Aracely García-González received her Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on the connections between histories of colonialism, global capitalism, gender, and economic vulnerabilities in marginalized communities. Her current project outlines how Latina sexualities reflect U.S. capital accumulation and are integral to how capital moves, particularly in the Americas. Her book-length project “Flirting with Sexual Economies: A Study on Latinas Who Sell Sex Online” argues for the necessary analysis of sex work in Latina sexualities studies. Using virtual ethnography, qualitative interviews, content analysis, and policy analysis, she explores the history of policing sexual labor and the booming webcam industry in Colombia. She theorizes how Latina sex and cultural workers flirt with imposed ideas about their excessive sexualities as they navigate the dehumanizing economic conditions of the 21st century.

García-González’s teaching interests are sex work, labor studies, gender, sexuality, popular culture, political economy, and embodiment. She is the recipient of the UCSB Academic Senate Outstanding Teaching Award.

Aracely is from rural California, where she served as a policy advocate around environmental justice issues with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. In addition to her academic and policy work, Aracely also serves as an advisor for the Sex Worker Giving Circle-Third Wave Fund grantmaking program.