Curriculum Vitae
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EDUCATION
Ph.D.,Texas A&M University (expected Spring 2027)
Department of English,
Certificates: Film and Media Studies, Gender Studies
B.A.,Texas A&M University, 2015
Departments of Philosophy and French, Minor in Gender Studies
Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa
PUBLICATIONS
Edited Collections
Screening Adult Cinema, ed. Farrah Freibert, Peter Alilunas, Desirae Embree. Routledge, 2025
Refereed Journal Articles
“Private Pleasures/Public Provocations: Dyke Pornography 1984-2000,” Journal of Cinema and Media Studies. 2020
“The Feminist Uses of Pornography: A Conversation with Lynn Comella and Desirae Embree,” Synoptique: An Online Journal of Film and Moving Image Studies, special issue on “Porn and Its Uses,” ed. Rebecca Holt, Darshana Mini Sreedhar, and Nikola Stepić. 2021
“Archive Trouble: Problems in Researching Lesbian Adult Media.” Feminist Media Histories, Special Issue: Sex and the Materiality of Adult Media, April 2019. Invited.
‘Without Friends No One Would Choose to Live’: Friendship, Phronesis, and Philosophy Summer Camp,” co-authored with Claire Katz, Inquiry, vol. 32, no.1, 2019.
“Preserving Pornographic Media: Reflections.” Flow: A Critical Forum on Media and Culture, Special Issue: Flow Conference 2018 Recap, 29 October, 2019. Invited.
Book Chapters
“Carol,” Screening American Cinema, ed. Gary Needham and Nessa Johnston, Routledge. 2026
“Private Pleasures,” Screening Adult Cinema, ed. Farrah Freibert, Peter Alilunas, Desirae Embree. Routledge. 2025
Feature Essays
2026
“Porn, Disco, and Summer of Sam: Spike Lee as Sexual Critic,” Senses of Cinema, 22 July. 2000 words.
“Define Auteur: In Defence of Under the Cherry Moon,” Little White Lies, 7 June. 2500 words.
“Celebrating the Splendour, Anarchy and Creative Genius of Sandy Powell,” Little White Lies, 13 March. 1200 words.
2025
“A Different Kind of Holiday Affair: Carol at 10,” Little White Lies, 10 December. 1200 words.
2023
“Remembering Deborah Sundahl, Lesbian Porn Pioneer,” Autostraddle, 30 August.
2020
“A Classic 90’s Viewers Guide to Dyke Porn” PinkLabel.tv, 21 October. 1000 words.
“Classic Porn, Made by and For Lesbians: A Viewer’s Guide to Fatale Video,” PinkLabel.tv, 14 January. 1000 words.
2016
“Pre-College Philosophy Summer Camp at Texas A&M.” Co-authored with Dr. Claire Katz. PLATO:Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization. 14 August
“Feral Creator Morgan Jon Fox on Telling One’s Own Story,” PopMatters, 16 October. Interview with indie filmmaker and showrunner. 1700 words.
2015
“’It Sort of Evolved”: An Interview with Unplanned America’s Pawel ‘Parv’ Jarecki,” PopMatters, 26 October. 3200 words.
“A Different (and Better) Shade of Grey: Reconsidering 9 ½ Weeks,” PopMatters, 25 August. 2000 words.
“Gone but Not Forgotten: Remembering Valentino 89 Years after His Death,” VagueVisages, 23 August. 1600 words.
Interviews
“I Want You To Know: Erotic Film,” I Want You to Know, KCPR Pirate Cat Radio 92.9, 2025
“I Want You To Know: Valentine’s Day,” I Want You to Know, KCPR Pirate Cat Radio
92.9 FM, 2025
“Archive Trouble with Desirae Embree,” Here’s Looking at You: Women, Bodies, Performance, and Sexuality podcast. 2020 https://bit.ly/4xIQ7Kc
“Interview with FMH Contributor Desirae Embree, author of ‘Archive Trouble’.” Feminist Media Histories podcast. 2019 https://bit.ly/4wEwylw
Reviews
Books
Queer Timing: The Emergence of Lesbian Sexuality in Early Cinema, Susan Potter. Journal of the History of Sexuality, Forthcoming. 982 words. 2020
Disposable Passions: Vintage Pornography and the Material Legacies of Adult Cinema, David Church. Screening Sex, June 24. 796 words. 2018
Mad Men, Death, and the American Dream by Elisabeth Bronfenfor PopMatters. 31 August. Book review. 1030 words. 2016
Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents by Douglas Brode for PopMatters. 25 January. Book review. 746 words. 2016
Cruising the Movies by Boyd for PopMatters. 11 January. Book review. 1500 words. 2015
Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s: A Library of America Boxed Set forPopMatters. 3 December. Book review. 1281 words. 2015
Film and TV
“Silent Film Speaks Up: Newly Restored Chaplin Comedies Elicit New Laughs,”PopMatters. 12 January. DVD review. 1333 words. 2016
“Don’t Believe the Hype: Magic Mike XXL Is No Big Deal,” PopMatters, 06 October. DVD review. 895 words. 2015
“A Practically Impossible Friendship: The 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of The Bear,” PopMatters, 5 October. DVD review. 1000 words. 2015
“Growing Up Trans Offers a Nuanced and Positive Portrait of Transgender Youth,” PopMatters, 10 September. DVD review. 1307 words. 2015
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Screening Introductions and Q&As
Mary Shelley, dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour, 8 July, 2018. The Queen Theater, Bryan, Texas.
