A social psychological perspective on HIV/AIDS and gay or homosexually active Asian men

This paper employs findings in social psychological research to analyze HIV/AIDS-related issues among gay and homosexual Asian men living in western countries, specifically in Australia. This includes analyses of: (1) the impact of collectivistic cultural ideologies on self-conception and self-esteem; (2) self-identity related to the status of Asians as numerical and status minorities; (3) the existence of stereotypes of Asians in the gay communities and their consequences on individual Asians; and (4) issues related to self-esteem of gay Asian men as determined by their identification with the Asian and/or the gay communities and acculturation to the dominant Australian Anglo-Celtic culture.     

Characteristics of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Asians, Asian Americans, and immigrants from Asia to the USA

An exploratory study of self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual Asians and Asian Americans surveyed respondents (60 women and 254 men) using a questionnaire in four languages from nineteen different sources in Korea, Japan, China, and the US. Respondents were compared in terms of country of residence, whether they immigrated to the US, having a same-sex lover, living with the lover, being open about their sexual orientation to the family, and age. Respondents in the US were generally more open about their sexual orientation. Openness to the family was related to other variables suggesting an affirmative lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity.     

Asian Americans: diverse and growing

This bulletin analyzes the demographic, socioeconomic, and political characteristics of the Asian population in the US. During 1980-90, the Asian population doubled in size to 4% of total population. The Asian population is expected to double again in 20 years. The number and diversity of Asian ethnic groups has increased due to immigration. The proportion of Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino persons declined from 96% of Asians in 1970 to over 50% in 1997. Indians, Vietnamese, and Koreans outnumber Japanese ethnic groups in the US. Intermarriage is higher among US-born Asian Americans than foreign-born Asian Americans. Intermarriage is greater among female US-born Asian Americans than male US-born Asian Americans. The future size of the Asian population will depend upon how the children of these intermarriages identify themselves ethnically. Asians have advanced themselves educationally. In 1997, 42% of Asian Americans aged 25 years and older had a college or professional degree, compared to 26% of non-Hispanic Whites, 13% of Blacks, and 10% of Hispanics aged 25 years and older. Families with income below the poverty level, in 1996, amounted to 12.7% of Asians, compared to 26.4% of Hispanics, 26.1% of Blacks, and 6.5% of Whites. In 1990, over 43% of foreign born Asian Americans aged over 18 years were naturalized citizens, compared to 33% of all foreign-born residents. Asians have low rates of voter participation, but high rates of naturalization suggest greater political participation in the future. In Presidential 1996 elections, Asians tended to register as Republican, but voted Democratic.     

Framing "Killer Women" Films: Audience Use of Genre

This paper examines cinematic images of gender in the South Asian diaspora through four recent films—Bend It Like Beckham, Bollywood/Hollywood, Monsoon Wedding, and Second Generation. Using post-colonial theory along with feminist film theory, I analyze the father/daughter dynamic in the above films for their treatment of race, gender, sexuality, and generation. I pose the following two questions: 1) how do father/daughter representations in these films perpetuate ideas of dominant fatherhood within the diaspora; and 2) how do these representations offer images of “oppositional fatherhood,” which challenge stereotypes of South Asian patriarchy? I look at the colonial influence on contemporary homeland and immigrant identities. I then discuss the patriarchal component of South Asian father/daughter relations. I move on to examine notions of good fatherhood (represented through love and loss) and bad fatherhood (as sexually violent) and how the different films deal with these issues.     

The cinematic representation of Asian homosexuality in The Wedding Banquet

Over the last decade, there has been an increasing number of western films which represent both homosexuals and Asian people. However, the homosexuals depicted in these films are often white, and the Asians are almost always heterosexual. In an attempt to account for the scarcity of western films containing Asian homosexuals, this paper aims to examine some of the common cinematic tropes and theoretical discourses used to depict and define both Asians and homosexuals. As one of the few feature-length films containing an Asian homosexual central character, Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet will also be discussed.     

