Photo: Hsiuwen Liu
Research Interests and Methodological Approach
Susanne’s research examines the impacts of macro structural changes such as modernization and migration, and inequalities related to gender, class and sexuality on masculinity, intimate relationships, work and family life, sexual freedom, and violence against women. She strives to develop informative theoretical concepts based on solid empirical research. For example, she coined the concepts of ‘masculine compromise’, ‘performative family’, and ‘gender irrelevance’, which in various ways help us to understand the stalling of the gender revolution and the persistence of inter-generational dependency in Chinese societies.
Susanne is committed to methodological vigor. She triangulated quantitative and qualitative data to understand the impact of violence and poverty on the health risks confronted by female sex workers. For her research on wife abuse in Chinese societies, she used the innovative methodology of couple data and analysis. For her other works, she combined life story interviews with ethnography. Susanne is working on her next book monograph, which examines the dynamic intersection between class, gender, sexuality, and migration among gay men and lesbians in China. Susanne is the co-Director of the Gender Research Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Gender Research Centre provides a key platform for inter-disciplinary, and inter-regional research. It also brings together the civil society, policy makers and researchers annually in its annual gender role workshops to discuss most pressing gender issues in Chinese societies as well as in Asia. |
Selective Research Grants
Moving Desires: Migration, Sexuality and Family in China. Research Grant Council General Research Fund (GRF2120494.), January 2016-June 2018, HK$ 468,300. Principal Investigator.
Caught In Between: Mainland Chinese Female Marriage Migrants and Anti-Migration Politics in Hong Kong. Research Grant Council General Research Fund (GRF2120461), January 2015-December 2017. HK$549,450. Principal Investigator. Masculinities in Transition: Comparing gender identity construction among male migrant workers in the manufacturing, service, and construction sectors in South China. Research Grant Council General Research Fund (GRF2120409), CUHK442512, September 2012-August 2015. HK$467,893. Principal Investigator. Sex work in the era of AIDS in Hong Kong: Structure, identity and strategy. RGC Competitive Earmarked Research Grant. CUHK442107. November 2007- October 2009. HK$ 236,060. Principal Investigator. Hurting Each Other: Marital Inequality, Social Capital and Spousal Aggression in Hong Kong. RGC Competitive Earmarked Research Grant CUHK4667/05H.January 1 2006-December 31, 2007. HK$571970. Co-investigator (Yuet Wah Cheung as Principal Investigator). (Percentage of contribution: 50%, responsible for everything related to the research project except for some administrative tasks). Social Effects of Lustration Systems. Competitive Earmarked Research Grant Awarded by the United States Institute of Peace. Grant Ref. #: SG-100-05S. Dec 1, 2005 - August 31, 2007. US$60,000. Co-investigator (Roman David from Yale University as Principal Investigator). (Percentage contribution: 15%, responsible for research proposal, questionnaire design, and some data analysis). The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), for the commissioned project on “Exploratory Study on Gender Stereotyping and Its Impact on Male Gender”. January 2011- January 2012. HKD376, 599.7- (CUHK ref: 7050171) Principal Investigator. |