Greggor Mattson

Greggor Mattson

Headshot of me, a white bearded man wearing a slight smile and a lavender button-down shirt learning on a white wall in a white room
Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones

I am Professor and Chair of Sociology at Oberlin College and Conservatory and member of the Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies Program. I teach courses on cities, sexuality, social control, and inequality, informed by my research about LGBTQ+ communities, gentrification, and prostitution. My CV is here.

I’m the author of a forthcoming book about changes in gay bars in the United States over the last 25 years from Redwood Press, Who Needs Gay Bars? I have published on the topic in venues like Slate, the Daily Beast, LitHub, Urban Studies, Socius, and Gender Place & Culture.

Previously I published a book on prostitution politics in the European Union, and am working on another one on the topic set in early 19th-century Paris. I went viral once for a blog post about artificial intelligence and gayface.

I grew up in a small town in the Pacific Northwest and earned degrees at The University of California, Berkeley; Oxford University; and The George Washington University. I currently live in small-town Northeast Ohio with my partner.

I can be reached at greggor.mattson [at] gmail.com or:

Recent updates:

  • Cover of a book featuring two sexy men of color dancing together under fuschia and magenta lighting overlaid with the title, cover of the book Who Needs Gay Bars? Bar-Hopping Through America's Dwindling LGBTQ+ Places by Greggor Mattson
    Gay bar writings
    Since 2015 I have been researching and writing on the role of gay bars in urban processes including gentrification, LGBTQ+ community development, and social inequality. This forms the basis of my forthcoming book with Redwood Press, Who Needs Gay Bars? It is based on interviews with more than 120 gay bar owners and managers, site […]
  • Photo of a low-slung building painted with rainbow panels, with a sign reading "Club Q" under a large flapping rainbow flag
    Club Q
    From a piece I wrote for Contexts in the wake of the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs: The public only takes note of gay bars when something bad happens. It makes being a gay bar expert utterly depressing. I feel an obligation to share my knowledge, but I also feel like a […]
  • me, a bespectacled, bearded white man in a grey shirt speaking in front of very crowded bookshelves
    Interview: Chicago LGBTQ+ and gay bars declining in number, study shows
    CHICAGO (WLS) — The number of LBGTQ+ and gay bars in Chicago and nationwide is declining, data shows. Experts say that could mean fewer spaces for some of the community, especially those with diverse backgrounds. “We have had the experience of going into bars in you know, in our community, and not necessarily feeling welcome,” said […]