Bio

Professional Bio

I am an Associate Professor of Women’s & Gender Studies and Director of LGBTQ+ Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. My first book and academic first love is an ethnographic study of queer family of origin relationships in Taiwan. My current research follows queer and trans individuals and couples as they navigate marriage-based immigration to the United States. A third project centers narratives of loss through a friend breakup or death of a friend. Across these three studies, I am interested in the social, cultural and material conditions that shape our closest relationships. You can find my recent publications and works in progress here. At UM-Dearborn, I am the faculty advisor to Pride and teach courses on LGBTQ+ Religious Experience, Family Diversity and Power, and other topics. I am honored to be Co-Chair of the Association for Queer Anthropology.

Photo by the original Hotline office in 2012 and in my home office in 2024.

Get a copy of Queer Kinship and Family Change in Taiwan:

Follow this link to order from the publisher. If you cannot afford the cost of the book, please let me know and I will share the PDF with you. If you are in the UK, you can borrow this book for free from the Gender Community Lending Library.

The beautiful cover art was created for this book by artist Dafne Kadai Chan.

Personal Bio

As is true for many researchers, my work and life experiences are intertwined. As a child, I lived in mainland China with my US citizen parents and developed an interest in family migration during this period. I am queer and femme and navigated the US immigration process with a T (transmasculine) former partner. I’m glad to answer questions about my story and how it pertains to my research. I try to practice transparency and vulnerability in my research and teaching.

Endorsement by my niece