Doubly Marginalized: Asian American Women Navigating US Politics

• In Event: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Abstract

This article delves into the experiences of Asian American women in formal political processes, shedding light on their unique struggles. Drawing from 21 months of participatory observation and 44 interviews with Asian American political women organizers in Houston, Texas, the author highlights two key findings. Firstly, when working within their own communities, Asian American women are often relegated to the role of assistants to Asian American men, with their qualifications for political candidacy called into question. Secondly, when navigating political spaces outside of their communities, they face intense gendered racism. White people, particularly White men, treat them as ignorant foreign women in need of political enlightenment or stereotype them as submissive and hypersexual objects. These experiences of sexism within their own community and gendered racism in non-Asian American spaces leave Asian American women “doubly marginalized” in formal political processes. This article thus contributes to the literature on racial minorities and women’s political participation by highlighting the specific forms of sexism and racism faced by Asian American women and the ostracism they endure in US politics. Empirically, the paper confirms that US politics remains a highly sexist and racist field that excludes Asian American women, which can have negative impacts on their mental health and political incorporation into the US polity.

Author

• Chen Liang