Beyond Black and White: How White, Male, College Students See Their Asian American Peers

Abstract

This research is a cross-site analysis of how white, male, college students see their Asian American peers. Semi-structured interviews with 43 white males were conducted at two universities that differed substantially in their representation of Asian American students. The interviews were theoretically framed by Critical Whiteness Studies and Bobo and Tuan's conception of prejudice as group positioning. At the institution where Asian American population was higher (almost 1/3 of the undergraduate population), the participants described Asian Americans as not true minorities and blamed them for campus segregation, while also subscribing to many racial stereotypes about Asian Americans (e.g., being bad drivers). At both universities, the participants subscribed to the myth of the model minority. The high concentration of Asian Americans at one of the universities corresponded to an increased prevalence of stereotypical/racist beliefs regarding this population, which was predicted by the theoretical framework. The findings also counter the mistaken notion that Asian Americans are “almost white” because these white males framed Asian Americans as a racialized group.

Notes

¹http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNuyDZevKrU

²This term is problematic because Asian American implies a U.S. citizen of Asian descent. This overlooks the diversity of cultures embedded within this pan-ethnic identity (e.g., Korean, Hmong, or Japanese). However, I am interested in this study to understand how white, male, college students see their Asian American peers. As the participants in this study tended not to differentiate by country of origin or by U.S. citizen/foreign national, I use the term Asian American as a way of identifying this racially targeted group.

³While the gender of the interviewer and the participants matched, the racial/ethnic background did not as I am biracial and primarily identify as Chicano. This posed some methodological issues that I address in the Researcher Orientation section.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nolan L. Cabrera

Nolan L. Cabrera is an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. He studies Whiteness, racism, and racial dynamics in the college campus.