Asian American male college students' perceptions of people's stereotypes about Asian American men.

Abstract

Although Asian American men are a heterogeneous group with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, they are frequently depicted in rigid, stereotypical ways that assume few differences exist among them. Guided by social identity theory, the purpose of this study was to examine 158 Asian American male college students' perceptions of people's stereotypes about Asian American men. Based on a discoveryoriented exploratory analysis of participants' open-ended responses, the following categories of perceived stereotypes about Asian American men were identified: (a) interpersonal deficits, (b) intelligence, (c) intense diligence, (d) unflattering physical attributes, (e) physical ability distortions, (f) perpetual foreigner, and (g) sexual/ romantic inadequacies. Next, a latent class cluster analysis was conducted to identify meaningful clusters of participants based on the foregoing categories of perceived stereotypes. The results revealed three clusters of participants; these clusters were labeled Body-Mind Stereotypes, Nerd Stereotypes, and Outsider Stereotypes. Participants in the Outsider Stereotypes cluster reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than those in the other two clusters, whereas those in the Nerd Stereotypes cluster reported the lowest levels of interdependent self-construal. These findings are discussed in terms of practical implications for addressing the deleterious nature of stereotypes about Asian American men.

Stereotyping across intersections of race and age: Racial stereotyping among White adults working with children

“…The low observed levels of the violence-prone stereotype towards Asians, making them less likely to elicit threat and fear responses from others, could be interpreted as Asians being seen as higher in warmth stereotypes [ 62 ]. However, a more likely explanation is that this finding relates to other evidence that shows Asians are seen as deferential and socially weak [ 63 , 64 ] and lacking in sociability [ 62 , 65 ].…”

Man Up, Man Down: Race-ethnicity and the Hierarchy of Men in Female-dominated Work

“…Some racial stereotypes feminize Asian men by depicting them as nerds, sexless, or weak (Oyserman and Sakamoto 1997). This may have negative consequences for Asian men particularly at lower levels of education, where working-class jobs promote masculine stereotypes of men's physically strong and impenetrable bodies as necessary work qualifications (Wong et al 2012). …”

Testing for measurement invariance in the Conformity to Masculine Norms-46 across White and Asian American college men: Development and validity of the CMNI-29.

“…This implication is especially compelling, as studies on the psychometric properties of the CMNI have been primarily based on White samples. Generalizing from these findings to other ethnic groups therefore may not accurately capture associations between masculinity and health outcomes, and may also possibly misrepresent a variety of factors that shape the expression of masculinity for men of color (Griffith et al, 2012; Liu, 2002; Schwing, Wong, & Fann, 2013; Wong, Owen, Tran, Collins, & Higgins, 2012). That is, although many men of color in the United States may adhere to mainstream masculine norms, there is reason to believe that ethnic minority men may also draw upon other aspects of masculinity to form their own standards and definitions of what it is to be masculine (Abreu, Good-year, Campos, & Newcomb, 2000; Griffith et al, 2012; Liu, Iwamoto, & Chae, 2010; Wong, Owen, et al, 2012).…”

“…Relatedly, studies indicate that White and Asian women perceive Asian American and White men differently: Asian men are perceived as nurturing and endorsing more traditional masculine norms, whereas White men are perceived as more stable, powerful, independent, and significantly more attractive (Chua & Fujino, 1999). Thus, Asian American men experience the challenge of navigating expectations and standards for masculinity that are rooted in the dominant (i.e., White) culture, as well as contend with negative societal stereotypes (Liu, 2002; Wong, Owen, et al, 2012). …”