Barbara Joans

Barbara Joans (February 28, 1935 – March 6, 2024) was an American anthropologist who researched biker culture.

Life Joans was born in Brooklyn to business owner Rubin Levinsohn and junior high school teacher Eleanor (Davidson) Levinsohn. She attended Midwood High School, graduating in 1952. She went on to attend Brooklyn College, graduating in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. By that year, she had also married her first husband, Irwin Schwartz. In 1965, she earned a master's degree in sociology and anthropology from New York University, and in 1974 a doctorate in anthropology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

She first worked as an instructor at The New School for Social Research in Greenwich Village, where she wrote anthropological papers on women's issues, such as menopause.

That same year, Joans divorced Schwartz, began using the last name Joans, and moved to Northern California with her two sons.

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