Elena Zambelli

Elena Zambelli is Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University, where she works on the ESRC-funded research project 'Rebordering Britain and Britons after Brexit' (MIGZEN). An experienced ethnographer, her research interests revolve around intersections of gender, sexuality, race and migration in the making and shaping of the intimacy sphere. Her forthcoming book, 'Sexscapes of Pleasure' (2023, Berghahn Books), discusses how Italian and migrant women negotiate dignity and value in contexts where they use their sexuality for pleasure or for work. In previous years, she explored interracial couples’ experiences of racism and discrimination in Europe as part of the ERC-funded research project 'Regulating Mixed Intimacies in Europe' (VU Amsterdam), where her current interest in mixed-status families originates. Before entering academia, she worked for almost fifteen years as gender expert in international development programmes across the world, including for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Oxfam.