Asian Americans: growth,change, and diversity

The 1980 US census counted 3.5 million Asian Americans, up from 1.4 million in 1970. Asian Americans made up just 1.5% of the total US population of 226.5 million as of April 1, 1980, but this was the 3rd largest racial or ethnic minority after blacks and Hispanics. Asians increased far more during the 1970s (141%) than blacks (17%) or Hispanics (39%). This Bulletin examines the characteristics of Asian Americans, how their numbers have grown, where they live, how different groups vary in age structure, childbearing, health, and longevity. It reports on the kinds of households Asian Americans form and how they fare with regard to education, occupation, and income. Asian Americans are now often perceived as the model minority. As a whole, they are better educated, occupy higher rungs on the occupational ladder, and earn more than the general US population and even white Americans. This Bulletin presents the 1st comprehensive look at many important facts about Asian Americans and how the groups differ. Special tabulations of data collected in the 1980 census are provided. The 1980 census data are the latest available to give a true picture at the national level of Asian Americans and the various groups among them. The Bulletin examines the current numbers of Asian Americans and how this population is defined. The major Asian American groups are Chinese (21%), Filipinos (20%), Japanese (15%), Vietnamese (21%), Koreans (11%), and Asian Indians (10%). Except for the latest-arrived Vietnamese, the fertility of the 6 groups is lower than the white average. The following areas are also discussed: mortality and health; families and households; education; Asian youth; employment; income and poverty; and future prospects.     

Age at first sexual intercourse, genes, and social context: Evidence from twins and the dopamine D4 receptor gene

We carried out two distinct types of genetic analysis with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The first was a non-DNA twin analysis using monozygotic (identical) and same-sex dizygotic (fraternal) twins. The second analysis investigates the association between age at first sexual intercourse and the 48-bp repeat polymorphism in the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4). The twin analysis shows that MZ twins correlate their timing of first sex to a much greater extent than do the same-sex DZ twins. Our analysis of the polymorphisms in DRD4 indicates that those with an any-3R genotype experienced a risk of first sexual intercourse 23% (p = .016), 233% (p = .0001), 28% (p = .012), and 69% (p = .006) higher than those with an other/other (or any-4R) genotype in the all-ethnicities (n = 2,552), Asian, white, and Hispanic samples, respectively. The risk of first sex does not differ between the two genotypes in the African American sample. These results were obtained after adjusting the standard socioeconomic covariates, including gender, parental education, family structure, and community poverty in the regression model. Evidence from both twin and genetic-variant analyses points to a role of genes in the timing of first sexual intercourse.     

Friends for better or for worse: Interracial friendship in the United States as seen through wedding party photos

Friendship patterns are instrumental for testing important hypotheses about assimilation processes and group boundaries. Wedding photos provide an opportunity to directly observe a realistic representation of close interracial friendships and race relations. An analysis of 1,135 wedding party photos and related information shows that whites are especially unlikely to have black friends who are close enough to be in their wedding party. Adjusting for group size, whites and East and Southeast Asians (hereafter E/SE Asians) are equally likely to be in each other's weddings, but whites invite blacks to be in their wedding parties only half as much as blacks invite whites, and E/SE Asians invite blacks only one-fifth as much as blacks invite E/SE Asians. In interracial marriages, both E/SE Asian and black spouses in marriages to whites are significantly less likely than their white spouses to have close friendships with members of their spouse's race.     

Making it in America: High school completion by immigrant and native youth

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we find that first-generation youth of Hispanic, Asian, and African heritage obtain more education than their parents, but the second generation and third or higher generations lose ground. Differences in dropout rates by race-ethnicity and immigrant generation are driven by differences in human, cultural, and social capital. Low levels of family human capital, school social capital, and community social capital place the children of immigrants at risk of dropping out. However, cultural capital and immigrant optimism buffer first-generation Hispanic youth and the children of Asian immigrants from the risk of dropping out of high school. While human and social capital resources improve with immigrant generation, cultural capital diminishes.     

Below-replacement fertility: Determinants and prospects in South Asia

Although 10 countries and two of China’s special administrative areas, totalling 1,528 million people or 44 per cent of Asia’s total population, are now characterized by fertility rates below long-term replacement levels, no such countries are yet found in South Asia. This paper first examines the characteristics of 12 Asian administrations with very low fertility at various stages of their fertility declines and then compares the findings with the present situation in three South Asian countries, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. This allows a prediction of when the South Asian countries will reach replacement fertility in accord with the trends in two key criteria, the percentage of girls in secondary school and the infant mortality rate. These conclusions are then buttressed for each country by the findings of anthropological demographic research programs in which the authors were involved. The predictions are that all three countries will attain a total fertility rate of 2.1 within the next 30 years and that the UN2000 Revision of the medium population projection is plausible in that regard. However, the authors part company with the UN projection in their assessment that the nature of these societies means that they will all subsequently fall to still lower fertility levels.     

