An examination of attitudes toward gender and sexual violence among Asian Indians in the United States.

Abstract

Although issues of gender and violence among immigrant communities have gained some recognition, little is known about the role of cultural factors in attitudes toward gender and sexual violence among Asian Indians in the United States. This study investigated the relationship between ethnic identity and gender-related attitudes, attitudes toward sexual violence among Asian Indians, and whether gender and nativity (U.S.-born and foreign-born) predict attitudes toward gender and sexual violence. Participants were 175 Asian Indians living in the United States (127 women and 48 men; 128 born outside the United States and 47 born in the U.S). Measures of ethnic identity, gender role attitudes, sex role egalitarianism, and rape myth acceptance were administered online. Results indicated that stronger ethnic identity is associated with more traditional gender role attitudes and less sex role egalitarianism. Foreign-born Asian Indians and men reported more traditional gender role attitudes and less sex role egalitarianism when compared with U.S.-born participants and women, respectively. Contrary to expectations, ethnic identity, gender, and nativity did not predict rape myth acceptance. The findings call attention to the intertwined nature of ethnicity and gender, and to differences in ethnic identity and gender role socialization within Asian Indian subgroups. What is the public significance of this article?This study investigated the relationship between a sense of connection to one's ethnic group and heritage and attitudes toward gender roles and sexual violence against women, among a sample of Asian Indians living in the United States. The findings indicate that having a stronger sense of connection to one's ethnic group is related to more traditional beliefs about gender roles; however, having a stronger sense of connection to one's ethnic group is not related to attitudes about sexual violence.

Acculturation and patriarchal beliefs among Asian American young adults: A preliminary investigation.

“…However, acculturation was not for any dimension of PB. The current gender effect is consistent with previous findings that men endorsed higher levels of PB and more traditional and less egalitarian gender role attitudes than women (Tummala-Narra et al, 2017;Yoon et al, 2015, in press). It is also consistent with the broad literature on oppression that privileged groups are less conscious of oppression and injustice than oppressed groups (Yoon et al, 2013).…”

“…In general, privileged groups tend to be oblivious to their privileges, whereas oppressed groups tend to be sensitive to the injustice of such oppression (Yoon, Moulton, Jérémie-Brink, & Hansen, 2013). Accordingly, being male consistently predicted PB and traditional and less egalitarian gender role attitudes (Tummala-Narra et al, 2017;Yoon et al, 2015, in press). However, it is unknown whether the relations of acculturation variables and PB are consistent across men and women.…”

Breaking the silence: Perspectives on sexual violence among Indian American women.

“…The existing literature provides broad understandings of sexual violence among immigrant-origin women, and there is a need to expand knowledge of more nuanced, personal conceptualizations of sexual violence based on diverse sociocultural experiences and relationships to social contexts (Tummala-Narra, Houston-Kolnik, Sathasivam-Rueckert, & Greeson, 2017). Research examining how sociocultural experiences, such as socialization in multiple cultural contexts, contribute to perspectives on sexual violence is sorely needed to develop culturally informed interventions with survivors of sexual trauma.…”

Colonial mentality, racism, and depressive symptoms: Asian Indians in the United States.

“…While this study offers an important framework to understand AI experiences in the U.S., CM may not account for all forms of internalized oppression among AIs especially given the diversity of AIs. For example, the impact of racialized sexism (Mukkamala & Suyemoto, 2018) and gender role attitudes (Tummala-Narra et al, 2017) are other forms of internalized oppression that can be considered when investigating oppression among AIs. Similarly, an examination of AI mental health experiences as it relates to caste is critical to take into consideration.…”