I am a social anthropologist based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I specialise in the anthropology of gender, masculinity and health and have been conducting ethnographic research in Central Asia since 2015 and in Ethiopia since 2024. My anthropological approach delves into gender dynamics and social inequalities, with an emphasis on engaging men and boys to promote health and well-being in a global context.

After completing my PhD, I have been part of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team to contribute to epidemic preparedness and response across low- and middle-income countries. I am currently involved in several research projects, including integrating social science into Africa CDC's public health operations, exploring the challenges faced by female healthcare workers in Brazil, and examining the sociocultural barriers to mental health inventions in Uganda. 

In addition, I am working on my forthcoming book The Voyage to Manhood in the 'New Uzbekistan': Tashkent Dreams which is under contract with Amsterdam University Press. I am fluent in both Uzbek, Uyghur and Chinese.

When I need a break from research, I go long-distance cycling.

Selected Publications (Journal Articles, Book and Book review)

Zhao, Yang (2024). Dressing masculinities: Muted colours, aesthetic citizenship and nation-building in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Citizenship Studies. 28,(1), 84-99. doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2024.2348869

Zhao, Yang (2024). Review of: The Grass is Always Greener: Unpacking Uzbek Migration to Japan, edited by Timur Dadabaev. Central Asian Survey. 43(2), 295-297. doi: 10.1080/02634937.2024.2312169

Zhao, Yang (2024).TikTok and researcher positionality: Considering the methodological and ethical implications of an experimental digital ethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 22, 1-11. doi: 10.1177/16094069231221374

Stahl, Garth and Zhao, Yang (2024). Entrepreneurial working-class masculinities and curating the corporeal: social media influencers, porntrepreneurs and the case of OnlyFans. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-03-2024-0086

Stahl, Garth and Zhao, Yang (2024). Male celebrities, masculinities and the promotion of mental health literacy: comparing the Anglophone and Sinophone pop culture landscape. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies. Accepted.

Zhao, Yang (2023).Chopping carrots and becoming ‘real’ men: Uzbek boys, household work and the reproduction of masculinities in post-Soviet Uzbekistan. Gender and Education, 36 (1), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/09540253.2023.226302

Stahl, Garth and Zhao, Yang (Eds.) (2023). Migratory men: place, transnationalism and masculinities. Routledge.

Zhao, Yang (2022). Breadwinning, migration, and nation-building: a critical scoping review of men, masculinities, and social change in post-Soviet Uzbekistan. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 17 (2), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/18902138.2022.2026106 

Zhao, Yang, Day, Suzanne, Yang, Nancy S., Bao, Huanyu, Li, Linghua, Mathews, Allison and Tucker, Joseph D. (2020). Crowdsourcing contests to facilitate community engagement in HIV cure research: a qualitative evaluation of facilitators and barriers of participation. BMC Public Health, 20 (1) 67, 67. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8185-z 

Zhao, Yang, Fitzpatrick, Thomas, Wan, Bin, Day, Suzanne, Mathews, Allison and Tucker, Joseph D. (2019). Forming and implementing community advisory boards in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review. BMC Medical Ethics, 20 (1) 73. doi: 10.1186/s12910-019-0409-3