Boys Schools.” The Globe and Mail. 22 November 2018.

“20 Years Since America’s Shock over Clinton-Lewinsky Affair, Public Discussions on Sexual Harassment Are Changing.” The Conversation, 19 January 2018.

“Single Sex Education a Civil Rights Assault.” Co-authored with Kimberlé W. Crenshaw and Diane F. Halpern. Education Week On California Blog. 21 May 2017.

“Angry White Women.” Huffington Post, 14 November 2016.

“What’s Wrong With Single-Sex Schools?  A Lot.”  Los Angeles Times, 25 January 2016.

“Why the Strauss-Kahn and Schwarzenegger Don’t Go Together.”  Washington Post, 20 May 2011.

“Babes in Scandal-Land.”  Ms. Magazine Blog, 11 May 2010.

Faculty Co-Lead, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. For “UCLA Mellon Social Justice Curriculum.” $5 million. January 2021-June 2026

Co-PI, National Science Foundation, Law and Social Science and Sociology Programs. For “How difference matters in the development of legal doctrine” (with Abigail Saguy) $325,000. September 1 2017-August 31 2021

UCLA Center for American Politics and Public Policy Kenneth L. Sokoloff Fellow, 2015

Ms. Magazine Writers’ Workshop for Feminist Scholars, 2009

UC ACCORD Faculty Research Seed Grant, 2007

Quoted in “Is ‘Your Body, My Choice’ a Joke or a Promise of the New Trump Era?” Los Angeles Times. 14 November 2024.

Quoted in “Florida’s Abortion Vote: Even When We Win, We Lose.” USA Today. 7 November 2024.

Quoted in “New Voting Site at a Transgender Support Center.” Los Angeles Daily News. 4 November 2024.

Quoted in “Kamala Harris, Megyn Kelly and Why the Sexist Attacks are so Dangerous.” USA Today. 31 July 2024.

Featured on “Women React to Possible Candidacy of VP Harris.” NBC4 News at 6pm. 23 July 2024.

Quoted in “Somehow, Women and ‘DEI’ are to Blame for Trump Rally Shooting.” 16 July 2024.

Quoted in “Manhood 2024: Do Republicans Own It?” Los Angeles Times. 23 May 2024.

Guest on Legal Face-Off. “Harvey Weinstein’s Conviction Reversal.” Chicago WGN Radio 720. 9 May 2024.

Quoted in “Trump’s Trial is Already Putting a Spotlight on Threats to Women.” The 19th. 19 April 2024.

Quoted in “Can Professionalism Be Pink?” UCLA Daily Bruin, 5 April 2024.

Quoted in “Can Women Really Have it All?” CBS News. 13 March 2024.

Featured in “‘Barbie Feminism’: Gender studies Fiat Lux course takes on silver screen giant.” UCLA Daily Bruin. 21 January 2024.

Quoted in “Should men pay on dates as reparations for the gender gap?” Los Angeles Times. 2 October 2023.

Quoted in “Gabrielle Union, Dwayne Wade split their bills and Twitter is heated. But should you do the same?” USA Today. 17 May 2023.

Quoted in “Trump’s sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing.” Associated Press (AP). 12 May 2023.

Quoted in “Trump’s charges are about business records. They’re also about how he treats women.” The 19th. 6 April 2023.

Quoted in “Two women dealt a blow to Donald Trump’s power. In a post- #MeToo era, will he fall?” USA Today. 3 April 2023.

Featured in “Who Defines What Makes a Woman?” NBC LX News. 15 March 15, 2023.

Interviewed in “Denial as a Tactic—25 Years Ago, The Clinton-Lewinsky Affair Came to Light.” ARD Audiothck. 25 January 2023.

Q & A with Sarah Polley, Writer and Director of Women Talking. UCLA James Bridges Theater. 4 November 2022.

Quoted in “Olivia Wilde, Jason Sudeikis Have Joint Custody. Only One is Seen as an Absentee Parent.” USA Today. 25 October 2022.

