Karen Bettez Halnon, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Pennsylvania State University. She is qualitative sociologist who studies political (popular) culture, and has conducted extensive research on shock music, professional wrestling, grotesque television, spring break, and tattooing. Her published works or those in the process of revision that focus on related fads and fashions in popular culture include: "Poor Chic: The Rational Consumption of Poverty," "Muscles, Motorcycles, and Tattoos: The Gentrification of Working Class Masculinity in Popular Culture," "White Trash Chic," "Shock Music and Carnival Culture," and "Alienation Incorporated: Shock Music, Youth Rebellion, and the American Dream."
