The role of immigration policies and practices in the construction of Asian American masculinity
Read before class:
Shek, Y. S. (2006). Asian American masculinity: A review of the literature. Journal of Men’s Studies, 14(3), 379-391.
Asian masculinity has not always been stereotyped as passive and lacking. Consider the below depictions of Asian immigrants as “yellow peril” from the 1800s.
Source:
Sharp, G. (2014, June 20). Old “yellow peril” anti-Chinese propaganda. The Society Pages. Retrieved from https://thesocietypages.org/socimages
- How do these images portray Asian (specifically, Chinese) men and masculinity? Analyze images closely and discuss among peers or write independently.
Read blog post at https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/06/20/old-yellow-peril-anti-chinese-posters/, which discusses immigration policies and the context for the above images.
- What role did government-sanctioned policies have on the construction of Asian American masculine identity?
Watch:
Arab American National Museum. (2011, March 9). Professor Kurashige on the yellow peril & model minority stereotypes of Asians in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOB0VCCEUa4
Discussion questions:
- How does the trope of yellow peril depict Asian American masculinity?
- How does the model minority myth depict Asian American masculinity?
