Three researchers studying topics ranging from gay consumer culture to the politics of knowledge will receive Phil Zwickler Memorial Research Grants to use Cornell University Library's Human Sexuality Collection.

This year's projects include:

"Our whole purpose is to make it easier to study sexuality," said Brenda Marston, curator of the Human Sexuality Collection. "It's so rewarding to see the ways these researchers have come here and gotten people thinking."

Research about the changing attitudes toward human sexuality sparks conversations and results in radio interviews, speeches, articles and books exploring sexual and transgender identity, community formation, marriage, media portrayals, sexual violence and pornography.

In the past 10 years, Zwickler awards have helped support the research of 33 researchers -- one independent researcher, one undergraduate, 14 graduate students and 17 faculty members around the country -- working in the library's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.

"Over the decade that we've been awarding these grants, we've seen the individual winners advance in their careers and their research advance our thinking about these fascinating topics," Marston said.

The grants are named for filmmaker and journalist Phil Zwickler, who died at age 36 after documenting the AIDS crisis and the struggle for gay and lesbian rights.