Juan Jose Battle is an academic, author, activist, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. He is currently Presidential Professor of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

, and urban education at The Graduate Center of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

. He also serves as the Coordinator of the Africana Studies Certificate Program. Battle's research focuses on race,

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. He was a former president of The

Association of Black Sociologists The Association of Black Sociologists (ABS) is an American learned society dedicated to the advancement of scholarship by African American sociologists. It is based in Chicago, Illinois. Its official journal is ''Issues in Race & Society'', which i ...

(ABS) and an active member of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

(ASA). He has delivered keynote lectures at a multitude of academic institutions, community based organizations, and funding agencies throughout the world and his scholarship has included work on five continents including North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. His research has been funded by a variety of sources, including the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

National Institute of General Medical Sciences The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) is one of the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH), the principal medical research agency of the United States Federal government of the United States, Fe ...

Arcus Foundation The Arcus Foundation is an international charitable foundation focused on issues related to LGBT rights, social justice, ape conservation, and environmental preservation. The foundation's stated mission is "to ensure that LGBT people and our fell ...

, and the

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (also known as NYC Health) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaura ...

. He is the Principal Investigator (PI), in collaboration with Co-Investigator Antonio (Jay) Pastrana, Jr., of the Social Justice Sexuality Project (SJS), a project that explores the lived experiences of

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, Latina/o/x, and Asian

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people in the United States and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. He is also the PI along with Cathy J. Cohen, Dorian Warren, Gerard Fergerson, and Suzette Audam of the ''BLACK''

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

SURVEY, a report on celebrations of

, and

culture and pride in the

Black community Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ch ...

(the term Black is used to refer to people of African Diaspora, and to such populations that reside within the United States). Published by The Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the report is a survey of participants attending

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Black Pride,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Splash, DC Black Pride,

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

Black Pride, Windy City Black Pride, At the Beach in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Hotter than July in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Black Pride, and In the Life in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

in 2002. Additionally, he is a leading researcher and thought partner for the Global Education Movement project housed at Southern New Hampshire University. Working with partners globally, this project works to provide postsecondary education to refugees working in Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, and Lebanon. Recognized as a leading scholar in the study of sexualities, Battle also specializes in

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

quantitative methods Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. It is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philoso ...

, race,

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

, and

. He is a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

Senior Specialist; he was a Fulbright Distinguished Chair of

Gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

Studies at the

University of Klagenfurt The University of Klagenfurt ( or ''Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt'', AAU) is a federal Austrian research university and the largest research and higher education institution in the States of Austria, state of Carinthia. It has its campus in ...

in Austria and an Affiliate Faculty of the Institute for Gender and

Development Studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

(IGDS) at

The University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the Tertiary education, higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking Country, cou ...

, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, he is a leading researcher and thought partner for the Global Education Movement project housed at

Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with ...

. Working with partners globally, this project works to provide

postsecondary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s in Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, and Lebanon. The 2009 book ''Black Sexualities: Probing Powers, Passions, Practices, and Policies,'' which Battle co-edited with Sandra L. Barnes, traces the historical context of black sexualities, the contemporary challenges facing black sexualities, and offers a critique of previous scholarship. The book is divided into five parts: ''Part One'': identity theories and new frameworks; ''Part Two'': descriptions, depictions, and responses to black sexualities; ''Part Three'': citizenship, activism, and legal dynamics; ''Part Four'': Negotiating Systemic and Personal Stressors; and ''Part Five'': The Life Course. Among the multiple and dynamic contributors brought into the project by Battle and Barnes, author Marla Stewart discusses the nonconforming and transgressive

gender expression Gender expression (or gender presentation) is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender in a particular cultural context, typically understood in terms of masculinity and femininity. Gender expr ...

of singer

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

reflective of Battle's feminist scholarship as one example of the important contributions of this book. Complementing his academic work, he served as an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of the 2012 film The Skinny about black gay life directed by

Patrik-Ian Polk Patrik-Ian Polk (born July 29, 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the experiences and stories of African Americans, Africa ...

and served/serves on the board of several organizations including the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and GRIOT Circle. Battle received his A.S. and B.S. from

York College of Pennsylvania York College of Pennsylvania is a private college in Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania, near the city of York. It offers more than 70 baccalaureate majors in professional programs, the sciences, and humanities to 3,500 full-time undergraduate ...

. His M.A. and PhD were both received from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Juan CUNY Graduate Center faculty CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies faculty 1968 births Living people American sociologists Sexuality activists University of Michigan alumni American feminists American male feminists York College of Pennsylvania alumni