Dr Jona Barabas
Part-time Lecturer
8.25, 8/F., The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus









Jona Barabas is a Part-time Lecturer in Sociology at The University of Hong Kong. They are a qualitative researcher with expertise in in-depth interviewing, media and textual analysis, and ethnographic observation in offline and online environments. Jona’s current research explores how transgressive gender identities are formed, negotiated, and strategically expressed within interpersonal and familial contexts in Taiwan. Their work highlights how gender diversity is shaped by stigma, cultural expectations, and relational selfhood, contributing to global gender studies by centering Sinophone perspectives and provincializing Western understandings of transgender identities. Jona completed their doctoral studies at The University of Hong Kong as a recipient of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme. Before relocating to Hong Kong, Jona completed their MA and BA at Uppsala University, with academic exchange at National Taiwan University during both programs.
PhD in Sociology
The University of Hong KongMA and BA in Chinese Studies
Uppsala UniversityGender diversity
Queer identities
Social stigma
Symbolic interactionism
Settler colonialism and decolonization