Classification, Knowledge, and Power

What is the power/knowledge dynamics in social classifications and how they interact with people they classified?

I am interested in the politics of how institutions produce classifications of people and how would these classifications reshape lives of people they classified. I am currently finishing up a study regarding the HIV/AIDS high-risk population "Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)." I examine how gay men that under this MSM classification respond to and negotiate with this conceptualization of themselves. My new project focuses on the emerging Chinese Social Credit Systems that quantify people's creditworthiness and classify them based on the algorithm or metrics.

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Sexuality and Gender

How is sexuality and gender associated with and influenced by power?

My projects under this theme is highly influenced by Foucault and my primary research site, China, where everything became political at the end of the day. I am interested in how reproductive biopwer and repressive state power contradict and/or contribute to each other in the very issues of sexuality and gender. My ongoing project examines how including of gay community stakeholders in biomedical clinical trials may impact the local power dynamic under the state's increasing control of Chinese civil society. I am also working on a project that examines historical epistemological changes of the same sex desires/behaviors in the Chinese state discourse since 1949 using computational social science method.

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HIV/AIDS in the Social Context

What are the social determinants of the HIV/AIDS risks among gay, bisexual, and other sexual minorities in China?

My sociology background leads me to study the socio-structural factors that might influence sexual minority's HIV related risks, while my personal interests lead me to focus on emerging technologies. I am currently working on two manuscripts, one is regarding the HIV anticipated stigma's associations with HIV testing behaviors, while another is about social outcomes of community engagements in the HIV trial. My latest published study clarified the relationship between migration and HIV risks by comparing differences of HIV-related risky sexual behaviors and healthcare utilization across competing conceptualizations of migratory statues, and highlighted the structural barriers that migrant with rural origins faced in China. I have also worked in various studies on the LGBTQ community engagement, the use of social media for sex-seeking, and disclosure of LGBT and HIV status.

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