Asian American sexual politics: the construction of race, gender, and sexuality

Abstract

Why study Asian American sexual politics?There is a major lack of critical analysis of Asian Americans and their issues surrounding their place in the United States as racialized, gendered, and sexualized bodies.There are three key elements to my methodological approach for this project: standpoint epistemology, extended case method, and narrative analysis.In my research, fifty-five Asian American respondents detail how Asian American masculinity and femininity are constructed and how they operate in a racial hierarchy.These accounts will explicitly illuminate the gendered and sexualized racism faced by Asian Americans.The male respondents share experiences that highlight how "racial castration" occurs in the socialization of Asian American men.Asian American women are met with an exotification and Orientalization as sexual bodies.This gendering and sexualizing process plays a specific role in maintaining the racial status quo.There are short and long term consequences from the gendered and sexualized racist treatment.The intersected racial and gender identities of the respondents affect their self-image and self-esteem.For the women, femininity has been University Press, 2003); Wu, Yellow. 64Prasso, The Asian Mystique. 65 Eng, Racial Castration. 66I use the umbrella term "Asian Americans" to describe my respondents, while acknowledging that the term does not fully embrace the diversity of the population.I use it to describe respondents from East, Southeast, and South Asia.I also have a few respondents from Pacific Islands such as the Philippines. 67 We have lightly edited the interview quotes for grammar, stutter words ("you know"), and clarity.Pseudonyms are given to all respondents to conceal their identity, and some details have been omitted or disguised in the quotes from interviews to increase the anonymity of participants.