Study: LGBTQ Asian Americans are seen as more 'American'

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ASAM NEWS

As Pride Month draws to a close, two related studies have found that Asian Americans who are gay are considered more American than those who are straight, reports Futurity.

Due to stereotypes, Asian Americans are looked at as perpetual foreigners. The studies found being gay seems to diminish that.

“American culture is perceived as more accepting of gay people compared to Asian cultures,” writes a University of Washington research team led by Sapna Cheryan and Mika Semrow, according to Pacific Standard Magazine. “As a result, gay Asian Americans are perceived as more likely to be American than their straight counterparts.”

In the first study, a fictional man named John was identified as either a gay Asian American man or Asian American man. Participants were asked to rate how American John is through questions such as “How fluently do you think this person speaks English?” and “How integrated is this person in American culture?”

In the second study, similar questions were used, but included a variety of fictional people with names popular in the United States in the 80’s. Once again, Asian Americans identified as gay were scored as more American than those who were not identified as gay. There was no perceived difference in score for those identified as White, gay or not.

“These studies demonstrate once again the widely-held assumption that Whites are the most American. Though being gay increased perceptions of Asian Americans’ ‘Americanness,’ it was still not nearly enough to close the gap in perceptions between Asian Americans and Whites,” says Linda Zou, a graduate student and study coauthor, said to The Futurist.

Cheryan pointed out that the study does not mean LGBTQ Asian Americans face less discrimination. Though gay AAPIs may be perceived as less foreign, she says it doesn’t protect against other forms of discrimination and harassment.

“One possible extension of this work is that gay Asian Americans may be less likely to have their American identities questioned than straight Asian Americans,” said Cheryan to the University of Washington. “At the same time, being gay puts people more at risk for other forms of prejudice based on sexual orientation.”

The study from the University of Washington is published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.

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Study: Asian Americans overwhelmingly support same sex marriages

ASAM NEWS

Asian Americans demonstrated the highest level of support for same-sex marriages and laws protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in a new survey.

The results were part of a survey of more than 40,000 Americans’ views on LGBTQ issues conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, reports the New York Times.

The survey found that 75 percent of Asian Americans respondents supported same-sex marriage. The group with the second highest amount of support was the group of respondents who identified as another race or mixed race (68 percent). About 73 percent of Asian American respondents supported laws that would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing. That number was four percent above the national average.

Education might explain why those percentages are slightly higher compared to other racial groups. The survey found a strong correlation between education and support for LGBTQrights. Asian Americans were more likely than other Americans surveyed to have a four-year degree.

The report also found that a majority of Asian Americans surveyed (59 percent) opposed allowing business owners to refuse services to LGBTQ people based on their religious beliefs. About 60 percent of younger Asian Americans opposed refusing service based on religious beliefs. However, only 49 percent of Asian American seniors opposed service refusal.

According to the report, the majority of Asian Americans surveyed supported rights for LGBTQ people. However, many LGBTQ Asian Americans still face discrimination and hardships. 

More information about the LGBTQ Asian American experience can be found through groups like AAPI Data, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Asian American Psychological Association.

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