Performing ‘Oriental’ masculinities: embodied identities among Vietnamese men in London

Abstract

The young British-born Vietnamese are a largely unrecognised group in society and are generally not considered part of multiethnic Britain. A key characteristic of their racial positioning has been the very specific forms of hegemonic gendered labelling shaped by discourses of Orientalism. These Orientalist discourses subject Vietnamese men to pernicious stereotyping linked to 'passive' and effeminising forms of 'subordinate' masculinity. The ethnic and gendered dimensions of male Vietnamese youth experience are further compounded by the intersecting processes of social class and urban geographies which provide a distinct range of identity outcomes; these are particularly acute for working-class men living in highly urbanised areas. This article explores how young Vietnamese men subvert Oriental labels and stereotypes by using a range of unexpected, creative and 'spectacular' manipulations of hair, dress, style and comportment. I argue that Vietnamese men negotiate and perform ethnic masculinities through conscious and strategic forms of agency which entail everyday mundane forms of 'risk'. The article draws upon primary data from in-depth, narrative interviews and participant observation.

Encountering Misrecognition: Being Mistaken for Being Muslim

“…Within this work about geographies of race, ethnicity, and religion as well as explorations of meaningful encounters, the voices of young people have occupied a somewhat constrained space. This contrasts with the plethora of work in human geography and neighboring disciplines about youth, ethnicity, and belonging (e.g., Back 1996;Mills 2012;Barber 2015b;May 2015). In this article, we focus specifically on encounters that are characterized by experiences of misrecognition to make an important contribution to debates about young people, multiculturalism, and ethnic diversity.…”

Introduction: young people, gender and intersectionality

“…Overall then, each article focuses upon slightly different constellations of intersections, be this the intersection of gender with race and Orientalism (Barber 2014), race and homelessness (May 2014a), domesticity and homemaking practices (Gorman-Murray 2014), or class and ethnicity (Davidson 2014). Whilst acknowledging the ways in which these intersectional negotiations are constantly lived out in the everyday lives of the research participants, the contributors to this themed section also show attentiveness to the ways in which geography matters.…”

“…We now briefly introduce each paper. Barber's (2014) detailed examination of Vietnamese young men's performance of 'Oriental' masculinities in London explores the masculinities of the young men and how constructions of Vietnamese, Oriental and East and South East Asian masculinities intersect with youth, race, ethnicity, space and power across a range of settings within the city. Barber observes that Vietnamese masculinities are marginalised, especially as a result of the effeminising role of Orientalism reproduced vis-à-vis conceptions of whiteness, but also in relation to other South and East Asian masculinities.…”

Chinese, Japanese or ‘Oriental’?: Vietnamese-passing in ‘super-diverse’ London

“…Intentionally, passing as Japanese, Korean or Thai and engaging with more positive images associated with 'Oriental culture' seemed to enable participants to achieve a better status and image within these contexts. For example, Japanese youth culture has been arguably well received among youth in the European context (Kinsella 1997), and Japanese identity has been linked to providing alternative constructions of masculinity by avoiding the hegemonic/subordinate binary (see Barber 2014). Matthew explains how actively adapting hairstyles can allow Vietnamese males to 'pass' as a different ethnicity, affording them greater flexibility in navigating hierarchies in different social settings.…”

“…Western Orientalist perceptions of homogenised Asian cultures are manipulated to select the most 'successful', 'desirable' or 'exotic' aspects of images from Asia -in this case, Japanese Manga style. The connotations of Japanese culture can be seen as being much more desirable and more easily 'read' by Western audiences, particularly given Japan's emergence as an economic superpower (Kinsella 1997;Iwabuchi 1999;Barber 2014).…”