Ellis

He/Him

I am queer and trans and I am a PhD candidate in evolutionary anthropology.//

My research focuses on the early evolutionary history of our catarrhine cousins, the Old World monkeys and apes, through the study of their fossils from the Miocene epoch in East Africa. Fieldwork is a fundamental part of my research – one that can pose obstacles or be outright inaccessible to many LGBTQI+ people. There are special challenges to doing fieldwork for trans* folks, whether it’s being misgendered at your field site, finding access to medical care, facing pressure to conform to local norms of gender presentation, or needing to be stealth/closeted. I love the thrill of searching for fossils as part of a team, finding the raw material from which we understand the biology and ecology of past worlds. At the same time, I aim to keep one eye on this world, and would love to build community with other trans* people doing fieldwork and create resources for cis collaborators to make their sites more accommodating.

Instagram @ellis_locke