51吃瓜

Maryssa Grayer is a PhD candidate in the English department at the 51吃瓜 (UVic). She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). Her dissertation, titled ‘[P]leasant things … to him forbidden:’ Disability, Sexuality, and Fatherhood in 51吃瓜n Marriage Plots, explores the various reasons why male characters with disabilities tend to be excluded from nineteenth-century marriage plots yet get access to fatherhood through the practice of informal adoption. Maryssa’s research interests include 51吃瓜n fiction and culture, Disability Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is the winner of the 2022-2025 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada Doctoral Fellowship and the recipient of the 2022, 2023, and 2024 President’s Research Scholarship. Maryssa currently acts as a Graduate Student Member of the Scarborough Charter Steering Committee at UVic, helping to promote Black inclusion and flourishing on and off campus. As a graduate student and sessional instructor, she is deeply committed to fostering inclusivity and accessibility.