Reporting findings from a recent study conducted by Hyeouk Chris Hahm, Assistant Professor at the BU School of Social Work, the Science Daily describes the psychological and social stresses that GLBT Asian American youths face in the development of their identity.
The pursuit of self-determination is universal. We are so blessed by what our democracy’s architects have drafted to ensure that this pursuit is available to all. Every day, we take the oath of allegiance to protect this ideal by simply living the life we’re living, the life we seek to live. Sadly though, we violate that oath too not in the public forum and not against ourselves. We do so in the privacy of our homes and in opposition to our children's own path to this pursuit. We say they cannot be who they can be or who they really are.
“API [Asian and Pacific Islanders] teens and young adults identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender face a different set of challenges than their western or Caucasian peers, which can lead to rejection from their families who emigrated to the U.S. and stigmatization by the larger Asian community.”Oftentimes, they come to this hard decision on which identity should take precedence, their ethnicity or sexual orientation.
“Over time, many manage the conflicts that arise from choosing one over the other and and enter into a homosexual identity with many negative stereotypes and assumptions related to their ethnic identity. Still others sublimate their sexual identity and appear asexual until they are able to synthesize an identity that incorporates both ethnicity and sexuality.”The stresses are more severe for gay Asian American women according to the report. Faced with “an Asian culture that requires them to stick to family values, marry men and have children or place shame on their families, neighbors and community”, they are less likely to conform to traditional roles and less likely to get support from family members, but more likely to compete for privileges exclusive to men to elude sexist oppression. As a result gay Asian American women resort to substance abuse more widely than Asian American women who are straight or Asian American men in general, gay or straight.
The pursuit of self-determination is universal. We are so blessed by what our democracy’s architects have drafted to ensure that this pursuit is available to all. Every day, we take the oath of allegiance to protect this ideal by simply living the life we’re living, the life we seek to live. Sadly though, we violate that oath too not in the public forum and not against ourselves. We do so in the privacy of our homes and in opposition to our children's own path to this pursuit. We say they cannot be who they can be or who they really are.
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