Research Topic: LGBT parents following the coming out of the closet of their child and following their interaction with a support organization

Summary: This PhD explores the narratives of parents of LGBTQ+ individuals following their child’s coming out, and examines how belonging to a support organization shapes their emotions, identities, and family relationships. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach and in-depth interviews, the study highlights the emotional and social complexities parents face, the transformative processes they undergo, and the strategies support organizations use to assist them. The findings emphasize parents’ journey from grappling with internal and external homophobia toward acceptance, pride, and activism for social change. The research reveals the crucial role of safe spaces provided by support organizations, the unique dynamics of the “parental closet,” and the emergence of a new hybrid identity among parents. This identity bridges the often-opposed worlds of heterosexuality and LGBTQ+ existence within Israeli society.

Line to the Phd Dissertation

Co-supervision with Prof. Edna Lomsky-Feder

Research Topic: Queer Pedagogy - Practical Knowledge and Theory

Summary: This dissertation develops an analytical framework for queer pedagogy, grounded in interviews with forty educators working in diverse Israeli educational contexts. Using the three analytical axes of time, space, and affect, it examines how queer practices disrupt, replace, or innovate within heteronormative logics. The findings identify three pedagogical assemblages—Disruptive, Alternative, and Innovative—and outline the organizational and ideological conditions under which each tends to emerge.

Publications:

Pizmony-Levy, O., Rogel, A., & Shilo, G. (2019). Pride and the true colors of the holy land: School climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in Israel. International Journal of Educational Development, 70, 102082

Rogel, A., Senouf-Pilpoul, O., Kiperman, R., & Marshall, S. E. (2023). History of exclusion: Queer representation in Israeli high school textbooks. Comparative Education Review, 67(3), 486-508

Co-supervision with Prof. Orna Sasson-Levy

Research Topic: New perspectives on contemporary women’s peace movements in Israel
– the case study of Women Wage Peace

Summary: This study examines the unique contributions of women’s activism to peacebuilding in Israel, focusing on Women Wage Peace, the most prominent movement in the field over the past decade. The research shows how the movement transcends traditional social and political boundaries and creates a new discourse that integrates women into shaping social change. By addressing structural challenges in a patriarchal and nationalist society, the study highlights intersectionality as a core tool. The findings deepen understanding of the interplay between gender, nationalism, and peace in Israel, offering a fresh perspective on women’s socio-political organizing.

Publications:

Lion, V. (2025). ‘Peace can only come wrapped in the Israeli flag.’ – A new framing for a new women’s peace movement. Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 30(1), 89–104.

Lion, V. (2024). Between peripherality and privilege: “Women Wage Peace” as a case study of intersectionality practices in women’s movements. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society, 31(1), 26–248.

Research Topic: Sex Education and Data Science - Examining the motivations of teachers, programs, and the Gefen system.

Abstract:
The study focuses on the Gefen system and external programs dealing with sex education, and contrasts them with the role of teachers in providing sex education.

Publications:

Mike, K., & Hartal, G. (2025). ‘We feel like we’re making a significant impact’: teachers’ subjective task value in sex and sexuality education. Sex Education, 1-17

Co-supervision with Dr. Tomaso Milani

Research Topic: How to Do Queerness with Israeli Youth: A Case Study on Language in Social Media and a Queer Youth Group

The study explored the nexus of multilingualism, citizenship, sexuality, and education for Israel queer youth. It examined how they produced a multilingual identity praxis to define themselves as being on the borders of both inclusion and exclusion within language use, Israeli socio-geopolitics, classrooms, and citizenship. 

Publications:

Epstein, B. W. (2023). English as “the gay comfort zone” of hybrid youth identities. In The Routledge Handbook of Language and Youth Culture (pp. 79-92). Routledge

Co-supervision with Prof. Orna Sasson-Levy

Research Topic: Gender Transition Beyond the Surgeon’s Knife: Narratives of Trans Men in Israel

Summary: This study explores the stories and experiences of trans men in Israel and how they understand gender transition and shape their identities. The findings show that their narratives are diverse and complex, often moving away from the dominant medical model. They highlight personal journeys of self-discovery and alternative masculinity. The interviewees’ political views and everyday practices also challenge social norms and contribute to broader, more inclusive conversations within the trans community.

Link to MA Thesis

Research Topic: Feminist Subjectivity among Israeli Girls: A Bodily Perspective on Contemporary Feminism

Abstract: This study examines how Israeli girls who identify as feminists understand their bodies and femininity, focusing on the role of embodiment and emotion in shaping their feminist-political identities. The findings show that, for many, the body is both a source of vulnerability and empowerment, with feminist experience expressed through daily negotiations with norms of “acceptable femininity.” While feminism provides a sense of liberation and connection, internalized patriarchal values still generate feelings of limitation, leaving a significant gap between personal feminist experience and the broader socio-political sphere.

Link to MA Thesis

Research Topic: Habitus and Anismus: A Cultural and Social Perspective on Bowel Habits

Abstract: This study examines bowel habits and socio-cultural perceptions of defecation among women suffering from anismus (obstructed defecation disorder). It emphasizes that everyday bodily practices such as defecation are not automatic but shaped by norms, beliefs, and social taboos, which influence consciousness, emotions, and the body. At the same time, these bodily practices both maintain and reshape the culture from which they arise, creating a cyclical process of mutual influence between body and culture. By focusing on this group, the study reveals how social norms surrounding the body and its excretions are shaped and redefined in daily life.

