Dr. Avery’s overarching research interests are at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and mainstream media. Specifically, she is interested in Black women’s intersectional identities and how the negotiation of dominant gender ideologies and cultural stereotypes are associated with adverse psychological and sexual health outcomes. Currently, she has three lines of research that focus on understanding the ways in which gender-based psychological and sociocultural factors inform the sexual beliefs, experiences, and health practices of young Black women: (1) the health consequences associated with negotiating paradoxical expectations to perform hegemonic femininity (e.g., nurturing, submissive, communal) and stoicism (e.g., strong Black woman/superwoman stereotype); (2) the role of popular media in the socialization of disempowering gender, sex, and romantic relationship beliefs; and, (3) how the idealization of narrow feminine beauty and body standards contributes to adverse emotional (e.g., feelings of guilt and shame), cognitive (e.g., body surveillance and dissatisfaction), and behavioral (e.g., coercion, low sexual self-efficacy and assertiveness) experiences during sexual intimacy. Taken together, the primary aim of Dr. Avery’s research is to promote healthy gender and sexual development among socially marginalized and stigmatized groups. She runs the RISE (Research on Intersectionality, Sexuality, and Empowerment) Lab at the University of Virginia.