Liminal Lives: South Asian Youth and Domestic Violence

Abstract

This article examines domestic violence experiences among South Asian youth in the United States. The paper uses a broad definition of violence, a continuum which includes aggression, coercion, control, intimidation, assault, to accommodate the meanings suggested by the youth. The main argument of this paper is that the youth’s experiences cannot be adequately explained with reference to individual deviance or traditional cultural norms of ethnic groups. Based on a sociological perspective of gender, this paper argues that these youth are placed between mainstream and ethnic gender regimes and their experience of domestic violence depends on how these regimes work in relation to each other. Thus their liminal social structural position emerges as a significant factor in their experiences of violence.

Key Words:

• South Asian youth
• Violence
• Gender