Professional Bio

I am a sociologist who utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods to study the relationship between risk and safety, as well as the factors shaping vulnerability, and the relationship between technology and well-being. Some of the topics I explore include:

• Perceptions of risk and safety
• Gender and sexualities
• Substance use
• Science and technologies studies

My M.A. thesis, which received Outstanding Thesis Award in Criminology from Pennsylvania State University, extends the vulnerability perspective to examine how perceived social cohesion impacts the fear of hate-crime victimization.

My dissertation examines how LGBTQ+ people who use illicit drugs navigate the tensions between pleasure and risk in New York City nightlife, drawing on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in partnership with a harm reduction organization.

I hold an MA in criminology from Penn State and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and gender and women’s studies from the University of Wyoming.

My work has appeared in Criminal Justice and Behavior, Criminology & Criminal Justice, and the Journal of Homosexuality, and featured in different media outlets including Politico.

Publications

Wilcox, Pamela, and Carlos M. Gonzales. 2024. “Risky Lifestyles and Girls’ Involvement in Crime.” Pp. 231–258 in Gender and Crime: Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives, edited by S. Browning, L. Butler, and C. L. Jonson. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003305040-14

Schmitz, Rachel M., Jennifer Tabler, Ruby Charak, Jorge I. Cantu, Carlos M. Gonzales, and Joshua J. Schmitz. 2024. “Minority Stress, Technology, and LGBTQ+ People’s Experiences and Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Sexual and Gender Diversity in Social Services 36(1):1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2023.2241026

Gonzales, Carlos M., Susan Dewey, Theresa Anasti, Susan Lockwood-Roberts, Kym Codallos, Britney Gilmer, and Matthew Dolliver. 2023. “Good Neighbors or Good Prisoners? Non-Uniformed Staff Beliefs about Incarcerated People Influence Prison Social Climate.” Criminology and Criminal Justice 23(2):200–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958211043686

Tabler, Jennifer, Jamie A. Snyder, Rachel M. Schmitz, Claudia Geist, and Carlos M. Gonzales. 2022. “Embracing Complexity: Variation in Faculty’s Attitudes toward Inclusive Measures of Gender and Sexuality in Social and Health Sciences Research.” Journal of Homosexuality 70(10):2253–2275. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2022.2059967

Snyder, Jamie A., Jennifer Tabler, and Carlos M. Gonzales. 2022. “Measuring Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, and Sex Assigned at Birth in Large Social Surveys: Implications for Victimization Research.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 49(9):1376–1395. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221097034

Tabler, Jennifer, Carlos M. Gonzales, Jamie A. Snyder, Rachel M. Schmitz, and Claudia Geist. 2022. “Hidden (and Not so Hidden) Messaging in Top-Utilized U.S. Social Surveys: The Persistence of Heteronormative Ideology and the Gender Binary.” Pp. 13–46 in Demography of Transgender, Nonbinary and Gender Minority Populations, edited by A. K. Baumle and S. Nordmarken. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06329-9_2