Quoted in “Shia LaBeouf, Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer: Who ‘Deserves’ a Chance at Redemption?” USA Today. 15 September 2022.

Quoted in “Los Angeles Has Never Elected a Woman of Color Mayor.” The 19th. 8 September 2022.

Quoted in “‘A Fight Every Day’: Roe v. Wade Overturn a Dire Impact on Mental Health Experts Say.” USA Today. 30 June 2022.

Quoted in “How Roe v. Wade, the Met Gala and Amber Heard Show Us the State of Women in America.” USA Today. 4 May 2022.

Quoted in “Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson Had Their Trauma Exploited. What it Means to Hear Their Side.” USA Today. 8 April 2022.

Quoted in “Marsha Blackburn Asked Ketanji Brown Jackson to Define ‘Woman.’ Science Says There’s No Simple Answer.” USA Today. 24 March 2022.

Quoted in “A Topless Adidas Ad and Our Struggle to Normalize the Naked Female Body.” USA Today. 4 March 2022.

Quoted in “Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the Golden Age of Nude Men.” The Wall Street Journal. 26 January 2022.

Quoted in “‘Sexy baby,’ ‘Sexy Handmaid’s Tale’: Have Halloween Costumes Gone Too Far?” USA Today. 18 October 2021.

Quoted in “It’s Time to Leave ‘Basic’ Girls and Their Pumpkin Spice Lattes Alone. Here’s Why.” USA Today. 27 September 2021.

Quoted in “The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal Was Embarrassing to Talk About—But Changed How We Talk About Sex.” Washington Post. 22 September 2021.

Quoted in “Why Marriage is Still a Sexist Institution–and What We Can Do About It.” USA Today. 4 August 2021.

Quoted in “At the Olympics, Women Athletes Say ‘Enough.’” USA Today. 28 July 2021.

Quoted in “Ahead of the Olympics, Women Athletes Challenge Perceptions About Sports and Parenthood.” The 19th. 16 July 2021.

Quoted in “How We’ve Failed Millie Bobby Brown.” USA Today. 15. July 2021.

Quoted in “It’s Time to End Gendered Acting Awards at the Emmys and Oscars. Here’s Why.” USA Today. 14 July 2021.

Quoted in “Britney Spears is ‘Speaking Her Truth.’ Are We Listening?” USA Today. 24 June 2021.

Quoted in “Are you ‘cheugy’? Maybe. But Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Care.“ USA Today. 21 June 2021.

Quoted in “Why Society is Obsessed with What Older Women Wear.” USA Today. 14 May 2021.

Quoted in “‘Couples Clash Over COVID.” USA Today. 28 January 2021.

Quoted in “‘I’m Never Wearing Makeup for Work Again: When the Pandemic Ends, Will Women Look Different?” USA Today. 22 January 2021.

Quoted in “A Woman Could Never Behave That Way and be President.” USA Today. 30 September 2020.

Quoted in “‘C’Mon Ladies!’ Siebel Newsom’s Mask PSA Gets Blowback from Overburdened Moms.” Politico. 19 August 2020.

Quoted in “How Misconduct Against Men Turned Into Ammunition in Maine’s U.S. Senate Race.” Bangor Daily News. 6 August 2020.

Featured in “What You Should Know About Anti-Feminism.” Buzzfeedzz. 22 July 2020.

Quoted in “Shooting Suspect was a Men’s Rights Activist. What Does that Mean?” USA Today. 22 July 2020.

Quoted in “Boy Beat: Male A-Listers are Taking Men’s Makeup Mainstream.” Elle Magazine (print). June 2020.

Quoted in “The Discredited Science Behind the Rise of Single-Sex Public Schools.” Mother Jones. March/April 2020.

Quoted in “What 74 Former Biden Staffers Think about Tara Reade’s Allegations.” PBS NewsHour. 15 May 2020.

