Ph.D. candidate Mengyang Zhao was quoted in Protocol discussing gender and Chinese game companions.
From the article:
"...but game companions exist in a corner of the digital gig economy that's given far less public attention than delivery workers, car-hailing drivers and livestream hosts. It's a job virtually unique to China, according to Zhao, the Penn researcher, who said she has interviewed more than 60 Chinese peiwan [virtual companions] over the past two years. "
Full Article: https://www.protocol.com/china/chinas-gaming-underclass-peiwan