Queer Intercultural Relationality: An Autoethnography of Asian–Black (Dis)Connections in White Gay America

Abstract

For this critical intercultural inquiry, I as an Asian/Japanese transnational cisgendered gay man write my autoethnography of queer (or non-heteronormative) Asian–Black (dis)connections. Specifically, I challenge, interrogate, and problematize my queer intercultural production of desire and attraction as I engage in my critical autoethnographic interrogation of dialogues with five Asian/Japanese transnational gay men who have previously engaged in queer Asian–Black relationality. In so doing, I intend to create a potential point of departure to decenter the discursive and material effects of White gay normativity in the knowledge production of Asian queer male desire and attraction.

Keywords:

• Queer Intercultural Communication
• Asian–Black (Dis)Connections
• Race and Sexuality
• White Gay Normativity
• Autoethnography

An earlier version of this MS was presented at National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Communication Studies Division, Washington, DC, November 2013. I would like to thank Drs. Dreama G. Moon, Michelle A. Holling, and Rona T. Halualani for their kindness and belief in my scholarship. Also, I would like to thank the intelligent and amazing blind-reviewers for their detailed and insightful comments on previous drafts of this essay. Moreover, I would like to thank Drs. Bernadette Marie Calafell, Mary Jane Collier, Satoshi Toyosaki, and Myra S. Washington for their support and encouragement during my work on this manuscript. Most importantly, I would like to thank my friends for their willingness to be part of this critical autoethnographic research. Lastly, I would like to thank Department of Communication & Journalism at the University of New Mexico for the research project support fund that made this study possible.

An earlier version of this MS was presented at National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Communication Studies Division, Washington, DC, November 2013. I would like to thank Drs. Dreama G. Moon, Michelle A. Holling, and Rona T. Halualani for their kindness and belief in my scholarship. Also, I would like to thank the intelligent and amazing blind-reviewers for their detailed and insightful comments on previous drafts of this essay. Moreover, I would like to thank Drs. Bernadette Marie Calafell, Mary Jane Collier, Satoshi Toyosaki, and Myra S. Washington for their support and encouragement during my work on this manuscript. Most importantly, I would like to thank my friends for their willingness to be part of this critical autoethnographic research. Lastly, I would like to thank Department of Communication & Journalism at the University of New Mexico for the research project support fund that made this study possible.

Notes

[1] My current affiliation's IRB office granted me approval to represent informants in this essay. My Asian/Japanese transnational cisgendered gay male participants are: Taro (40-year-old), Yoshi (40-year-old), Shumpei (30-year-old), Takuya (40-year-old), and Tetsu (25-year-old).