Generational Juggling Acts in Midlife Families: Gendered and Ethnocultural Intersections

This study draws upon a sociocultural stress and coping perspective to examine generational demands in midlife families. It examines both the predictors and family-related circumstances that contribute to perceptions of greater demand, with a focus on gendered and ethnocultural dimensions. Using mixed-methods, data are based on a sample of 236 parents collected in 2006/2007 from four cultural groups: British-, Chinese-, Southern European-, and South Asian Canadian. Key findings reveal that caregiving experiences remain highly gendered and are mediated by ethnocultural background and other work/family contextual characteristics. Recommendations for those who work directly with culturally diverse “sandwiched” generation families are highlighted.     

Neighborhood change within the Canadian ethnic mosaic, 1986–1991

This paper examines the neighborhoodpatterns in three major Canadian metropolitan areasbetween 1986 and 1991. Data are obtained from 1986 and1991 profile census files and two Special Tabulationsof 1986 and 1991 Canadian census. The data indicatethat the first pathway of neighborhood change is thediversification that takes place among charter-onlyneighborhoods with the introduction of a sizableEuropean presence, followed by Asians and then blacks. The second pathway featuring racial uniformityprimarily takes place in multi-ethnic neighborhoodscontaining one or more visible minority groups. Multivariate analysis suggests that the increase inracial and ethnic diversity in neighborhoods isrelated to the efforts of visible minorities,especially Asians, seeking out neighborhoods withEuropeans.     

Changes in the quality of life of Durban’s people

Durban, the busiest port and second largest industrial hub in South Africa, has a developmental vision that sees its residents living in ‚acceptably serviced housing’ and enjoying a ‚generally high quality of life that can be sustained’. This vision is in response to South Africa’s transitional aspirations to move from an inequitable apartheid state to a democratic society with greater socio-economic parity. Since 1998 the eThekwini Municipality, which is the local authority responsible for the city of Durban, has conducted annual surveys to monitor the changes in the quality of life of Durban’s people. Structured questionnaire interviews were administered in 14 300 dwellings between 1998 and 2005. The samples drawn each year were representative of the city’s demographics and covered a wide range of housing types. Results indicate that parity of life satisfaction between race groups is as far apart in 2005 as it was in 1998. The paper undertakes trend analysis, from a local government perspective, of key objective and subjective variables in the surveys. It identifies the domains that have the greatest impact on satisfaction with life, and reports the salient issues for black householders, who have the lowest level of life satisfaction.The Research Locale:  Durban, which is a port city on the east coast of South Africa, has a population of over 3 million people. The population is comprised of the following groups: Asian (20%), black (68%), coloured (3%) and white (9%). It is Africa’s busiest port and is South Africa’s second largest industrial hub. It provides key trade linkages to Johannesburg, which is South Africa’s largest industrial hub. The major economic sectors are manufacturing, tourism, finance and transport. The complex topography is intersected by 19 rivers that flow to 98 kms of coastline.     

Adolescents’ Sexual Initiation: The Interaction of Race/Ethnicity and Immigrant Status

This paper provides an in-depth examination of the joint effects of race/ethnicity and immigrant status on adolescents’ intercourse risk. We employ a sample of 4,535 females and 3,759 males from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS 88/94) who were followed for 6 years beginning in the eighth grade. We use discrete-time logistic regression models to estimate the associations of race/ethnicity and immigrant generational status with first intercourse hazard, and to evaluate the statistical interactions between race/ethnicity and immigrant status. Overall, Asian and Hispanic girls had lower and non-Hispanic Black girls had higher estimated risks relative to non-Hispanic White girls. Hispanic boys and White non-Hispanic boys had similar intercourse risks, but Black boys had higher and Asian boys lower relative risks. However, these patterns are contingent on immigrant status. Among girls, the protective effects of Asian or Hispanic identity are found only among second generation youth. Risk profiles for boys are more complex: being a third-plus generation Hispanic is associated with a higher risk while an Asian identity is associated with a lower risk only among first- and second-generation youth. These findings confirm the importance of accounting for the overlap between race/ethnicity and immigrant status in models of adolescent behavior. As the demographic diversity of the US population grows, researchers must include both race/ethnicity and immigrant status in their models of adolescent behavior.     

Missing time with parents: son preference among Asians in the USA

We study prevalence of son preference in families of East and South Asian origin living in the USA by investigating parental time investments in children using American Time Use Surveys. Estimates show that East and South Asian mothers spend an additional hour of quality time per day with their young (aged 0–2 years) sons than with young daughters; son preference in mothers’ time allocation declines as children get older. East and South Asian fathers’ time with young children is gender neutral. We find gender specialization in time with children aged 6–17 with fathers spending more time with sons and mothers spending more time with daughters.     