Link to MA Thesis

Research Topic: My Body and You: The Body as an Entry Pass to Platonic Friendships in Gay Clubs

Abstract: This study explores the party culture in the nightlife of the gay community in Tel Aviv. Using three dimensions: geographical, temporal, and affective, it offers a perspective on how friendships are formed through the party scene. The research centers on the body as a site where friendships are configured and through which the gay subject is constructed within the broader context of gay parties.

Link to MA Thesis

Link to purchase the book "Connecting," written based on the thesis.

Research Topic: Nudity as a Pedagogical Tool in High School Art Education in Israel

Abstract: This study examines how high school art teachers in Israel mediate representations of nudity in the classroom in the absence of formal guidelines from the Ministry of Education. It shows that nudity becomes a significant pedagogical tool enabling sensitive and critical dialogue about the body, sexuality, gender, and contemporary visual culture. At the same time, it highlights the importance of creating a safe space while addressing dilemmas of censorship, boundaries, and educational ethics.

Link to MA Thesis

Research Topic: How Do Queer Students Perceive the School Space in Public High Schools in Israel?

Abstract: This study examines the experiences of queer students in public high schools in Israel, showing how the education system ignores them while attempting to maintain a "neutral" space that is, in practice, heteronormative. This neglect reinforces LGBTQphobic practices, while the queer students themselves become agents who disrupt norms and create queer spaces within the school. The research proposes viewing these students not only as victims but also as educational agents of change.

Link to MA Thesis

C0-supervision with Prof. Aeyal Gross

Research Topic:
Non-Heterosexual Sexuality in Israeli Legal Discourse in the Context of Refugee Law.

Abstract: 

בהחלט, הנה תרגום של התקציר שלך לפסקה אחת, נאמן למקור אך זורם בשפה האנגלית:

This study examined Israeli legal discourse surrounding perceptions of non-heterosexual sexuality and the legal and social implications of these perceptions. The findings reveal that legal discourse constructs asylum seekers’ life experiences as a kind of “coming out journey,” where the revelation of one’s “true” sexuality excludes any possibility outside the heterosexual-homosexual binary. According to court rulings, the applicant must present a narrative that echoes the judges’ ethnocentric values, beliefs, and assumptions about what sexuality is and how it operates. Thus, non-heterosexual sexuality in Israeli legal discourse becomes a performative category, shaped through the repetition of specific tropes related to “sexuality-based asylum.” Another conclusion is that non-heterosexual sexuality functions within refugee law’s discursive space as an “open secret.” The study suggests that the conceptualization of sexuality in Israeli legal discourse does not challenge heteronormative assumptions or ideas of Israeli sexual citizenship, but rather reinforces them. It points to the need for a fundamental shift in how sexuality is understood legally, recognizing a broader spectrum of sexual identities and moving away from idealizing coming out as a linear path.

Link to MA thesis

Co-supervision with Prof. Orna Sasson-Levy

Research Topic: "Ally is a Verb, Not a Noun": The Meanings, Experiences, and Practices of Collaborative Work Between Transgender Activists and Their Allies in Israel and the United States

Publications: 

Blatt, R., Hartal, G., & Sasson-Levy, O. (2025). A Vitapolitics Frame: How Trans Activists Make Sense of Trans Lives in Interactions with Allies. Social Problems, spaf015

Research Topic: Promoting Trans-inclusive Primary Care Medicine in Israel: Institutional Recognition as a Field of Exclusion and Resistance

Publications:

Blus-Kadosh, I., & Hartal, G. (2025). Healthcare professionals’ advocacy strategies for trans-inclusive primary care: a qualitative analysis. International Journal for Equity in Health, 24(1), 188

Blus-Kadosh, I., & Hartal, G. (2024). “We have knowledge that is unique”: Patient activism and the promotion of trans-inclusive primary care. Social Science & Medicine, 344, 116654

Co-supervision with Dr. Orit Clara Rotem

Ressearch Topic: The Desire to Be Penetrated: The Formation of Sexual Subjectivity in the Role of the Penetrated Partner in Sexual Relations

esearch Topic: “Don’t Walk Alone, Girl”: Exploring the Experience of Fear Among Female Pedestrians in Israel’s Smart Cities Today

Co-Supervision with Prof. Tamar Kron

Research Topic: Queerness on the Couch: The Experience of Jungian Analysts with Queerness: A Cross-Cultural Study of Encounters with Non-Heteronormative Genders and Sexualities

Co-Supervision with Dr. Tair Karazi-Presler

Research Topic: Power Relations, Queerness, and Diversity Politics Among Management Levels in Israel’s High-Tech Industry

Research Topic: The Market Women’s Movement: The Significance of Food, Tourism, and Gentrification in Women’s Empowerment at Urban Food Markets in Israel

Co-Supervision with Dr. Yaara Gil-Glazer

Research Topic: The Teaching-Learning Experience of Nudity, Gender, and Sexuality in Art Education in Israeli High Schools