Quoted in “Shave it, Dye it, or Grow it Out: There are No Rules for Quarantine Hair.” Daily Beast. 4 April 2020.

Featured expert on 100 Humans, Season 1, Episode 3: “Let’s Talk about Sex” and Season 1, Episode 4: “Are You Biased?” Netflix. February 2020.

Interviewed on “Kobe Bryant’s Complicated Legacy.” Take Two. NPR. 28 January 2020.

Quoted in “Weinstein Trial is a Milestone for #MeToo and a Moment of Wrenching Truth for Survivors.” Los Angeles Times. 19 January 2020.

Quoted in “What is the Role of an All-Boys School in 2019? How the Elite Institutions are Trying to Adapt.” Time Magazine. 14 October 2019.

Featured guest on podcast “Him, Her, They and More.” Back to School with Maz Jobrani. Released 13 August 2019.

Appeared in documentary film This Changes Everything. Released August 2019.

Quoted in “Harvard Fires Back in Legal Battle Over Single-Sex Greek Clubs.” Bloomberg News. 9 February 2019.

Quoted in “2018 is the Year Women Tried to Reclaim Anger but Failed.” Quartz. 21 December 2018.

Quoted in “No, There’s No Constitutional Right to Fraternity Life.” Quartz. 11 December 2018.

Interviewed on “In Focus: Do Opposite Sexes Mix in School?” Spectrum News. 30 September 2018.

Quoted in “‘I Know His Heart’: Ashley Estes Kavanaugh Revives Old-Fashioned Script in Newfangled Era.” Washington Post. 25 September 2018.

Guest on “Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination Meets #MeToo.” To the Point. NPR. 18 September 2018.

Quoted in “Sex, Lies and Tabloids: Hush Payments that Spell Danger for Trump.” The Guardian. 26 August 2018.

Quoted in “In a Sexist World, It’s Still Possible for Women to Oppress Men.” Quartz. 18 August 2018.

Interviewed on “Are There More Politicians Involved in Sex Scandals?” Effecto Naim. 29 July 2018.

Quoted in “The Problem with Mainstream Feminism.” Shout Out UK. 3 July 2018.

Quoted in “Why the C-Word I So Taboo, And Why Some Women Want to Reclaim It.” Washington Post. 1 June 2018.

Quoted in “Trump, Schneiderman, Greitens and the Changing Shape of Sex Scandals.” Washington Post. 13 May 2018.

Quoted in “MMA Fighter Takes On Masculinity In Flowery New Fashion Campaign.” Yahoo! Lifestyle. 22 March 2018.

Quoted in “Prep School Rape Survivor is Vindicated in the #MeToo Movement.” New York Post. 10 March 2018.

Quoted in “Can You Be a Conservative Feminist? Experts and Activists Weigh In.” USA Today. 6 March 2018.

Quoted in “Donald Trump v. Bill Clinton: Why Don’t the Sex Scandals Seem to Stick?” The Guardian. 18 February 2018.

Quoted in “Why Did Hillary Clinton Let This Happen?” New York Times. 26. January 2018.

Quoted in “Sexual Harassment Reckoning: In 2018 More Backlash and Pushback?” USA Today. 12 January 2018.

Quoted in “US Lawmakers Shaken as #MeToo Engulfs Congress.” Financial Times. 14 December 2017.

Quoted in “White Women Keep F*cking Us Over.” Jezebel. 13 December 2017.

Quoted in “Some Say One False Report Could Cripple the #MeToo Movement. Is Progress that Fragile?” USA Today. 8 December 2017.

Quoted in “Modesty Isn’t a Virtue: It’s a Tool to Keep Women in Their Place.” Quartz. 10 November 2017.

Quoted in “Victims No More: How Harvey Weinstein Accusers Are Taking Charge.” The Wrap. 19 October 2017.

Guest on “AB 23 is Considered: A Debate on the Value of Single-Gender Schools.” AirTalk with Larry Mantle, KPCC Radio, 11 September 2017.

