Mei-Hua Chen, Distinguished Professor

Profile

Research Interests: Feminist Theory, Sociology of Sexuality, Sex Work, Masculinities, Migration and Sexuality
Teaching Interests: Feminist Theory, Sociology of Sexuality, Masculinities, Gender, Justice and Social Policy, Feminist Research Methods
E-mail: mc153@g-mail.nsysu.edu.tw
Telephone: 886-7-5252000 ext. 5657
Office: Room SS4018
Personal Website: https://sites.google.com/site/chenmeihuansysutw

Education

Ph.D., Centre for Women's Studies, University of York, UK (Dec. 2003)
M.A., Department of Political Science, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan (Sep. 1992–Jan. 1996)
B.A., Department of Political Science, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan (Sep. 1988–Jun. 1992)

Current Positions

• Dean, College of Social Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University
• Distinguished Professor, Department of Sociology, National Sun Yat-sen University

Professional Experience

• Advisor, International Exchange Committee, National Human Rights Commission
• Editor-in-Chief, Taiwanese Journal of Sociology (Aug. 2020–Jul. 2022)
• Chair, Department of Sociology, National Sun Yat-sen University (Aug. 2019–Present)
• Professor, Institute of Sociology, National Sun Yat-sen University (Feb. 2017–Present)
• Editorial Board Member, Taiwan Human Rights Journal (2010–Present)
• Editorial Board Member, Taiwanese Sociology (2010–2012)
• Associate Professor, Institute of Sociology, National Sun Yat-sen University (Aug. 2010–Feb. 2017)
• Assistant Professor, Institute of Sociology, National Sun Yat-sen University (Aug. 2009–Feb. 2010)
• Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Tunghai University (Aug. 2006–Jul. 2009)
• Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Gender Studies, Kaohsiung Medical University (Feb. 2004–Jul. 2006)

Research Statement

My research focuses primarily on the sociology of gender and sexuality. To date, my major publications can be broadly categorized into three areas: sex work, work and embodiment, and intimate relationships.

In the area of sex work, in addition to exploring how sex workers and clients understand and experience commercial sex, as well as the perspectives of other social actors—such as brothel owners, third-party brokers, and law enforcement personnel in the police and judiciary—and the social interactions within sex trade networks, my work has expanded to examine Chinese migrant sex workers in Taiwan and Taiwanese men who engage in cross-border commercial sex in China, investigating cross-strait sexual migration and the intersections of gender, sexuality, and global economic hierarchies. More recently, following Constitutional Court Interpretation No. 666 and subsequent amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act, my research has turned toward the state's governance logic regarding sex trade policies and the everyday policy practices of police and judicial authorities in enforcing the Act. My ongoing research projects continue to investigate these everyday policy practices while analyzing the moral politics surrounding prostitution in Taiwan.

My work on work and embodiment builds upon my sex work research to examine how the sexuality and bodies of female service workers are shaped by capital, and how bodies gradually become familiar with and acquire various embodied skills through everyday labor processes. Although women are disproportionately concentrated in fields characterized by long working hours, low wages, and high demands for care, patience, body work, and intimate labor, local scholarship in this area remains relatively scarce. The edited volume Embodiment of Work, co-edited with Prof. Chin-Fen Chang, is a direct response to this research gap.

Intimate relationships are a central theme in the sociology of gender and sexuality. Over the past three decades, Taiwanese society has undergone profound transformations in the formation of intimate relationships and everyday intimate practices. Initiatives such as the decriminalization of adultery and the legalization of same-sex marriage have sought to challenge and subvert heteronormativity. At the invitation of the Journal of Women's and Gender Studies, I co-edited a special issue on "Non-Conforming Intimate Relationships" to document non-normative gender and sexual practices. Furthermore, the vibrant marriage equality and diverse family formation movements over the past decade have heightened the visibility of queer desire while simultaneously mobilizing homophobic sentiment. In response, I co-edited Desiring Sexual Citizens with Prof. Hsiu-Yun Wang and Prof. Yu-Ling Huang to synthesize literature on same-sex intimacy across cultural, religious, medical, and familial practices, aiming to foster rational public dialogue.