Understanding Asian/American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Experiences from a Poststructural Perspective

Abstract

This study explores the college experiences of nine Asian/American gay, lesbian, and bisexual students and, specifically, the impact of concealing or revealing their sexual orientation on their emerging sense of self. By utilizing a Foucauldian, poststructural theoretical perspective, the researcher found that the students navigated multiple discourses, and their decisions about revealing their sexual orientation were based on relationships formed within those discourses. These decisions, in turn, helped many of the students grasp their emerging agency within the dominant discourse. To conclude, the researcher discusses the implications of these findings for higher education as a whole.

Keywords:

• Asian American
• Foucault
• GLB
• coming out
• identity development

Acknowledgments

This research was made possible through the support of a Coca-Cola Critical Differences for Women grant and the Porterfield-Dickens Award from the Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration Department at The Ohio State University.

Participants in this study were assigned pseudonyms based on the cultural origins of their actual names.