Asian American Sexual Politics

Bravo! In a highly original analysis Rosalind Chou demonstrates that the hypersexualization of Asian American women and men links closely to white racial framing and domination. Asian American men face racialized castration, women exoticized sexualization—in both cases sustaining dominant images of white male superiority and virility while doing much damage to the self-esteem and health of Asian Americans. Significantly too, Chou concludes with a savvy assessment of Asian Americans’ coping and countering strategies for racialized and sexualized oppression. -- Joe R. Feagin, Texas A&M University
While a vibrant theoretical literature exists on the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality, little has been written about how individuals encounter and reflect on the connection between these forms of difference. Rosalind Chou’s provocative study fills this void. Drawing upon the lived experiences of her Asian American respondents, she demonstrates the persistence of white hegemonic notions of race, femininity, and masculinity, and the difficulty of developing ‘counter frames’ to oppressive discourses. -- Michael Omi, University of California, Berkeley