Filial obligations, affect and masculinities: Vietnamese-Australian young men being and becoming good sons

ABSTRACT

For those working in the field of critical studies of men and masculinities (CSMM), the study of masculinities, culture and intergenerational familial responsibilities continues to be an important area of research. Drawing on a case study of five second-generation Vietnamese-Australian males over three years, we seek to explore the role of family in shaping aspirations and masculinities during the liminal time in their lives immediately following compulsory schooling. The five participants aspired to pursue a different trajectory than their parents who laboured in agriculture, factory work or as restaurant owners. The data provides insights into some of the ways in which aspirations are affectively realized in tandem with a gendered sense of Vietnamese familial responsibilities. Central to the analysis is the discursive construction of masculinity and the cultural construction of filial piety – how to be a good son. In exploring how affective familial relations inform aspirations to be a good son, we outline three overlapping dimensions – a sense of duty, sacrifice and managing conflict – before concluding with an analysis of how Vietnamese-Australian masculine subjectivities are embodied and performed.

KEYWORDS:

• Vietnamese-Australian
• masculinities
• filial obligations
• intergenerational

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In Australia, peri-urban areas are considered the ‘urban-rural fringe’ and can be primarily agricultural. They are linked via mass transport to city centres.

Additional information

Funding

We acknowledge funding received by the Australian Research Council [grant number DE170100510].

Notes on contributors

Garth Stahl

Garth Stahl is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Queensland and Research Fellow, Australian Research Council (DECRA). His research interests lie on the nexus of neoliberalism and socio-cultural studies of education, identity, equity/inequality, and social change. Currently, his research projects and publications encompass theoretical and empirical studies of learner identities, gender and youth, sociology of schooling in a neoliberal age, gendered subjectivities, equity and difference, and educational reform.

Yang Zhao

Yang Zhao is a PhD student studying anthropology at University of Queensland. His research is focused on masculinity and migration among Uzbek men with a specific focus on neocolonialism.