I’m an independent journalist, sensitivity reader, and writing teacher. I write about food, sex, art, and mental health—all ways for me to explore how politics and power shape our experiences of community and care.
I’m currently a content writer producing features for MHz Curationist, a creative commons art history platform. I was previously a contributing writer at Atlas Obscura. My work appears consistently at Dame, and has also been published at The Washington Post, The BBC, Teen Vogue, Time, Bitch, and in a weekly column at Feministing.
My work on gender and sexuality has been cited and anthologized in multiple popular and scholarly outlets, including New York, Mic, Bustle, the Duke Law Journal and several books on consent, feminism, and sexual violence.
I provide sensitivity reading services centered on sexuality, gender, queer identity, sexual and intimate partner violence, feminist history and theory, and trauma and healing for fiction and nonfiction manuscripts. Please contact me at (reinagattuso [at] gmail) to discuss your project.
I teach academic writing to high school students, and I’m committed to inclusive, empowering, justice-oriented pedagogy. I’ve facilitated workshops and presented my work on audio and visual platforms, so feel free to reach out with any teaching, facilitation, or media-related opportunities!
I was a 2015-2016 Fulbright fellow in women’s studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, where I completed my master’s in Indian cinema, theater, and visual studies in 2018. My research on Hindi cinema and popular erotica has been published in Critical Collective. I received a BA in 2015 from Harvard University.
I write smart, punchy web, app, and audio content with a knack for speaking to young people and women. I have special expertise in sexuality, art history, mental health, food, LGBTQ issues, and social justice, but I’ve also written thought leadership content for clients in tech, business, telecommunications and beyond.
I’d love to hear about your project. Get in touch at reinagattuso [at] gmail, or @reinagattuso on Twitter.
Reina Gattuso 
I enjoyed your piece on Joe Frogger’s boozy salty-sweet cookie history in Atlas…and you leaned in nicely to Dr. Jessica B. Harris’s work, yet you never once included her full name for those folks who would not get the reference.
Hey! I just saw this. Thank you for pointing this out. Someone else pointed out the mistake and we corrected it soon after publication. We had moved an earlier mention of Harris in editing to later in the piece, but forgot to also move the full identification. I appreciate you reaching out! Here is the piece with correction: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/joe-froggers-cookies-history
Hi Reina,
I greatly appreciated your article about cultivating figs in Italians-America gardens. I recently moved back from living in Italy for five years, which exposed me to my hands-on love for nature and gardening. This past summer, I planted two fig trees which I recently prepped for winter. I hope to have some delicious figs by next August. Buon Natale and I hope to read more articles on the subject. Best, Sandra
I appreciate it! Thank you for reading and may you have an ample harvest!