Dr Eva Cheuk Yin Li
Lecturer in Sociology (Media and Cultural Studies Team)Profile
(During the Lent and Summer terms of 2025, I am on Academic and Educational Research Leave and will spend this time as a visiting scholar at the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. My visit is generously funded by the National Central Library of Taiwan.)
I am a global media researcher interested in exploring culture through the lenses of fandom, gender/sexuality, and digital media. My research focuses on two interconnected areas: (1) transnational queer media and fandom, and (2) the intersections of gender, sexuality, and everyday practices. Trained in sociology, I employ a qualitative, empirical, and decolonial methodology in my work.
My current projects include:
- Thai Girls' Love (GL) media, with a specific focus on their global-facing strategies and transnational fandom among queer women. I have published findings in Feminist Media Studies (with Ka Wei Pang), with several manuscripts currently in progress. You can also read our discussion on The Conversation.
- Gender nonconformity in Sinophone Asia: I am currently working on my first monograph, The Middle Gender: Resistance Against the Gender Binary in Sinophone Asia, based on my award-winning PhD research (under contract with Amsterdam University Press.)
- Identity, media, and culture among Hong Kong migrants in the UK
I have been a member of the editorial board for Media, Culture and Society since 2020. To date, I've edited the themed special section 'Mediating Gender in Digital China: Post-2020s Discourse and Representation', and co-edited themed sections 'Encounters with Western Media Theory' and 'Rethinking Keywords in Media and Cultural Studies during and beyond COVID-19.'
I have been interviewed by various international media outlets on issues related to gender representation in UK reality TV, government regulations and the Chinese entertainment industry, queer media in Hong Kong, as well as the new Hong Kong migrant community in the UK.
Between 2021 and 2023, I served as a core task force member of the ESRC-NSTC-funded Taiwan-UK Sex, Gender, Sexual Minority (SGS) Health Research Network (TUSHRN). During this time, I co-organised an international online symposium and conference that brought together health researchers across the globe to foster cross-national collaboration in LGBTQ+ health research. In April 2023, I was invited to visit Taiwan, where I met with key stakeholders in the local LGBTQ+ community, participated in discussion panels, and delivered guest lectures on qualitative approaches to LGBTQ+ health and well-being research. Outputs I produced for this network included an article on the geopolitics of queer archives (co-first authored with Wen Liu in Sexualities) and a podcast on queer cultures in Hong Kong and Taiwan. You can find more information about TUSHRN at: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres-projects-groups/tushrn#welcome
Since 2023, I have been a member of the ESEA (East and Southeast Asian) Online Hub. I have created a public education video for the ESEA Heritage Month online resources.
I co-founded and co-convene the cross-faculty research network Fan Studies Lancaster.
I have extensive experience working with community partners and advocacy groups, and I have delivered public lectures and workshops on topics related to queer media and the LGBTQ+ communities. Some examples of organisations I've worked with include the QTI Coalition of Colour at Cambridge, Queer China UK, Formosa Salon, Queer Asia (SOAS), Queer@King's, and Asia-Art-Activism.
I'm interested in supervising PhD projects in the following areas:
- Fandom and Participatory Culture
- Transnational Asian popular culture
- Queer Sinophone studies (using social science-informed methods)
- Girls Love media in Asia
Professional Role
Assistant Editor, Media, Culture & Society (2020-present)
Associate Board Member, Sociological Research Online (2020-2023)
I'm a regular reviewer for the following journals, among others:
- East Asian Journal of Popular Culture
- Feminist Media Studies
- Feminist Review
- Gender & Society
- Global Media and China
- Journal of Lesbian Studies
- Sexualities
- The Sociological Review
- Transformative Works and Cultures
- Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network
Current Teaching
In the 2024-2025 academic year, I convene the MA module, MCS.910: Participatory Cultures: From Mediated Communities to Fan Engagements, as the sole convenor. I am also involved in the teaching of the team-taught module MCS.101: Transformations: From Mass Media to Social Media.
Qualifications
- Fellowship (FHEA), Advance HE
- PhD in Gender, Media and Culture, King’s College London, UK
- MPhil in Sociology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Bachelor of Social Sciences (First Class Honours), University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
PhD Supervisions Completed
- Jinxian (Lily) Wu (Thesis Title: 'Becoming Chinese Digital Feminists: The Rural/Urban Divide and the Value of Kinship Capital')
Additional Information
Prior to joining Lancaster Sociology, I have previously held research and teaching positions at King’s College London (Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries), University of Hong Kong (Department of Sociology), and University of Sheffield (Management School).