Son Preference and the Persistence of Culture: Evidence from South and East Asian Immigrants to Canada

Preference for sons over daughters, evident in China's and South Asia's male sex ratios, is commonly rationalized by poverty and the need for old‐age support. In this article we study South and East Asian immigrants to Canada, a group for whom the economic imperative to select sons is largely absent. Analyzing the 2001 and 2006 censuses, 20 percent samples, we find clear evidence of extensive sex selection in favor of boys at higher parities among South and East Asian immigrants unless they are Christian or Muslim. The latter finding accords with the explicit prohibition against (female) infanticide—traditionally the main sex‐selection method—in these religions. Our findings point to a strong cultural component to both the preference for sons and the willingness to resort to induced abortion based on sex.     

Latino,Asian, and black segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas: Are multiethnic metros different*

This study examines 1990 residential segregation levels and 1980–1990 changes in segregation for Latinos, Asians, and blacks in U.S. metropolitan areas. It also evaluates the effect of emerging multiethnic metropolitan area contexts for these segregation patterns. While black segregation levels are still well above those for Latinos and Asians, there is some trend toward convergence over the decade. More than half of the areas increased their Latino segregation levels over the 1980s, and almost three-fourths increased their Asian segregation levels. In contrast, black segregation levels decreased in 88%ofmetropolitan areas. Multiethnic metropolitan area context is shown to be important for internal segregation dynamics. Black segregation levels are lower, and were more likely to decline in multiethnic metropolitan areas and when other minority groups grew faster than blacks. Latino segregation was also more likely to decline in such areas, and declines in both Latino and Asian segregation were greater when other minority groups were growing. These findings point up the potential for greater mixed-race and mixed-ethnicity coresidence in the neighborhoods of multiethnic metropolitan areas.     

Mixed marriage among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom: Analysis of longitudinal data with missing information

This study investigates the formation of endogamous and exogamous marriages among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom. We apply event history analysis to data from the Understanding Society study and use multiple imputation to determine the type of marriage for individuals with missing information on the origin of their spouse. The analysis shows, first, significant differences among immigrants and their descendants in the likelihood of marrying within and outside their ethnic groups. While immigrants from European countries have relatively high exogamous marriage rates, South Asians exhibit a high likelihood of marrying a partner from their own ethnic group; Caribbean people hold an intermediate position. Second, the descendants of immigrants have lower endogamous and higher exogamous marriage rates than their parents; however, for some ethnic groups, particularly South Asians, the differences across generations are small, suggesting that changes in marriage patterns have been slower than expected.     

Is the fertility of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans converging to the U.S. norm?

This paper examines the process of assimilation in fertility behavior for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the US, using census-based estimates of recent fertility trends for the period 1965-1980. The authors examine fertility trends for all Asians and all Pacific Islanders, and separately for Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Guamanians, Hawaiians, and Samoans. The authors also examine, for each of these groups, differential fertility by urban-rural residence, educational attainment, nativity, and year of immigration if foreign-born. The fertility of most Asian and Pacific Islander groups in the US fell substantially between 1965 and 1980, as did the fertility of the US population as a whole. The fertility of most Asian groups was initially lower than that of most Pacific Islander groups. Most Asian groups experienced fertility trends not much different from those of the US as a whole. In contrast, most Pacific Islander groups experienced faster than average fertility decline, thereby showing some evidence of assimilation toward the US fertility norm. Differential fertility conformed to familiar patterns; urban fertility tended to be lower than rural fertility. The fertility of the more-educated tended to be lower than the fertility of the less-educated. The fertility of the native-born tended to be lower than the fertility of the foreign-born. The fertility of established migrants tended to be lower than the fertility of recent migrants. Fertility tended to fall not only for each racial group as a whole, but also for each socioeconomic category.     

The Unfolding Story of the Second Demographic Transition

This article presents a narrative of the unfolding of the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) since the theory was first formulated in 1986. The first part recapitulates the foundations of the theory, and documents the spread of the SDT to the point that it now covers most European populations. Also for Europe, it focuses on the relationship between the SDT and the growing heterogeneity in period fertility levels. It is shown that the current positive relationship between SDT and TFR levels is not a violation of the SDT theory, but the outcome of a “split correlation” with different sub‐narratives concerning the onset of fertility postponement and the degree of subsequent recuperation in two parts of Europe. The second part of the article addresses the issue of whether the SDT has spread or is currently spreading in industrialized Asian countries. Evidence gathered for Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan is presented. That evidence pertains to both the macro‐level (national trends in postponement of marriage and parenthood, rise of cohabitation) and the micro‐level (connections between individual values orientations and postponement of parenthood). Strong similarities are found with SDT patterns in Southern Europe, except for the fact that parenthood is still very rare among Asian cohabiting partners.