Masculine Identities Among Asian American Men: Negotiating Varying Masculine Ideals for the Self and Others
The study examined the implications of varying masculine identities for Asian American men of East Asian descent. The study tested the hypotheses that compared to White men, Asian American men would endorse lower levels of Western hegemonic masculine ideals, see themselves as less masculine in terms of those ideals, and report lower levels of believing others perceive them as masculine by Western hegemonic standards. It also examined if the type of masculinity Asian American men endorsed moderated the psychological functioning (gender role conflict, psychological distress, and substance use) related to any discrepancies and synchronicities between self-perception and others’ perception (e.g. how masculine others see you). In addition, the study attempted to elucidate if there was a difference in outcomes between US born and immigrant Asian American men. Five hundred twenty-two participants (265 Asian American men and 257 White men) were recruited via advertising on social media websites and completed an online self-report questionnaires assessing the variables mentioned above. The results indicate that Asian American men endorse higher levels of Western hegemonic masculine ideals compared to White men, see themselves no less masculine in terms of those ideals but report lower levels of believing others perceive them as masculine by those hegemonic standards. The findings related to psychological functioning and how Asian American men see themselves versus how they believe others see them in terms of their masculinity indicate that Asian American men who endorse traditional masculine ideals and see themselves as highly masculine express distress through behaviors such as drinking than symptom-based self-report measures in contrast to men who endorse traditional masculine ideals and do not see themselves as highly masculine.
Clinical Psychology, Asian American Men, Asian Men, Masculinity, Identity, Race, Gender Roles
City University of New York - Graduate Center
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The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York