Megan Ann Rose Bateman
My name is Megan Bateman, and I am an honours student under the supervision of Dr. Scott Ronis. This year I will be undertaking my honours thesis, thus completing my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. I am very excited to have been selected to take on a role with the Early Sexual Experiences (ESE) study that has been ongoing in Dr. Ronis’ lab. This is my first experience with recruiting and engaging with participants in the lab, and so far it has been an enjoyable learning experience. Although the data collected thus far has been quite extensive and diverse, my focus area for this project involves the occurrence of intrafamilial sexual behaviour (commonly referred to as incest) and its relationship with current psychological and sexual functioning. This topic is a good fit for the Youth and Family lab, as it examines both atypical family sexual behaviour and age inappropriate behaviours during childhood and/or adolescence. Although I have not worked with Dr. Ronis prior to this year, I was familiar with his work as a result of taking one of his courses. My interest in working with Dr. Ronis on this project stems from my overall interest in researching human sexual behaviour.
I am also involved with sexual health on campus as the UNB Sexuality Centre Coordinator, and a member of the Canadian Sex Research Forum. Since beginning my postsecondary education, I have been afforded many opportunities to study human sexual behaviour through the lens of cultural science. These opportunities have provided a valuable foundation from which to build on in the field of psychology. In the fields of folklore and anthropology, I have collected and explored data on the following topics: how rape culture and victim blaming are represented in European ballads; sexting, phone sex, and nude photo sharing; virginity loss; socioeconomic, physical, and sexual aspects of the transgender experience; sexual violence and fear during horror films with respect to the gender of viewers, in addition to many other topics pertaining to sexual behaviour and/or gender. I am very pleased to be a part of the Youth and Family lab this year, and I look forward to sharing both thought provoking and practical data throughout the year.
For more information on my research pertaining to sexting, please check out this podcast: http://www.cbc.ca/radionoonnl/2012/12/13/coming-up-on-crosstalk-thurs-dec-13-2012/