Quoted in “Trump’s tweet about Mika Brzezinski’s ‘bleeding’ face was way more than just an insult.” Washington Post. 29 June 2017.

Guest on “3 Ways to be an Ally to Women in the Workplace.” Take Two, KPCC Radio, 15 June 2017.

Quoted in “Is a Bikini Body Feminist?” Yahoo! Style. 18 May 2017.

Quoted in “Nicola Sturgeon Responds to ‘Legs-It’: ‘It’s a Deliberate Attempt to Demean Women.” Yahoo! Style. 7 April 2017.

Quoted in “For Ivanka Trump, Rising Profile Comes with Backlash.” Associated Press. 30 March 2017.

Quoted in “You’re Sexist. And So Am I.” USA Today. 23 March 2017.

Quoted in “Powerful Women Lead the Way in Taking Trump to Task.” NBC News. 12 February 2017.

Quoted in “Is Ivanka Trump What ‘True Feminism’ Looks Like?” Yahoo! Style, 9 February 2017.

Quoted in “Was Donald Trump Jr.’s Hunting Photo Just as Tone-Deaf as Ivanka’s?” Yahoo! News, 4 February 2017.

Guest on Dr. Drew Midday Live. 790 KABC Radio (Los Angeles), 23 January 2017.

Quoted in “What Intersectional Feminism Means.” USA Today, 19 January 2017.

Quoted in “Feminism in the Trump Age: American Women Grab Back.” USA Today, 19 January 2017.

Quoted in “Woodlands Sets Example as Group Looks to Expand Roster of Single-Gender Schools.”  Chicago Tribune, 3 December 2016.

Quoted in “Trump Fared Well With Women Voters Despite Sex Assault Claims.”  Yahoo! News, 9 November 2016.

Guest on CNN with Brooke Baldwin, 3 November 2016.

Quoted in “How Women Have Defined the 2016 Election.”  USA Today, 1 November 2016.

Quoted in “What Our Sons Are Learning from Donald Trump.” New York Times, 18 October 2016.

Guest on “The #NoMakeUp Movement and its Role in History.” RadioTimes, WHYY Philadelphia NPR affiliate, 21 September 2016.

Quoted in “What Does it Mean for Our Daughters When We Show a Preference for Sons?” Yahoo! Beauty, 11 September 2016.

Quoted in “Can Wearing Makeup Change a Kid’s Life?” Yahoo! Beauty, 31 August 2016.

Quoted in “How Social Media and Body Positivity Are Ending Period Stigma.” Teen Vogue, 12 August 2016.

Quoted in “Trump Didn’t Just Banish a Baby.  He Banished a Mother.”  Wired, 3 August 2016.

Quoted in “President Obama Just Said We Shouldn’t Shame Women for Having Sex.” Washington Post, 14 June 2016.

Quoted in “Why Friends Leave a Buffer Seat Between Them at Movies.” MEL Magazine. 6 June 2016.

Quoted in “Kim Kardashian vs. Donald Trump: Why America Can’t Make Up Its Mind About Nudity.” USA Today, 9 March 2016.

Featured in “Do You Know What Feminist Actually Means?” BuzzFeed Videos, 6 February 2016.

Guest appearance, “Sexual Assault and Shaming.” Larry King Now. 14 October 2015.

Quoted in “The History of the High Heel and What It Says about Women Today.”  Boston Globe, 28 June 2015.

Guest appearance, “Women and Women First Debate in Downtown LA.” Portlandia, 9 June 2014.

Quoted in “Monica Lewinsky’s Return and the Sexism 2.0 of Political Scandals.” Aljazeera Amercia, 9 May 2014.

Quoted in “Petraeus Affair: Is This Sex Scandal Different?” BBC News Magazine, 14 November 2012.

Guest on “Surviving a Sex Scandal.” BBC World Service, 6 August 2009.

Quoted in “Why So Few Women in Infidelity Club?” Politico.com, 29 June 2009.