Vanessa Fabbre’s research agenda is driven by several core questions: What are the conditions under which queer and trans people experience wellness in later life? And what does it mean to age well in the context of heteronormativity, transphobia, and other oppressive social forces? Further, what does queer and trans liberation mean in an aging society?
Fabbre’s dissertation research explored gender transitions in later life, focusing specifically on experiences of queer time, failure, and agency in the life course. In collaboration with photographer Jess T. Dugan, Fabbre created To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults (jessdugan.com) which culminated in a book and traveling museum exhibition.
Her current empirical projects pursue these core research questions through interpretive analyses of in-depth biographical interviews with queer, trans, and gender expansive older adults. Fabbre also seeks to develop and promote the practice of queer gerontology for scholar-activists.
Fabbre strives to promote critical and anti-oppressive approaches to social work practice and teaches the following courses at The Brown School: Social Justice and Human Diversity; Direct Social Work Practice with Older Adults; Social, Economic, and Political Environment; and Interpretive Methodology in Social Research.
Vanessa Fabbre
- Associate Professor
- PhD, University of Chicago
- Office Phone: 314-935-6812
- Email: vfabbre@wustl.edu
- Download CV
Areas of Focus:
- Queer gerontology
- Critical and anti-oppressive social work practice
- Interpretive methodology
Featured Publications
Fabbre, V. D., Oswald, A. & Jen, S. Queer gerontology: Principles to advance rigor and justice
The Gerontologist.
2025
IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT SPIRITUALITY IN THE LIVES OF TRANSGENDER AND GENDER EXPANSIVE OLDER ADULTS.
Journal of Gerontological Social Work
2023
AUTHENTICATED SOCIAL CAPITAL: CONCEPTUALISING POWER, RESISTANCE AND WELL-BEING IN THE LIVES OF TRANSGENDER OLDER ADULTS
Culture, Health and Sexuality
2022