Mark Lockwood is a resource mobilizer, community researcher, and harm reductionist who values the health, freedom, and equity of all racial and gender minorities. Both his professional and professional experience lie at the intersections of sex work, harm reduction, racial equity, and HIV/AIDS. He received a B.A in Women's and Gender Studies from Rutgers University - New Brunswick and a M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Currently, Mark is a PhD candidate in the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. His dissertation, "Black Inches: Masculinity, Visuality, and Performance in Thug Porn," explores the history, visual, and sexual representations of Black men in gay pornography's "thug porn" (also known as "Blatino porn") genre. In his research, he looks specifically at the figure of the "homo-thug", and how this archetype gets constructed within the pornographic realm. Using archival material and close readings of vintage gay porn film, erotic novels, porn magazines, hip-hop music, and play scripts, his dissertation explores how Black porn actors retool the homo-thug as a way of challenging, and sometimes subverting, their racialized stereotypes produced within this niche market. Outside of academia, Mark enjoys bottomless brunch; hip-hop step classes; traveling; solo movie dates; and quality time with friends, his partner (Jared), and imaginary dog (Remi).