Asian American Sexual Politics

The Construction of Race, Gender, and Sexuality

Rosalind S. Chou

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781442209268
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Asian American Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Asian American Sexual Politics explores the topics of beauty, self-esteem, and sexual attraction among Asian Americans. The book draws on sixty in-depth interviews to show how constructions of Asian American gender and sexuality tend to reinforce the social and political dominance for whites, particularly white males, even in the supposed "post-racial" United States.

Drawing on established scholarship on the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality, Asian American Sexual Politics shows how power dynamics shape the lives of young Asian Americans today. Asian American women are often constructed as hyper-sexual docile bodies, while Asian American men are often racially "castrated." The book's interview excerpts show the range of frames through which Asian Americans approach the world, as well as the counter-frames they construct. In the final chapter, author Rosalind S. Chou offers strategies for countering racialized and sexualized oppression.

This provocative book shows how persistent racism affects Asian American body image, self-esteem, and intimate relationships.

Table of contents

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Why Asian American Sexual Politics?
• 2 The Making of Good Sons and Daughters
• 3 External Forces—Under Western Eyes
• 4 Asian American Women
• 5 Asian American Masculinity
• 6 Asian American Sexual Politics
• 7 Now What?
• Index