“I Find Value in Myself”: Queer Asian American Men’s Self-Love and Resistance in the Face of White Supremacy

Abstract

Queer (i.e., gay, bisexual, or another sexual minority identity) Asian American men experience unique challenges and strengths related to their social identities at the intersection of race and sexual orientation. While a sizable body of research has shown how this population faces racism within the broader queer community, there is little research that specifically examines the strengths of this population, including how they cultivate self-love in the face of White supremacy. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine how queer Asian American men who endorse self-love regardless of what queer white men think of them cultivate that self-love, as well as to understand the benefits of this self-love. Using a qualitative, grounded theory approach with 20 queer Asian American men who endorsed self-love regardless of what queer White men think of them, results indicated the core category of facilitating forces of self-love. Within this overarching category, results highlighted four key categories: location (i.e., predominantly White area, racially diverse area, and transition from one area to another), social support (i.e., processing experiences and challenging the status quo), self-reflection (i.e., journaling, therapy, and increasing critical consciousness/viewing the self-in-context), and active resistance (i.e., externalizing racism, distancing from Whiteness, seeking representation, engaging in activism or advocacy, and cultivating self-worth). This study highlights the specific mechanisms by which queer Asian American men love themselves regardless of queer white men’s views of them, posing larger implications for how marginalized groups can resist and thrive in the face of societal oppression.