U of Florida grad student researching nude models
A dissertation on nude models might bring chuckles from some, but Clay Hipke said he’s serious about filling a void in sociology research.
“Academic types like myself like to research for the sake of research,” he said. “This is not going to cure cancer or anything like that.”
For his doctoral dissertation in sociology at UF, Hipke interviewed 25 women who appeared nude as artists’ models.
He found models were concerned about occupational hazards such as falling asleep and braving cool temperatures.
“It impressed me more than shocked me,” Hipke said.
His field of research is the sociology of deviance, so he doesn’t shock easy. He said his academic approach made his subjects more comfortable.
“I really clothed myself — there’s a pun — in the notion that I was very serious about this,” he said.
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