MJ (Maryana) Balezina

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Hi!

I’m a social science scholar with a background in social psychology, political science, and gender studies. I have recently defended my dissertation at Aarhus University and am actively looking for employment opportunities. In my dissertation, I explore public attitudes to trans inclusion. Methodologically, I specialize in survey experiments and computational text analysis.

Key interests: inequality, LGBTQ+ politics, public opinion, attitudes.

Education

Aarhus University | Aarhus, Denmark
PhD in Political Science
Feb 2023 - Feb 2026

CEU | Budapest, Hungary & Vienna, Austria
MA in Critical Gender Studies
Sept 2019 - June 2021

HSE University | Moscow, Russia
BA in Psychology
Sept 2015 - June 2019

Publications

Under review

  • Balezina M. Persuading or mobilizing? Priming effects of “sex” vs. “gender” on support for trans inclusion in sports.

  • Balezina M. Mind the gap: identifying differential support for inclusion of trans men and women.

Published

  • Balezina M. (2026). To each their sport: support for trans inclusion and fair play concerns. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, doi: 10.1007/s13178-026-01280-2

  • Balezina M. (2026). Trans* politics. In Z. Lefkofridi (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Gender and Politics. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd

  • Balezina M., Zakharova S. (2023). Measuring Attitudes Towards Rape in Russia: Translation and Validation of the Illinois Rape Myths Acceptance Scale. Current Psychology, doi: 10.1007/s12144-023-04666-2

  • Agadullina E.R., Lovakov A.V., Balezina M., Gulevich O. A. (2022). Ambivalent sexism and violence towards women: a meta-analysis. European Journal of Social Psychology, doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2855

  • Balezina M., Agadullina E. (2022). Devaluation of women’s bisexual identity: the role of gender, sexuality, and ambivalent sexism. WP BRP Series: Psychology. link

Teaching

  • LGBTQ+ Politics: Identity, Rights and Advocacy
    Elective MA course on critical policy analysis and queer history at the Political Science department of Aarhus University, 10-ECTS

  • Critical Media Analysis - Inequalities, Power Dynamics, and Identity
    Elective MA course on critical humanities and how it relates to journalism at the ERASMUS Journalism, Media and Globalisation program in Aarhus University

  • Social Psychology of Prejudice
    Elective MA course on discrimination and prejudice for non-Psychology major students at HSE University

Ask me about…

Due to my interdisciplinary journey, I find myself to be knowledgeble about topics across a wide range of social sciences. Since I am still passionate about many of them, feel free to reach out regarding the following issues:

  • Morality politics and moral foundations
  • History of sexuality in light of colonialism
  • Homonationalism in CEE
  • What makes discrimination wrongful
  • Ambivalent sexism and violence towards women