I am a doctoral researcher at the Department of History and Ethnology. I am the first Finnish doctoral researcher to write a doctoral dissertation on Finnish burlesque art. In my research, I examine the construction of the politics of appearance in Finnish burlesque art from the perspective of body politics, age politics and gender representations.
My research makes a significant contribution to gender studies, diversity and equality, as my research produces new perspectives on society's effects on gender and body ideals, expands the notions of diversity by challenging patriarchal body concepts, and the power structures of dominant culture in the formation of societal structures
I am the research seminar coordinator at the Department of History and Ethnology, and the seminar secretary of the Finnish Association of Ethnologists (Ethnos ry). I am also a member of the board of European Network for Queer Anthropology (ENQA) as a representative member of doctoral students, as well as a board member and active member of Lahti Burlesque ry.
In my doctoral dissertation research, I examine the politics of appearance from the concepts of body, age and gender. I examine how these themes are represented, conducted, reinforced and broken in the art form of burlesque (a genre of stage performance that combines dance, theater and satire into striptease). I analyze the interpretations regarding the body, body size-related discussions, appearance-related pressures, visibility of different bodies, the effects of societal beauty ideals and power relations in burlesque art. My research contributes to the discussions around societal norms and power relations, and the contexts they are being produced in. I examine how these questions are being answered and challenged in an art form known for free expression and pushing boundaries.