Erique Zhang, MA

Erique Zhang is a PhD Candidate in the School of Communication at Northwestern University. Drawing on feminist, queer, trans, and critical race theories, Zhang’s research focuses on the aesthetic practices, media representation, and cultural production of transgender people and queer and trans people of color. Their current work uses a combination of YouTube video data and interview data to interrogate constructions of beauty among trans women and femmes. Zhang’s work has been published in Fashion Studies Journal, Feminist Media Studies, the International Journal of Communication, the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Studies in Costume & Performance, and the SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies. Zhang is affiliated with the Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies. They currently serve as managing director of the Center.