Alina Paczesna
Job Title
PhD Student
Research interests
Research interests
My research interests are primarily in the sociology of (non)reproduction, and extend to other related subfields, for example the sociology of gender and the life course. My methodological interests centre around qualitative methods, particularly interviews.
My current ESRC-funded PhD project, provisionally titled 'Embracing non-reproduction in a pronatalist world: childfree women's experiences of repronormativity in contemporary Poland', examines Polish women’s pathways to and experiences of intentional non-reproduction.
Reproduction in Poland is highly regulated, including by legislation and practices which restrict access to abortion and contraception, social norms which construct motherhood as essential, and the state’s attempts at coercing fertility in response to declining birth rates. Taking these insights as a point of departure, my research asks how women decide to remain intentionally childless, and how they negotiate and live out their non-reproductive lives and futures within this context. I am also interested in comparing the experiences of women positioned differently along the axes of class and sexuality, to examine the social stratification of intentional non-reproduction, and its consequences.
In previous research, published in Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, I have drawn on textual data to examine representations of abortion in first-person abortion stories through the lens of abortion stigma. The paper shows that the representation of abortion as a complex experience imbued with multiple and contradictory meanings challenged abortion stigma, including its manifestation in normative hierarchies of abortion.
Background
I hold an MSc in Social Research Methods (with Distinction) from the London School of Economics, and a first-class MA (Hons) in Sociology and Politics from the University of Edinburgh.
Alongside my PhD, I work as Peer Learning and Support Coordinator at the School of Social and Political Science. I also volunteer for Abortion Support Network.
My past work experience includes a research assistant role on an interdisciplinary project based at the Edinburgh Vet School, which analysed women's under-representation in veterinary medicine and surgery. I have also worked as a tutor at the LSE's Digital Skills Lab, and as an intern at Edinburgh University's Institute for Academic Development.
Education
PhD Sociology, University of Edinburgh (2025 - present)
MSc Social Research Methods, London School of Economics (2024-2025)
MA (Hons) Sociology and Politics, University of Edinburgh (2020-2024)
Publications
Peer-reviewed articles
Paczesna, A. (2025) ‘Embracing complexity to challenge stigma: a qualitative analysis of representations of abortion in a Polish storytelling initiative’, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2025.2535835
Pratschke, K., Bristow, P., Paczesna, A., Parakh, I., MacKay, J.R.D., Mackay F., Blacklock, K. (2025) ‘Marked gender inequity in the invited speakers at the European College of Veterinary Surgeons annual scientific congress 2012–2022’, PLOS One, 20(9), e0329147. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329147
Bowlt Blacklock, K. L., MacKay, J. R., Bristow, P., Parakh, I., Paczesna, A., Mackay, F. and Pratschke, K. (2025) ‘Silent voices: Uncovering women’s absence in veterinary surgery publications’, PLOS One, 20(8), e0330392. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330392
Book reviews
Pacześna, A. (2026) ‘Book Review: Andréa Becker, Get It Out: On the Politics of Hysterectomy’, Sociology, Online First. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385261422046.
Pacześna, A. (2026) ‘Book Review: Biotechnologies and Reproductive Agency: An Ethnography of Solo Motherhood in Spain and the United Kingdom, By Ana Bravo-Moreno’, Gender & Society, Online First. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432261418706.
Conference presentations
“Imagining non-reproductive futures: the experiences of childfree women in Poland”, The Politics of (Non)Reproduction: Choice, Challenges and Change, University of York, UK (2025)
“Evaluation of gender disparity in author order for research communications at ECVS Annual Scientific Meetings, 2012-2022”, European College of Veterinary Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting, Valencia, Spain (2024)
Awards and funding
+3.5 Doctoral Studentship, Scottish Graduate School of Social Science/Economic and Social Research Council (2025-2029)
Prize for Best Overall Performance in the MSc Social Research Methods, London School of Economics (2025)
MSc Dissertation Grant, Department of Methodology, London School of Economics (2025)
Violet Laidlaw Prize for Best Performance in Joint Honours Sociology, University of Edinburgh (2024)
GENDER.ED-EUSA Feminist Trailblazers Award (Honourable Mention), University of Edinburgh (2024)
Student Partnership Agreement Small Project Grant, University of Edinburgh (2023-2024)
Tom McGlew Prize for Best Performance in First Year Sociology, University of Edinburgh (2021)
Adam Fergusson Prize for Best Performance in Sociology 1A, University of Edinburgh (2021)