My research takes a broader feminist approach in examining grassroot communities and creative culture in Chinese speaking contexts. Focusing on cultural production and popular gender discourses, my publications discuss issues such as labor and individual agency, transnational activist networks, and cultural resilience. Before joining UvA, I obtained my Ph.D. degree from Hong Kong Baptist University, where My research focuses on Chinese subcultural communities, popular gender discourses, and platform economy, exploring the intersection of popular culture, digital media, and consumer culture. 

Methodologically, I combine media ethnography with the digital methods approach. I have conducted media ethnography of various subcultural communities, while making use of digital affordances of social media to inspect flows of digital communication and interacions. For data analysis, I explore mixed-method research which combines computational methods (e.g., natural language processing, network analysis, machine learning) and qualitative close reading (e.g., multimodal discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, thematic analysis). I am now exploring new tools that can enable more in-depth analysis of multimodal media content, including keyframe analysis and sonic analysis.

Course & Lab Session Instructor

University of Amsterdam
Digital Methods - ERC Method Training Series (Fall 2025)

Hong Kong Baptist University
AIDM7010 Media Psychology (Spring 2024)

Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU, formely known as UIC)
COMM7630 Qualitative Research Methods (Fall 2023)

Hong Kong Baptist University (Lab Session Instructor)
COMM7090 Advanced Qualitative Research Methods (Spring 2020)
PRAD4006 Advanced Qualitative Communication Research (Fall 2019, Fall 2020)

Guest Speaker

University of Amsterdam
Minor Transnationalism & Cultural Resilience of Slash Fanfiction in China, November, 2025

Beijing Language and Culture University
Fan Labor & Digital Media, March, 2025

Hong Kong Baptist University
Online Celebrities and Fandom Culture, March, 2025
Digital Methods, October, 2024

University of Wisconsin, Madison
Visual Network Analysis: A hands-on workshop of visual network analysis using Memespector and Google Vision API, September, 2023

The University of Hong Kong
Digital Labor and Platform Economy, April, 2024

Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University
Qualitative analysis using MaxQDA, April, 2025
Cultural Studies, November, 2023

Articles in Referred Journals

Qin, A. Y., Xiao, F., & Dai, L. (2025). Tell China’s conspiracy well: Networks and narratives of anti-CCP YouTube conspiracy theorists. Convergence, https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565251392612

Tse, T*. & Xiao, F*. (2025). “The last thing I would think about is how to dispose of it”: Fashion competence and the circularity of inactive wardrobe items [*co-first author]. European Journal of Cultural Studies, https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494251343800

Xiao, F. & Huang, Y. (2024). From Digital Satire to Feminist Counterpublic Discourse: A Study of Participatory Mashups in China During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images, https://doi.org/10.3998/gs.5599

Xiao, F. (2024). Moderating for a friend of mine: Content moderation as affective reproduction in Chinese live-streaming. Media, Culture & Society, https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231188465

Xiao, F. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2024). Peer appraisal, participatory surveillance, and experiential mentoring: explicating communicative practices of participatory learning in an online support group for people with binging experiences. Chinese Journal of Communication, https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2024.2333554

Xiao, F. (2023). “We are snowflakes”: Minor transnationalism and the cultural resilience of slash fanfiction community in China. Global Media & China , https://doi.org/10.1177/20594364231188350

Chu, T. H. & Xiao, F. (2022). Applying stages of change model to examine online peer communication on binge eating. Health Communication, https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2129640

Conference Presentations

Xiao, F. (2025). The materiality of trust: E-commerce beauty culture of young Chinese women. Paper presented at the 2025 Association of Internet Researchers Conference, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Xiao, F. (2025). Making my own utopia: Affective and relational practices of imaginary place-making. Paper presented at the 2025 Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. 

Xiao, F. & Tse, T. (2024). Resilience in remembering: Trans-temporal curation in online art and fashion archives. Resilient Cultures in East and Southeast Asia Workshop, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 

Xiao, F. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2024). A representative for all girls? The soft masculinity of male e-commerce streamers in the case of Li Jiaqi. Paper to be presented at the 74th Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Gold Coast, Australia.

Huang, X., Xiao, F., & Fang, K. (2024). Who speaks for my childbirth? A mixed-method analysis of journalistic sourcing of reproduction issues in China between 2013-2022. Poster presented at the 74th Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Gold Coast, Australia.

Xiao, F. (2023). Minor transnationalism and the slash fanfiction community in China. Paper to be presented at the 73rd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Toronto, Canada

Xiao, F. (2022). Affective labor of reproducing atmosphere: Volunteer content moderation in Chinese game live-streaming. Paper presented at the 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Paris, France.

Xiao, F., & Yeo, T. E. D. (2022). Social media strategies of information sharing and knowledge management: Qualitative analysis of a binge eating online forum as a community of practice. Poster presented at the 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Paris, France.

Qin, A. Y., Xiao, F., & Dai, L. (2022). Tell China’s story well: Anti-CPC YouTube influencers and their audience. Paper presented at the 108th Annual National Communication Association (NCA) Conference, New Orleans, USA.

Xiao, F. (2021). “There has to be someone to speak up”: Participatory mashup as a symbolic resistance in China. Paper presented at the 71st Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Online.

Xiao, F., Chen, D., & Qin, A. Y. (2021). Youth media consumption and creative pre-political resistances in China. Panel presented at the #YouthMediaLife 2021 Conference, University of Vienna, Online.

Xiao, F. (2018). Do Internet users care about where their data are stored? An exploratory study of Internet users’ online privacy concern in China. Paper presented at the 2018 International Chinese Sociological Association (ICSA) Asia Conference, Hong Kong SAR, China.