Research Overview

My research principally concerns gender and class in Chinese/Sinophone populations, with a particular focus on middle-class masculinities. I have also published on happiness in China. My most recent China-focused project looks at Chinese male beauty vlogging and makeup for men. More widely, I have also developed a research interest in critical pedagogy in modern languages and the future of languages and cultures as a sector, particularly involving its interdisciplinary interactions with STEM disciplines. I often approach topics from a wide-ranging cultural studies perspective, covering discourse and practice. Ethnographic, narrative and critical discourse methodologies frequently inform my data gathering and analysis.

External Roles

• Co-editor of the Transnational Asian Masculinities book series (Hong Kong University Press) (2015-)
• East Asian Studies representative, University Council of Modern Languages, 2017-2020
• Council member (2023-) and Vice-Chair (2025-) Universities' China Committee in London
• Co-Editor in Chief, New Perspectives on Languages (2023-)
• Editorial Board, Men and Masculinities (Sage) (2025-)

PhD Supervision Interests

I welcome PhD proposals taking a cultural studies approach to topics relating to Chinese/Sinophone men and masculinities, gender identities and relations more broadly, feminist activism and theory, class identities and social stratification, and health and wellbeing. I also welcome proposals on critical language pedagogy across different languages, informed by critical sociolinguistics, which employ e.g. decolonising and social justice approaches.