Carol, dir. Todd Haynes, 27 April, 2016. Texas A&M University
Conference Presentations
“Dyke Aesthetics: The Politics of Style in Lesbian-Produced Pornography,” New Directions in Porn Studies, Modern Language Association, virtual, 26 January, 2021.
“Private Pleasures, Public Provocations: Dyke Pornography 1984-2000,” Yale University, LGBT Studies Research Fellowship Colloquium, 2018
“Lesbian Pornography for Men: Adult Film and the (Im)Possibility of Female Bisexuality,” Taxonomies of the Pornographic: Bisexual Media, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Seattle, Washington, March 13-17, 2019. Co-chair.
“Preserving Pornographic Media.” Flow Conference, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, September 27-29, 2018. Roundtable convener and participant.
“Scissoring and Cinema’s Lesbian Imaginary,” Queer Sex and Contemporary Cinema, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 14-18, 2018. Panelist.
“Investigating Carol: Lesbian Representability and the Status of Intradiegetic Sound,” Screen Queerness, Sexuality, and Feminism, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Chicago, IL, March 22-26, 2016. Panelist.
“Rethinking the Politics of Representation.” Flow Conference, University of Texas at Austin, September 15-17, 2016. Roundtable participant.
“Strange Bedfellows: Pornography, The Woman’s Film, and 50 Shades of Grey.” Film & History Conference, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, November 4-8, 2015. Panelist.
FELLOWSHIPS, HONORS, & AWARDS
Research Fellowships
LGBT Studies Research Fellowship ($4000). Yale University.
Phil Zwickler Memorial Research Grant ($1350). Cornell University.
College of Liberal Arts Summer Dissertation Fellowship ($6000). Texas A&M.
Glasscock Graduate Research Fellowship ($2000). Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, Texas A&M University.
Dissertation Research Enhancement Award ($1600). Department of English, Texas A&M University.
Teaching Awards
Staley Creswell Distinguished Graduate Assistant Teaching Award ($600). Texas A&M.
Murray and Celeste Fasken Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award ($300). Texas A&M.
Senator Phil Gramm Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research ($5000). Texas A&M.
Co-Sponsorship Grant ($500). Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, Texas A&M University.
Other
Professional Development Award ($1500), Department of English, Texas A&M University.
Graduate Student Research and Presentation Grant ($750). Office of Graduate and Professional Studies and the Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University.
Aggies Commit Mini-Grant for Innovative Programming ($2000). Office of Graduate and Professional Studies, Texas A&M University.
Co-Sponsorship Grant ($500). Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, Texas A&M University.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Intro to Film Analysis (1 section: Fall 2019)
Film and Literature (2 Sections: Summer 2018, Fall 2018)
Writing About Literature and Film: Bluebeard Narratives (1 Section: Fall 2018)
Writing About Literature and Film: First Generation Experiences (2 Sections: Spring 2018)
Writing About Literature and Film: The Utopian Mode and Social Critique (1 Section: Fall 2017)
Composition and Rhetoric (3 sections: Fall 2016-Spring 2017)
Technical Writing (11 sections: Fall 2015-Summer 2016, Spring-Summer 2021)
Aggie School of Athens, Philosophy for Children Summer Camp, Department of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, Instructor, 2015-2019.
“Harry Potter and Philosophy.” (40 students: Summer 2019)
“Democracy, Literacy, and Education.” (40 students: Summer 2018)
“Philosophical Worlds.” (60 students: Summer 2017)
“Aggie School of Athens.” (40 students: Summer 2016)