University of the Philippines Diliman
College of Media and Communication
Department of Communication Research
Plaridel Hall, Ylanan Street, Diliman, Quezon City
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Aarhus University
School of Culture and Society
Moesgård Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark
Service to the Academic Community
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Executive Committee Member and Section Head for Education and Communication, National Research Council of the Philippines- Division VIII (Social Sciences)
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Editor-in-Chief, Philippines Communication Society (PCS) Review
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Associate Editor, Plaridel Journal of Communication, Media, and Society
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Associate Editor, Tilamsik: The Southern Luzon Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
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Advisory Board Member, Korean Journal of Communication
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Advisory Board Member, Framework Asia-Pacific Journal of Communication
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Advisory Board Member, Journal of Media Psychology
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Series Editor, Gender and Sexualities Studies in South, Southeast, and East Asia (Peter Lang)
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Issue Editor, Queer Lives on Asian-Pacific Margins, Sexualities Journal
Service to the International Communication Association
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Member, ICA-wide Applied/Public Policy Research Awards Committee FY 25-26
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Member, ICA LGBTQ Studies Award Committee Member FY25-28
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Past Member, ICA-wide Early Career Scholar Awards Committee FY 22-24
Full Professor (on special detail)
University Scientist 3
About Me
Hi! I am Junel, a full-time faculty member at the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Media and Communication (UP CMC). At the CMC, I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in communication research and communication theory. I have been named a UP Scientist since 2021.
I have a postdoctoral fellowship at Aarhus University School of Culture and Society, where I work with a team of scholars who investigate the social life of crypto. My fellowship, funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark, examines the lived experiences of individuals in cryptocurrency communities from the Global South
Having earned a Ph.D. in Communication, I have research interests in the intersections of communication, technology, and society; gender and communication; and Filipino identities. I have contributed book chapters to Springer, Routledge, and the Ateneo de Manila Press, edited issues of the Plaridel Journal, and written chapters for an Anvil-awarded Communication Research primer. In addition, I have published articles and read conference papers in international, regional, and national journals over the past decade.
In June 2026, I was elected to the Executive Committee of the National Research Council of the Philippines Division VIII (Social Sciences). I serve as head of the Education and Communication Section. I also sit as the Editor-in-Chief of the PCS Review (2021-present). I am also an associate editor of Plaridel Journal of Communication, Media, and Society, an editorial board member of the Korean Journal of Communication, and an editorial board member of the Journal of Media Psychology.
In June 2026, I received the Top Faculty Paper Award from the International Communication Association's Philosophy, Theory, and Critique Division for the paper "Beyond Revolutionary Promises: How Cryptocurrency Adoption in Rural Philippines Reinforced Existing Inequalities." In May 2024, I co-authored the International Communication Association-LGBT Division’s Top Faculty Paper, "Situating Queerness in Filipino Experience: The Bakla, the Parlor, and the Paglaladlad," with Asst. Prof. John Mervin L. Embate (2024). In 2023, I won the Sheila Cunnison Prize for the Most Outstanding Co-authored Publication for the article “Locked down queer love: intimate queer online relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic,” published in the Journal of Gender Studies, with Prof. Augustus Ceasar Latosa.
Latest Achievements
Recent Publications
Journal Articles
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Panaligan, J.H, & Labor, J.S. (in press). Scaling digital labor in gaming guilds: Metaverse workers as imaginaries of futurity. International Journal of Communication, Forum 1-9.
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Figueroa, P., Agonos, M.J., & Labor, J.S. (2026). Exploring digital placemaking of queer religiosity: Digital spaces as enabling environments for queer religious practices. New Media and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448261433601
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Alcazaren, H.K.G & Labor, J.S. (2025). Queering the Classrooms: Filipino Teachers’ Perspectives and Practices of Queer Pedagogy. Asia-Pacific Social Science Review, 25(3), 105-120. https://doi.org/10.59588/2350-8329.1584
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Labor, J. S., Samonte, C. J., Guzman, E. J.(2025). Engagements and entanglements in LGBTQ+ hashtag activism: The case of online Pride celebrations in the Philippines. Plaridel. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.52518/2025-04lbsagu
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Labor, J. S. (2025). Navigating queer digital sex work: motivations, challenges, and platform practices of gay, bisexual, and transgender sex workers. Gender, Technology and Development, 29(2), 240–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718524.2025.2503559
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Labor, J. S., & Agonos, M. J. M. (2025). Queer religiosity through place-making and pakikipagkapwa: an ethnographic study of the LGBTS Christian Church in the Philippines. Journal of Gender Studies, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2025.2467880
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Embate, J. M. L., & Labor, J. S. (2025). Situating queerness in Filipino experience: The bakla, the parlor, and the paglaladlad. Sexualities, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607251323731
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Alcazaren, H.K. G. & Labor, J.S. (2025). Queering teacher identity: Filipino LGBTQ+ teachers’ self-disclosure of their sexual identity in the classroom. Philippine Humanities Review, 25(1), 147-164. https://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/phr/article/view/10455/9266
Book Chapters
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Labor, J. & Samonte, C.J. (2026). Strategic ordinariness and calibrated authenticity: How LGBTQ+ couples navigate algorithmic visibility on TikTok. In Paromita Pain (Ed.), Queer Digital Lives. Routledge.
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Labor, J., Sayuno, C.M. (2024). Co-constructing the Young Filipino Gamer: Mobile Gaming and Media Experiences in the Philippines. In: Yee, A.Z.H. (eds) Mobile Media Use Among Children and Youth in Asia. Mobile Communication in Asia: Local Insights, Global Implications. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-2282-5_3
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Labor, J. and San Pascual, M.R.S. (2023). Pakikipagkapwa in the LGBTQIA+ movement for the enactment of the SOGIE Equality Bill. In P. Pain (Ed.) Global LGBTQ activism: Social media, digital technologies, and protest mechanisms (pp.143-162). Routledge.
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Labor, J. & San Pascual, M. R. (2022). Online discourse framing LGBTQIA+ student activism in the Philippines. In P. Pain (Ed.), LGBTQ digital cultures: A global perspective (pp. 24–47). Routledge.
Awards and Recognitions
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Top Faculty Paper. 76th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association- Philosophy, Theory, and Critique Division.
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One UP Professorial Chair in Teaching and Research (2024-2026)
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University of the Philippines Scientist 3 (2024-2026)
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University of the Philippines International Publication Award (2026)
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University of the Philippines International Publication Award (2025)
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University of the Philippines International Publication Award (2024)
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University of the Philippines Diliman Centennial Professorial Chair for 2024
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Top Faculty Paper. 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association- LGBTQ+ Interest Group. Award shared with Asst. Prof. John Mervin Embate
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Outstanding Teaching Award for 2023, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication
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University of the Philippines International Publication Award (2023)
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University of the Philippines Diliman Centennial Professorial Chair for 2023
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Sheila Cunnison Prize for 2023, Most Outstanding Publication Award from the Journal of Gender Studies
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One UP Professorial Chair Award in Communication Research 2022-2024
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University of the Philippines Diliman Centennial Professorial Chair for 2022
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University of the Philippines International Publication Award (2022)
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University of the Philippines Scientist 1 (2021-2023)