Ellen Lamont is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Appalachian State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from New York University, an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Her research examines how gender and sexuality shape intimate relationships in a variety of contexts. She is the author of The Mating Game: How Gender Still Shapes How We Date with University of California Press. Her work has been published in Gender & Society, Men & Masculinities, and Sociological Forum and covered by news outlets such as The Atlantic, BBC, Cosmopolitan, and The New York Times. She is currently working on a new book on gender, work, and family in Appalachia in addition to studying how meanings of good parenthood are deployed and enforced in litigious child custody cases.

Ellen teaches courses on gender, family, and intimate relationships at Appalachian State and was awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Teacher of the Year in 2019. She lives in Boone, North Carolina with her husband and son.

“There is no single family arrangement that works for everyone. So the goal should be then to enable families to enact their desires, and for many, this is going to lead to more egalitarian marriages.”