Performing ‘Oriental’ masculinities: embodied identities among Vietnamese men in London

Abstract

The young British-born Vietnamese are a largely unrecognised group in society and are generally not considered part of multiethnic Britain. A key characteristic of their racial positioning has been the very specific forms of hegemonic gendered labelling shaped by discourses of Orientalism. These Orientalist discourses subject Vietnamese men to pernicious stereotyping linked to ‘passive’ and effeminising forms of ‘subordinate’ masculinity. The ethnic and gendered dimensions of male Vietnamese youth experience are further compounded by the intersecting processes of social class and urban geographies which provide a distinct range of identity outcomes; these are particularly acute for working-class men living in highly urbanised areas. This article explores how young Vietnamese men subvert Oriental labels and stereotypes by using a range of unexpected, creative and ‘spectacular’ manipulations of hair, dress, style and comportment. I argue that Vietnamese men negotiate and perform ethnic masculinities through conscious and strategic forms of agency which entail everyday mundane forms of ‘risk’. The article draws upon primary data from in-depth, narrative interviews and participant observation.

Performar las masculinidades “orientales”: identidades encarnadas en los hombres vietnamitas en Londres

Los jóvenes vietnamitas nacidos en Gran Bretaña son un grupo mayormente desconocido en la sociedad y generalmente no son considerados parte de la Gran Bretaña multiétnica. Una característica clave de su posicionamiento racial han sido las formas muy específicas de etiquetamiento generizado hegemónico moldeado por los discursos de orientalismo. Estos discursos orientalistas someten a los hombres vietnamitas a estereotipos perniciosos ligados a formas “pasivas” y afeminantes de masculinidad “subordinada”. Las dimensiones étnicas y generizadas de la experiencia del joven vietnamita varón son compuestas también por los procesos intersectados de clase social y geografías urbanas que proveen un rango distinto de resultados de identidad; estos son particularmente agudos para los hombres de clase trabajadora que viven en áreas altamente urbanizadas. Este artículo analiza cómo los varones jóvenes vietnamitas subvierten las etiquetas y estereotipos orientales por medio del uso de un número de inesperadas, creativas y “espectaculares” manipulaciones del cabello, la vestimenta, el estilo y el comportamiento. Sostengo que los hombres vietnamitas negocian y performan las masculinidades étnicas a través de formas de agencia conscientes y estratégicas que incluyen formas mundanas de “riesgo” cotidiano. El artículo se basa en datos primarios de entrevistas en profundidad narrativas y observación participativa.

展演“东方”男性气概：越南裔男性在伦敦的体现身份认同

在英国出生的越南人，是一群被社会大幅忽略的族群，且一般而言，他们并不被认为是英国多元族裔的一部分。他们种族定位的主要特徵，是一个由东方主义论述所形塑的霸权式性别化标籤的特定形式。这些东方主义论述，将越南男性归属于与“被动”以及女性化形式的“从属”男性气概相关的不利刻板印象。越南男性青年经验中的种族与性别化面向，进一步因社会阶级与城市地理的交错过程而雪上加霜，这些过程产生了特定范围的身份认同结果；上述情形对于居住在高度城市化区域的工人阶级男性而言尤其剧烈。本文探讨年轻的越南男性如何透过运用摆弄头发、穿着、风格与举止等各式各样出人意料的创新“奇观”，颠覆东方主义的标籤与刻板印象。我主张，越南男性透过有意识、策略性的施为形式，协商并展演族裔男性气概，并导致了“风险”的每日生活世俗形式。本文所运用的是由深度叙事访谈和参与式观察所获得的一手资料。

Keywords::

• British-born Vietnamese
• masculinities
• Orientalism
• performativity
• hairstyles

Palabras claves::

• vietnamitas nacidos en Gran Bretaña
• masculinidades
• Orientalismo
• performatividad
• peinados

关键词:::

• 出生于英国的越南人
• 男性气概
• 东方主义
• 展演性
• 发型

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Caitlin O'Neill and Peter Hopkins for organising the ‘Gendered Spaces of Youth’ panel at the Association of American Geographers 2011 and for guest editing this special issue. I would also like to thank Tina Managahan, Michael Lister and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions on improving this article.

Notes

^1.Local London, January 10, 2009 (Saturday); Guardian, March 16, 2006; The Observer, September 11. 2005 (Sunday).

^2. It is important to note that with other more educated participants who were more advanced in their careers than me, this power asymmetry was much less pronounced and at times I felt I had little control over the research encounter.

^3. These strategies contributed towards the formations of a seemingly new ‘Oriental culture/Oriental category’ (See Barber forthcoming; Yeh 2014) which could be understood as a product of counter-Orientalising strategies.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tamsin Barber

Dr Tamsin Barber is senior lecturer in sociology at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England. Her doctoral thesis explored themes of identity and belonging among the British-born Vietnamese in London. Her research focuses on the relationship between processes of categorisation, Orientalism and identity, and examines the capacity of Vietnamese individuals to challenge and disrupt more dominant constructions of ‘racial’ and ethnic groups in Britain. Her forthcoming monograph ‘Oriental’ Identities in Multicultural Britain: Young British-born Vietnamese in London is being published with Palgrave Macmillan. Her broader research interests lie in the areas of ‘race’, ethnicity, youth and migration with a focus on issues of exclusion, inclusion and identity formation. She currently teaches research methods, ‘race’, ethnicity and exclusion and social divisions and differences.