Jax Cairoli (any pronouns)

MA Student

Email: j.cairoli@mail.utoronto.ca

Website:

Areas of Interest

• Multiracial Experiences
• Identity Formation and Representation
• Beauty and Desirability
• Queer of Colour Critique
• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Wellness
• Popular Culture and Film

Biography

Jacqueline (Jax) Cairoli is a musician, an interdisciplinary scholar and a Master’s student in the Women & Gender Studies Institute. Their career thus far has taken them in many directions from studying music to language and beyond, rendering them a “Jax” of all trades. Before joining the University of Toronto, Jacqueline studied at the University of Windsor, graduating with their Bachelor of Arts in Honours Women’s and Gender Studies and Psychology in 2025. Jacqueline strives to help and support people in everything they do, using scholarship and experience to make a difference as best they can. Outside of academics, Jacqueline enjoys playing and listening to music, running, watching movies, and journaling.

Program: MA 2025

Education

BA (Hons), Women’s and Gender Studies and Psychology, University of Windsor

Master’s Research Paper

Title: The (Un)desirables; Popular Culture and the Fetishization of Biracialism

Supervisor: Shauna Sweeney

In some respects, the recent expansion of beauty ideology to accommodate a wider variety of racial backgrounds has restructured attractiveness to be more inclusive and achievable. However, it has also created a deceptively higher standard that celebrates specific physical attributes associated with racially marginalized groups while continuing to center whiteness and Eurocentricity as the foundation over which diversity must be laid. Racial emulation has increased dramatically with this diversification; notably, many white women commodify characteristics associated with Blackness, pursuing an “ethnic ambiguity” that allows them to profit off what they deem palatable while maintaining their white privilege and influencing the desirability of Black features through a white lens. This project investigates the impact of fetishization and objectification of Black women on Black multiracial people who may benefit from expanded beauty standards, but are contrastingly marginalized for their identities, while white women exploit their likeness for praise and profit.

Honours and Awards