Addressing racialised health inequalities in Sexual health care by using race as a marker of vulnerability to Trichomonas vaginalis infection – what could possibly go wrong? - Ulla McKnight
| Dates: | 20 November 2025 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Current University students |
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| Speaker: | Dr Ulla McKnight |
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In this CoDE lunchtime seminar, Dr Ulla McKnight (University of Sussex) shares her research.
SUMMARY
The seminar examines the controversial use of racialised categories as markers of vulnerability to Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) infection, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection globally. Based on ethnographic observations and interviews with healthcare providers in sexual health clinics across four NHS trusts in England, Ulla McKnight explores how this practice aims to identify and treat asymptomatic T. vaginalis infections while managing limited budgets and addressing racialised health inequalities.
Drawing on theoretical approaches that conceptualise race as a technology— she contends that T. vaginalis becomes racialised through these processes and (the geographical vicissitudes of) race become the explanation for vulnerability to T. vaginalis infection. This linkage forecloses deeper exploration into T. vaginalis – where it may or may not be and why it might (not) be there – without evoking and thus enacting, race as the underlying cause or source of infection. By tethering T. vaginalis to racialised categories, the practice shapes not only clinical understandings of infection but also the lived experiences of illness. The talk contributes to sociological understandings of disease by showing how race is part of disease even when it is seemingly absent and this has important effects on understandings of illness and on efforts to prevent STIs, reduce racialised health inequalities and mitigate the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
HOW TO JOIN US
You can attend this seminar in person or online via Teams. If there are any changes to this event we will share them on this page, so please check back here before you travel.
Meeting ID: 316 268 033 877
Passcode: JN3sf3Ya
FINDING US AND ACCESSIBILITY
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Travel and Contact Information
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Alistair Ulph Boardroom (2nd Floor)
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester
