The ‘problem’ of Asian women's sexuality: public discourses in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Abstract

Public health research in New Zealand views Asian health – particularly, Asian women's sexual health issues – as a priority problem. In recent years, high rates of abortion and the growing incidence of unsafe sex among younger age Asian migrants have been publicised as a health concern. Public health research implicates migrant experiences and cultural factors as responsible for these trends. Loneliness and isolation among international students, inability to communicate effectively in English and lack of knowledge of available services are highlighted as reasons for the growing sexual ill‐health in the Asian population in New Zealand. Extending from these, public health measures aim at improving culture‐sensitive services, including targeted education. The present paper offers a critical commentary on these accepted public health perceptions that inform policy in New Zealand. It takes a Third World feminist approach to critique dominant public health discourses on Asian women's sexuality and questions the construction of knowledges about what are ‘normal’ and ‘pathological’ sexual practices. The paper revisits the data used to describe the ‘problem’ of Asian sexuality and argues that in order to understand sexual practices, it is important to query the cultural lenses that are used to describe and define them.

Résumé

En Nouvelle Zélande, la recherche en santé publique considère la santé dans les populations asiatiques – en particulier les problèmes de santé sexuelle chez les femmes asiatiques – comme une question prioritaire. Ces dernières années, les taux élevés d'avortements et l'incidence croissante des rapports sexuels non protégés parmi les personnes les plus jeunes dans cette communauté ont été rendus publics en tant que préoccupation sanitaire. La recherche en santé publique considère l'expérience des migrants et les facteurs culturels comme responsables de ces tendances. La solitude et l'isolement chez les étudiants étrangers, l'incapacité à communiquer efficacement en anglais, le manque d'informations sur les services disponibles sont mis en avant en tant que facteurs d'augmentation des problèmes de santé sexuelle dans la population asiatique de Nouvelle Zélande. S'élargissant à partir de la prise en compte de ces facteurs, les mesures de santé publique visent à améliorer les services sensibles aux cultures, incluant l'éducation ciblée. Cet article propose un commentaire critique sur ces perceptions admises de la santé publique qui informent les politiques en Nouvelle Zélande. Il adopte une approche féministe du Tiers Monde pour faire la critique des points de vue et des discours dominants de la santé publique sur la sexualité des femmes asiatiques, et il remet en cause la construction des connaissances sur ce que sont les pratiques sexuelles «normales» et «pathologiques». L'article revisite les données utilisées pour décrire le «problème» de la sexualité chez les asiatiques et avance que pour comprendre les pratiques sexuelles, il est important de questionner les filtres culturels employés pour les décrire et pour les définir.

Resumen

En los estudios llevados a cabo sobre la salud pública en Nueva Zelanda, la salud de la población asiática se considera un problema prioritario, especialmente en lo referente a los problemas de salud sexual en mujeres asiáticas. En los últimos años, las altas tasas de abortos y la creciente incidencia de relaciones sexuales no seguras entre jóvenes inmigrantes de origen asiático se han publicado como problema sanitario. En la investigación sobre la salud pública se sostiene implícitamente que las experiencias de los inmigrantes y los factores culturales son los responsables de estas tendencias. La soledad y el aislamiento entre los estudiantes internacionales, la incapacidad para comunicarse correctamente en inglés, y el desconocimiento de los servicios disponibles se destacan como las motivos de una creciente mala salud sexual en la población asiática en Nueva Zelanda. Teniendo en cuenta estos problemas, las medidas de salud pública se centran en mejorar los servicios para intentar comprender y respetar las diferentes culturas, especialmente en el campo educativo. En este artículo ofrecemos un análisis crítico de las percepciones aceptadas de la salud pública que influyen en las normativas de Nueva Zelanda. Adoptamos la filosofía feminista del Tercer Mundo para criticar los puntos de vistas dominantes de los discursos sobre salud pública en cuanto a la sexualidad de las mujeres de origen asiático y ponemos en duda la construcción de conocimientos sobre lo que es ‘normal’ y ‘patológico’ en las prácticas sexuales. En este ensayo revisamos los datos utilizados para describir el ‘problema’ de la sexualidad asiática y sostenemos que a fin de entender las prácticas sexuales, es importante analizar las perspectivas culturales que se utilizan para describirlas y definirlas.

Keywords:

• Asian
• abortions
• students
• discourses
• Aotearoa
• New Zealand

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the suggestions of the two anonymous referees, Priya Kurian and Patrick Barrett, that were very helpful in shaping the arguments in this paper.

Notes

1. According to Statistics New Zealand (2004), the proportion of Asian population is projected to rise from 7% in 2001 to 13% in 2012. Comparative projected figures for Maori for this period are 15 to 17%; similarly, Pacific Island communities are projected to rise from 7 to 9%. The proportion of Europeans in the population is projected to fall from 79 to 69%.

2. Critical, in this context, refers to the unpacking of assumptions and meanings around particular ideas or concepts.

3. The term ‘Asian’ is not unproblematic, yet I retain its use as it reflects a widely accepted way of categorising ethnicity in New Zealand.

4. Amaro et al. (2001) define sexuality as a ‘meaning system that organises interactions and governs access to power and resources’ (p. 325). As a meaning system, socio‐sexual contexts influence individual decisions and behaviours but more importantly, they influence the creation of social knowledges around sexuality.

5. Rein (1989) argues that people tend to use values, preferences, norms and ideas to frame the world and make it coherent. While, in principle, all frames are equally valid, in reality, some frames are privileged over others.

6. Unless otherwise indicated, the statistics quoted in this section are taken from Statistics New Zealand (2002b).

7. In 2006, Asians earned $14,500 per annum compared to Europeans at $25,400, Maori at $20,900 and Pacific peoples at $20,500. See http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006‐census‐data/quickstats‐about‐incomes/quickstats‐about‐incomes.htm?page=para014Master [Accessed 14 April 08].

8. It must be noted that abortion statistics have limitations in comparison over time. Statistics New Zealand notes that 2002 figures are not comparable with previous years as from that year ethnicity was recorded as multiple responses so that one person could claim more than one ethnicity. Further, in 2002, the questions around marital status were dropped. In 2005, the category MELAA (or Middle Eastern, Latin American and African) was introduced. However, for the purposes of this paper, where the perceptions and discourses around abortion are more pertinent, direct comparison is not the primary aim. If anything, the limitations of the data strengthen the claim that certain discourses persist regardless of the validity of the data.

9. As defined by Statistics New Zealand, the abortion ratio is defined as abortions per 1000 known pregnancies (inclusive of live births, still births and abortions combined). Miscarriages/spontaneous abortions are not a notifiable event and do not form part of this definition.

10. It has been noted that following a peak in abortion statistics in 2003, there has been a slight decline and/or stabilisation of figures across the various ethnic groups. The reasons for this trend are not clear. See Statistics New Zealand (2007).

11. This image of Asian students contrasts with the conclusions of a profile of Asian abortion seekers in the 1980s, that ‘… [A]sian women presenting for abortion were older and relied more extensively on condoms and natural family planning than other groups’ (North and Sparrow 1991).

12. The view of this and other medical practitioners quoted in this paper are relevant as they also represent influential public health institutions such as the Abortion Supervisory Committee, New Zealand Medical Association, and the Family Planning Association.

13. It is worth pointing out here that these constructions do not address issues of male responsibility in abortions and in many ways reify patriarchal notions of sexuality in terms of purity (e.g. mother, virgin) and/or its converse, impurity (e.g. prostitute, adulteress).

14. See http://www.abortion.gen.nz/information/history.html [Accessed 12 April 2008] for a history of abortion in New Zealand.

15. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0705/S00480.htm [Accessed 14 April 2008].

16. The Abortion Supervisory Committee Report in 2007 notes that it will be considering ‘the viewpoints of other cultures (particularly, Maori, Pacific Islands but also new migrants) in regards to abortion’ (p. 4).

17. This is a rough estimate of the Asian sample. The authors distributed a questionnaire to 9,699 students, of which 9.5% identified as ‘Asian’.