Maya Chew

The LGBTQ+ community in Malaysia is often portrayed negatively given the political exertion for conformity to cisheteronormativity, i.e. subscription to traditional gender norms where sex, sexuality, and gender identities are perceived to be immutable. Consequently, persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly trans women, is widespread and often sensationalized in the media. Trans women, being highly visible, endure significant stigmatization and those those lacking the means to integrate into society experience significant societal discrimination.

This research draws from intersectionality and decolonial epistemologies in the understanding of non-normative gender identities and inequalities experiences within in different cultural contexts. Set against the backdrop of a complex and challenging Malaysian sociopolitical climate, the research delves into the questions of how we define normativity and how these definitions influence the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, specifically trans women in the Global South through the case of Malaysia.

She is a Fellow of the Centre of Excellence on Ageing, a partner of the UN-affiliated Global Initiative on Ageing Foundation (GIA).

Maya is also a recipient of the 2024/25 ESRC IAA Commercialisation Fellowship, where she supports Professor Amelia Hadfield in the development of the University of Surrey's start-up, Centre for Britain and Europe (CBE).