Elizabeth Ribarsky (PhD University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is an assistant professor in the communication department at the University of Illinois Springfield, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in interpersonal communication. Dr. Ribarsky's research focuses on the construction of individual and relational identities. Specifically, much of her research is devoted to understanding the gendered communication surrounding dating and sexual communication. Her research has been published in various academic journals and books, including Communication Quarterly,Teaching Ideas for the Basic Communication Course, and Fix Me Up, a book examining the reality of reality television. She also has made numerous presentations at regional and national communication conferences and has won top paper awards.

Michael J. Murphy is assistant professor of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield. He holds a bachelors degree from the University of Iowa, and masters and doctoral degrees in the history of American art and visual culture from Washington University in St. Louis. He was the first male-bodied graduate of that institution to earn the doctorate with a Graduate Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. He has published on the history of men’s clothing in the U.S., rape prevention social marketing efforts, and the place of masculinities in academic women’s studies. For several years he has taught introductory and advanced courses in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.