Love Is (Color)blind: Asian Americans and White Institutional Space at the Elite University

Abstract

The literature on racism at the university level is extensive, but few studies have examined the unique position of Asian American undergraduates. Studies of racial discrimination toward Asian Americans remain largely quantitative in nature and few in number. Through rich qualitative data, this article describes how Asian American undergraduates use language to negotiate their social experiences, romantic relationships, and identity at the elite university. It documents various discursive strategies Asian Americans use to cope with and negotiate racialized encounters. Frequent among the participants is the use of a color-blind discourse to describe such experiences. To understand the particular way Asian Americans practice color-blind talk, this article interrogates the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality and the specific racialization of this minority group. Further, such analysis reveals a racialized social landscape in higher education that is made more intractable through Asian Americans’ use of color-blind discourse. Finally, the article examines how Asian American undergraduates say they would respond to racism and illustrates discourse as a social practice with the potential to reproduce or resist racism.