Role
Alex is a Research Fellow for the Nottingham Centre for Children, Young People and Families. His role involves conducting research and evaluations, dissemination and working to secure research funding.
Career overview
Alex obtained his PhD from University of Nottingham in 2011, having completed a Masters (MSc Research Methods) and degree (2:1 Social Sciences) at Nottingham Trent University. He is also a qualified secondary school teacher (PGCE: Birmingham City).
Prior to joining Nottingham Trent University, Alex was a Research Fellow at Coventry University where he began working alongside young disabled LGBT+ to develop an understanding of their life experiences. He also developed a number of innovative research methods and worked alongside colleagues on a number of high profile projects. Prior to Coventry University he worked as a researcher on a number of projects at University of Nottingham and taught on undergraduate courses at University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.
Research areas
Alex's research focuses upon sexuality, gender, disability, spirituality and identity theory- with specific focus upon the lives of young people and families. His recent published work includes Bisexuality and Spirituality: Critical Perspectives (2020, with Andrew Yip), and Young, Disabled and LGBT+: Voices, Identities and Intersections (2020, with Anita Franklin). He has worked on projects funded by organisations such as NSPCC and the Fundamental Rights Agency (EU), and recently received British Academy funding to conduct research exploring the negotiation of identity in the lives of young disabled LGBT+ people.
Publications
News stories/blogs
Disabled LGBT+ young people face a battle just to be taken seriously: The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/disabled-lgbt-young-people-face-a-battle-just-to-be-taken-seriously-101271
Being Young, Disabled and LGBT+ Blog – British Academy: https://www.britac.ac.uk/blog/being-young-disabled-and-lgbt
Being young, disabled and LGBT+- British Sociological Association: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/about/latest-news/2018/may/being-young-disabled-and-lgbtplus/
Are young LGBTQI+ disabled people being ignored?- Enable Magazine: http://enablemagazine.co.uk/what-about-us/
Journal articles
Toft, A., Franklin, A., & Langley, E. (2019). ‘You’re not sure that you are gay yet’: The perpetuation of the ‘phase’ in the lives of young disabled LGBT + people. Sexualities. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460719842135
Toft, A., Franklin, A. and Langley, E., (2019). Young disabled and LGBT+: negotiating identity. Journal of LGBT Youth, pp.1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2018.1544532
Toft, A. and Yip, A.K.T., (2018). Intimacy negotiated: The management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men. Sexualities, 21(1-2): 233-250.
Weatherburn, A. and Toft, A. (2016) ‘Managing the Risks of Being a Victim of Severe Labour Exploitation: Findings from a Research Project Exploring the Views of Experts in the UK’, Industrial Law Journal, April.
Toft, A. (2014). ‘Re-Imagining Christianity: The Negotiation of Christianity in the Lives of Bisexual Women and Men’. Sexualities. 17(5-6), pp.546-564.
Books
Toft, A., Franklin, A. (2020) Young, disabled and LGBT+: Voices, intersections, identities. Routledge: London.
Yip, A.K.T. & Toft, A. (2019) Bisexuality, Spirituality and Religion: Critical Perspectives. Routledge: London
Chapters
Toft, A. , Franklin, A. (2020). ‘Being young, disabled and LGBT+: Societal perceptions, challenges and the negotiation of identities. In: Toft, A., Franklin, A., & Langley, E. (2020) Young, disabled and LGBT+: Voices, intersections, identities. Routledge: London.
Toft, A. , Franklin, A. (2020). ‘The experiences of young disabled LGBT+ people accessing support and information in the UK’. In: Toft, A., Franklin, A., & Langley, E. (2020) Young, disabled and LGBT+: Voices, intersections, identities. Routledge: London.
Toft, A. (2020). Exploring the Intersection of Bisexual and Christian Identities: The Negotiation of Gendered Attraction in Intimate Lives. In: Page, S.J. & Yip, A.K.T. (2020) Intersecting Religion and Sexuality: Sociological Perspectives. BRILL.
Toft, A. (2020). ‘Bisexual and Christian: Findings from a UK mixed methods project’. In: Yip, A.K.T. & Toft, A. Bisexuality, Spirituality and Identity: Critical Perspectives. Routledge: London.
Toft, A., Franklin, A. (2020). Identifying as Young, Disabled and Bisexual within Evangelical Christianity: Abigail’s Story. In: Yip, A.K.T. & Toft, A. Bisexuality, Spirituality and Identity: Critical Perspectives. Routledge: London.
Toft, A. (2012). ‘Researching Bisexuality and Christianity: Locating a hidden population and the use of reflexivity. In: Phellas, C. N. Research Non-heterosexual Sexualities. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Toft, A. (2012). ‘Bisexuality and Christianity: Negotiating Disparate Identities’. In: Hunt, S., & Yip, A. K. T. (eds). The Ashgate Research Companion to Sexuality and Religion. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Reviews
Toft, A. (forthcoming). Desire Work: Ex-gay and Pentecostal Masculinity in South Africa. By Melissa Hackman, Durham: Duke University Press, 2018. Pp. 198. $94.95 (cloth); $24.95 (paper); $24.95 (ebook).
Toft, A. (2018). The Making of a Gay Muslim, by Shanon Shah. Reviewed in: Reading Religion: http://readingreligion.org/books/making-gay-muslim. September 17.