Voices of Queer Asian Canadians : Identity and Belonging for the Queer Asian Diaspora in Vancouver, 2021
This paper explores notions of identity, community, and belonging through the perspective of thre... more This paper explores notions of identity, community, and belonging through the perspective of three queer Asian Canadians who are socially active members of the LGBTQ2+ (queer) community in Vancouver, Canada. Using a phenomenological approach, the lived experiences of the participants were analyzed. The common theme of both inclusion and exclusion in different “Asian” spaces was found. On one hand, participants felt exclusion in their ethnic Asian home communities due to rejection of their queer identity, and on the other hand, they found belonging in queer Asian spaces in the city. The study also revealed in participants feelings of “belonging to two worlds” as well as “being pushed and pulled”. The contradicting existent of being gay, and belonging to an Asian family culture that forbids gay identity, participants either brace the repercussions of coming out or live in secrecy in Vancouver’s thriving queer Asian scene. This ironic dichotomy points to the different “Asias” (Leung, 2017) that can be found in transpacific Vancouver and points to the complex and nuanced body politics of encompassing both sexual minority status and being an ethnic Asian in the city.
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Papers by Alger Liang