Decolonizing AANHPI Queerness: Blast From The Past
In a study published in 2020, researchers from the University of Washington studying stereotypes found that Asian Americans who identify as ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ are seen as more American by white Americans. The research elaborated that ethnic groups like Asian Americans, Latinos, and Arab Americans are given a place of ‘cultural foreignness’ in American society. However, in the case of Asian Americans, being gay meant one was perceived to be ‘more’ American than a counterpart who was not.
In this study, the intersectionality of identity (being Asian and queer) qualifies ‘how American’ you are perceived to be, by white Americans. The interesting finding from this study is that American culture is thought to be more accepting of queerness, compared to Asian cultures. The funny thing is that being queer has nothing to do with where you’re born, and oftentimes we tend to associate a level of queerness with different countries or cultural backgrounds. The West tends to see itself as the gatekeeper and celebrator of queer identities. How did this come to be? The answers to this current question lie in diving back into the past, to understand how queerness has come to be viewed by both the East and the West.
Modern American culture unconsciously sees itself as largely ‘queer-friendly’. This does not mean that there is no trace of homophobia on American soil. Still, the consensus among many Americans is that America has the least amount of social and legal restrictions on queer identities.
A report from The Trevor Project states:
40% of AAPI LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 50% of AAPI transgender and nonbinary youth and 49% of Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian LGBTQ youth
16% of AAPI LGBTQ youth reported a suicide attempt in the past year, including 21% of AAPI transgender and nonbinary youth and 20% of Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian LGBTQ youth
68% of AAPI LGBTQ youth reported symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder in the past two weeks
61% of AAPI LGBTQ youth reported symptoms of major depressive disorder in the past two weeks
Compared to America, the pace at which laws around same-sex relationships move in some Asian countries would make second-general immigrants of the diaspora think that their home countries are slow on the uptake of recognizing gay rights as human rights.
However, acceptance of queer identities in Asian and Native Hawaiian cultures was evident long before the West recognized queerness.
Some communities in our homelands give off the impression that being queer is a ‘Western trait’ or ‘Western influence’ when oddly enough, this opposition to queer identities stemmed from the West.
Diving into the Past
Media portrays Asian communities as being clueless or indifferent to queer identities as if ‘queerness’ is a new or foreign concept, especially to the older generations of our communities. However, ancient texts from Asia tell a different story. Chinese literature dating back to the Han dynasty speaks of same-sex behaviors that were accepted. There are even traditional literary terms for homosexuality that can be found in 6th-century Chinese texts.
Native Hawaiian culture never saw gender as two binaries. The culture accepted that some people identified as neither male nor female. The name ‘mahu’ (‘the in-between’) is used for those who embody both male and female qualities. They were highly revered in ancient Hawaiian society for their cultural knowledge and role in passing it on to future generations.
Aikane or same-gender relationships were a norm in ancient Hawaiian society, especially among the chiefs. Aikane relationships were openly celebrated and accepted on par with heterosexual relationships.
Similar to the mahu of Hawaii, South Asia is no stranger to the ‘third gender as well. Known as ‘hijras’, they were revered in ancient Indian history by the Mughal Empire and Hindu society. Hijras are mentioned in Hindu texts and are thought to have the power to bless and curse. Apart from hijras, gender fluidity is apparent in the stories of the gods in many ancient Hindu texts, paintings, and sculptures.
Ancient Filipino societies admired their spiritual leaders who embodied both masculine and feminine energies. Many ancient mythologies of the Philippines speak of gods who embody both masculine and feminine attributes.
Even amongst most other ancient Asian communities, there is a sense that homosexuality was accepted in a range of tolerance, from openly celebrated to possibly lightly chastised. But in all cases, it was hardly ever erased or stigmatized.
Imported Homophobia
So when did all this change?
The arrival of Westerners on our native lands brought about Christian missionaries who were taken aback by same-sex relationships in our ancient communities. To them, heteronormative monogamy was the only way for love to be expressed and experienced.
They came up with or made cultural terms pejorative to dissuade same-sex behaviors, and painted homosexuality as sinful. Most Euro-Christian colonial worldviews came from the Puritanical perspective of conservatism and monogamy between men and women. To them, gender was a binary, when in reality, it is a spectrum that welcomes all.
Even without weaponizing religion, it must be remembered that any form of colonialism aims to erase everything that goes into making a culture what it is, from language, rituals, and even the way we love. Our ancient communities were shamed to the point of erasure.
In China, Christian missionaries used the term ‘Jijian’ as a slur for men who were attracted to other men. This is a mechanism of colonialism: converting local terms into smears.
Remember the term ‘aikane’ used in ancient Hawaiian society to describe same-gender relationships? When Calvinist missionaries arrived in Hawaii in the 1800s, they changed the meaning of this word to imply a companion or close friend, slowly watering down its original meaning.
The British Raj in India outlawed the hijra community and brought in rules to stomp out homosexuality. Today, the hijra community has mixed acceptance in modern Indian society.
The rulers of some Asian states tried to find favor with Western powers by aligning with their values which included homophobia. In some cases, the colonizer held the reigns and brought in laws that punished homosexuality. There is a direct correlation between countries that were previously under British rule having homophobic laws in place.
The link to our collective memory bank of cultural norms before colonization is missing and this imported homophobia has been internalized to take its place.
Asian Values
To set the East apart from the West, some Asian political leaders and thinkers packaged up a specific set of values as ‘Asian values’. The umbrella under which the Asian values were constructed to be markedly different from the West, was the emphasis on societal needs over one’s own, as opposed to the Western outlook of favoring the individual and personal freedom. Queerness is pitted as an antithesis to the ‘ traditional family values’ that Asian identities center their societies around.
By understanding Asian values, we can see why the West marks their acceptance of LGBTQIA+ identities as a bastion of individual freedom and self-expression.
Asian values are overarching conservative, and somehow owning a queer identity has been made to come off as ‘unconservative’ when in reality, it is a natural way of being oneself.
Today, queer communities in some Asian countries and activists have to battle intolerance and fight for the social acceptance that our ancestors once had. They are working hard to overturn laws that criminalize same-sex relationships and marriage. They are slowly moving the needle both forward and backward: forward in terms of human rights, and back regarding restoring cultural acceptance.
As these activists chip away at the institutionalized homophobia that colonization baked into the cultural psyche, it is odd to hear critics say that queerness is a ‘Western influence’ when our ancient histories speak of acceptance or a degree of tolerance of queerness in the centuries before colonization.
We are now seeing the emergence of Asians in the LGBTQIA+ community, like Kim Coco Iwamoto, the first out transgender person to win the election to state office. This inspires queer AANHPI to move up and forward in their aspirations.
Who tells the story?
That’s why it’s important to look at whose version of history we are being told and taught. Who holds the narrative of the history being told? The colonizer or the colonized? Separating the parts of the colonial narrative that are mixed into our current communities comes from research and storytelling.
One of the pillars of what we do at Asian Girls Ignite is to give a platform to storytellers and nurture upcoming ones. At least 20% of our students identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and we want to ensure that their queerness and cultural identities can blend, and not be in conflict with each other. By telling and listening to stories, we can create community spaces that are filled with acceptance and understanding around shared experiences as AANHPI youth, and shape our identities. Storytelling fills in the gaps between a past buried under colonialism, and a future where everyone can celebrate their authentic unfiltered identity.
Join us as a storyteller if you have a story that inspires others and possibly helps them celebrate their identities.
Somewhere along the line, our ancestors forgot that love doesn’t fit one mold, while we can’t undo the mindsets and histories that cemented this perspective, we can rewrite the future by telling the story of how we can love love again.
