Suzanne Leonard is Professor of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Director of the Graduate Program in Gender and Cultural Studies, and co-coordinator of the university’s interdisciplinary minor in Cinema and Media Studies. She is also co-chair of the board that oversees the Graduate Consortium in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality.
Leonard is the author of A Feminist Guide to Marriage (2026), Wife, Inc.: The Business of Marriage in the Twenty-First Century (2018); Fatal Attraction (2009); and co-editor of Fifty Hollywood Directors (2014) and Imagining We in the Age of I: Romance and Social Bonding in Contemporary Culture (2021). The latter book was awarded MeCCSA’s (Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies Association) Outstanding Achievement Award for the best edited collection of 2021. A second edition is in the works and will be published in 2027.
Leonard regularly instructs undergraduate and graduate classes on American film and television studies, feminist media studies, women's literature, gender and cultural theory, literary interpretation, and 20th and 21st century American literature.
Professor Leonard is most interested in the intersections between feminism and popular culture, and her published work has examined topics including: public feminisms, postfeminism and reality television, white feminism, The Real Housewives franchise, chic noirs, the treatment of the adultery plot in feminist novels; Lily Tomlin; political spouses and The Good Wife; celebrity culture; and working women in American film and television.
Professor Leonard has been featured in The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and a variety of media outlets, including The Los Angeles Review of Books, and NPR.
Education
- PhD, English, from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- BA, Dartmouth College
Research/Special Projects
Books
A Feminist Guide to Marriage
https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-press/publications/a-feminist-guide-to-marriage/
The first book of its kind in that it offers a feminist take on marriage, authored by a renowned feminist academic, and written in accessible language Part crash course in feminism, part social guide, part memoir, and part manifesto, A Feminist Guide to Marriage is aimed at readers who want to know marriage better and to do marriage better.
Wife, Inc.: The Business of Marriage in the Twenty-First Century
https://nyupress.org/9781479874507/wife-inc/
Wife, Inc., examines 21st century wives in female-centered media culture, arguing that wifedom is a job. It includes chapters on online dating, reality wedding shows, housewives (real and fictional), and wronged political wives.
Imagining We in the Age of I: Romance and Social Bonding in Contemporary Culture
https://www.routledge.com/Imagining-We-in-the-Age-of-I-Romance-and-Social-Bonding-in/Harrod-Leonard-Negra/p/book/9780367483272
This collection examines how global shifts in gender and sexuality, work and mobility patterns and especially technology have destabilized conceptions of intimacy and coupledom. The book examines contemporary formulations of romance in a variety of cultural contexts and with attention to the impact of COVID-19.
A second edition will be published in 2027, featuring a new introduction that focuses on AI romance, heteropessimism, and queer comedy.
Suzanne Leonard in the News
Gender Studies Professor Quoted in Fortune
Professor Suzanne Leonard, a faculty member in the Department of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Director of the Graduate Program in Gender and Cultural Studies, recently commented on the Netflix series The Hunting Wives for Fortune magazine.
Professor Speaks to Social Media Influencer Trend
Suzanne Leonard, Professor of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Director of the Graduate Program in Gender and Cultural Studies, was recently quoted in an article on the B-Side, connecting the current “stay at home girlfriend” trend on social media as a response to the previous “girlboss” trend.
Simmons Faculty Member Quoted in The Washington Post
An article in The Washington Post discusses the impact of Miranda July’s second novel and features commentary by Suzanne Leonard, Professor of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Program Director for Gender and Cultural Studies.
Professor Suzanne Leonard Discusses “Sex and the City’s” Toxic Masculinity in Los Angeles Times
“Audiences [today] are much more aware of the dangers of toxic masculinity, and that doesn't read as sexy anymore. I think you have more sophisticated feminist viewers,” says Leonard.
Why the World Needs Simmons: Insights on Contemporary Feminism from Professor Suzanne Leonard
Suzanne Leonard, Professor of Literature and Writing, shares her thoughts on a modern version of feminism and how it plays out in contemporary media, and on the Simmons campus.
Shout-outs from Students and Alums
Honing Hands-on Editing and Interdisciplinary Journalism
Alicia Guzman ’25 reflects on the supportive faculty members she found at Simmons, her favorite courses, the research projects she conducted, and how she became inspired to pursue a media studies degree in graduate school.
Lived Experience: An Engine of Advocacy
A motivated advocate for social justice, Rayna Hill ’22MA/MPP is creating an equitable future for LGBTQ+ youth in the state of Massachusetts.
Feeding the Revolution Through Baking and Activism
Corrie Locke-Hardy '20MA combines her love of baking with social activism with her cookbook, The Revolution Will Be Well Fed.
Gender and Cultural Studies Alumna Publishes Breakthrough Book on Adoption History
In her new book, Dr. Rebecca Wellington ’02MA reveals the unsavory underbelly of adoption practices in the United States. Part memoir and part scholarly monograph, Who Is a Worthy Mother? An Intimate History of Adoption demonstrates how adoption became entangled with the histories of assimilation, race, patriarchy, and law.
Rayna Danis ’22MA, ’22MPP Makes an Impact with the Joint Master's in Gender and Cultural Studies and Public Policy
Rayna Danis '22MA, '22MPP never expected to get her masters, but then she found her passion for affecting inclusive policy change. We spoke with Rayna about the joint master's program and how it's helping her on this journey.
Giavanna Worthy '20MA: Simmons Helped Me Steer My Interests Into Clear, Feasible Goals
When Giavanna Worthy entered the gender and cultural studies masters program, she wanted to expand on her interests. Now, not only is she an HIV Prevention Instructor with the YWCA, but she also played a key role in diversifying the hit CBS series, "Survivor."