The Middle Gender: Resistance against Gender Binary in Sinophone Asia
01/12/2023 → …
Research
The Emerging Girls' Love (GL) Media in Global Asia
01/07/2023 → …
Research
Fandom Geopolitics and the Rise of China
01/01/1900 → …
Research
Deepfakes for Fun? Navigating Play, Ethics, and Creativity in Fan Interactions with AI
Oral presentation
Transnational Solidarities Beyond ‘Chineseness’: Queer Geopolitics and Political Imaginaries between Hong Kong and Taiwan
Oral presentation
Fandom, Desire, and Disruption: Queer Audiences in the Age of Media Convergence
Invited talk
Queer Media from the South: The Rise of Thai Girls’ Love (GL) Dramas (來自南方的酷兒影視：泰國百合劇的崛起與跨國影響)
Invited talk
Queer Media and Fandom
Invited talk
Sinophone Geopolitics and Cantopop Queerness: Reconfiguring Queer Stardom in Post-2014 Hong Kong
Invited talk
When Fans Meet AI: A Feminist Ethics of Care for Participatory Culture in Digital Asia
Invited talk
Fandom Futures: Navigating Generative AI in Participatory Culture
Invited talk
Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan ROC
Visiting an external academic institution
National Central Library, Taiwan, ROC
Visiting an external academic institution
External Examiner for MA Media and Globalisation
Examination
International Journal of Cultural Policy (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Media International Australia (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Visual Studies (Journal)
Publication peer-review
On Not Speaking Cantonese: The Glory Café Incident (2020), Xeno/Sinophobia, and the Postcolonial Identity Politics in Hong Kong
Oral presentation
Gendered Cultural Intermediaries of Migration: UK-Hongkongers on YouTube
Oral presentation
Fan Studies and Design Symposium
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
From immaterial love to 'material' love: Fan Support and Gifts in Transcultural Fandom
Oral presentation
Killer Fandom book launch
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Routledge (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
Amsterdam University Press (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
Edinburgh University Press (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
Emerald Publishing Limited (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
University of Michigan Press (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
Current Anthropology (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Culture, Health and Sexuality (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Queer Scholarship and Activism in Sinophone Asia: Geopolitics and Minor-to-minor Circulation
Invited talk
20th Annual Conference of the European Association of Taiwan Studies
Participation in conference - Academic
Decolonising Queer Artistic Space and Practice: Critical Dialogue with Asian-Art-Activism
Other
Fandom Studies in Hong Kong: Girls Love, Ambiguity, and Zhongxing Celebrities
Invited talk
Strategic Resistance against Gender Binaries: Chinese Women Doing Zhongxing in Hong Kong and Urban China
Invited talk
Say No to Renminbi? The Geopolitical Economy of Queer Stardom in Post-2019 Hong Kong Cantopop Industry
Invited talk
Reviewer of Austraian Science Fund (FWF)
Review of Award Applications
Global Media and China (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Gender & Society (Journal)
Publication peer-review
British Journal of Chinese Studies (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Taiwan-UK Conference on Sex, Gender and Sexuality Health Research Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Chinese Women Doing Zhongxing: Strategic Resistance against Gender Binaries
Invited talk
MREs Dissertation Examination: "I’m A Warrior Queen”: Female Gay Icons and their Loyal Gay Male Subjects'
Examination
Feminist Review (Journal)
Publication peer-review
The Sociological Review (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Not just a Metaphor: Military Imagery for COVID-19 in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Beyond
Invited talk
Media, Culture and Society (Journal)
Editorial activity
Sociological Research Online (Journal)
Editorial activity
European Journal of Cultural Studies (Journal)
Publication peer-review
East Asian Journal of Popular Culture (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Sexualities (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Feminist Media Studies (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Journal of Lesbian Studies (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Elsevier Outstanding PhD Thesis Prize
Prize (including medals and awards)
Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
Fellowship awarded competitively
Outstanding Paper Award of the Hong Kong Studies Annual Conference
Prize (including medals and awards)
Dean's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Internationalisation
Other distinction
Research Grant for Foreign Scholars in Chinese Studies
Fellowship awarded competitively
Joy Welch Grant, Lancaster University
Fellowship awarded competitively
ESRC-MOST UK-Taiwan Networking Grant
Fellowship awarded competitively
- Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities
- Centre for Gender Studies
- Fan Studies Lancaster