Resonant Texts And Critical Dialogue:
Interrogating Cultures, Identities & Power Relations
With Young Asian Women In Toronto
Josephine Pui-Hing Wong, RN, PhD
OHTN-CIHR New Investigator
Ryerson University
CQ Speaker Series
Oct 30, 2013
• Heartfelt appreciation to the 14 young women who took
part in this study.
• Dean Usha George - Seed grant, Faculty of Community
Services, Ryerson University
• Research Associate/Team Members:
Vanessa Abraham, Krisel Abulencia, Chandni
Chandrashekhar, Jennifer Ho, Chi Lily Yeung & Jessica
Whalen
2
Work in Progress
Presentation focuses on:
(1) resonant texts as a method to study identity
construction;
(2) sequential group interviews to facilitate critical
reflection and dialogue for change; and
(3) peer research associates as a strategy to
facilitate collective empowerment in research.
3
Background
• East, Southeast, and South Asians are the fastest
growing minority groups in Canada.
• There are few research on the sexual health of
Asian women.
• Existing literature tends to:
– portray Asian women as less sexually active
– perpetuate stereotypes of Asian women as “model
minority” or embodiment of “sexual conservatism”, and
– dismiss the need for focused sexuality research about
Asian women
4
What do we know?
The limited literature shows that Asian women tend to
have:
• lower levels of knowledge about HIV; and
• lower rates in using sexual health services.
The limited literature also suggests that:
• “mainstream acculturation” is associated with sexual
permissiveness
• “heritage acculturation” is associated with sexual
conservatism.
This dichotomous description undermines the
complexities of human sexuality and reinforces
stereotypical ideas about “culture” and “identity”.
5
Study Purpose
To explore how young Asian women make sense of
their gender and cultural identities, and how their
identity construction affects their emotional and sexual
health. Specifically, we explored:
(a) the participants’ growing up (acculturation) experiences;
(b) how they made sense of and responded to the dominant
discourses on femininities and sexualities;
(c) how they actively engaged in reinforcing and/or disrupting
hegemonic gendered and dominant cultural discourses; and
(d) their resilience as a protective factor of their emotional and
sexual health.
6
Participation Criteria
Self-identification of being:
• a young woman of Asian background;
• between the ages of 18-23;
• born in Canada or have lived in Canada for at least
7 years;
• were in a romantic or sexual relationship(s) with
(a) guy(s).
7
Theoretical Approach
Bourdieu’s theory of practice (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 101)
[(habitus) (capital)] + field = practice
• Habitus: tastes, aspirations, and dispositions
(bodily & psychological) shaped by structural
conditions
• Capital: economic, cultural, and symbolic capital
(Bourdieu, 1986)
• Field: social space of power relations and
structure of resource distribution (Bourdieu,
2000)
8
Applying Bourdieu’s Theory for
Intersectional Analysis: Possibilities
• Identity construction
– Habitus: early socialization; peer socialization
– Distinction vs. Collectivity
• Situational identities
– Improvisation: family vs. work/school/other social
space
– Structural constraints
• Symbolic representation
– Field of power: “Canadian” identity
– Intersecting fields: gender, culture, ethnicity, etc.
9
Methods
• an arts-informed participatory approach
that integrated the use of:
– resonant texts;
– critical reflection / reflexivity
– critical dialogue
10
Data Collection
Session #1: demographic survey + Self
identity acculturation scale + resonant text
+ sharing on growing up experiences
specific to gender & culture
Session #2: sexual health survey +
Hyper-femininity scale + resonant text +
dialogue on sexuality and sexual
practices
Session #3: resonant texts of their vision
an equitable world + dialogue on social
transformation + collective resonant texts
11
Participants
A total of 14 young Asian women (aged 18-23) took part
in the study:
• East Asian (n=5);
• Southeast Asian (n=3);
• South Asian (n=6)
Group
Group
Group
Individual
Interview #1 Interview #2 Interview #3 Interviews
n=14
n=12
n=10
n=9
One participant who was not able to join Group Interview
#3 took part in a follow-up individual interview. Twelve
participants expressed interest in staying connected to the
CIV Study.
12
“Resonance”
• A term frequently used in qualitative research
• However, the use is mostly limited to the context of
knowledge dissemination; for example:
– “capacity of a study and its findings to produce
sympathetic resonance in its readers.” (EsbjornHargens & Anderson, 2006; p. 324)
– Resonance as a marker of qualitative research quality
(Tracy, 2013)
– “wider resonance” as a form or generalizability
(Silverman, 2005, p. 140)
13
“Resonance”
Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines
‘resonance’ as:
• the quality of a sound that stays loud, clear, and
deep for a long time
• a quality that makes something personally
meaningful or important to someone
• a sound or vibration produced in one object that
is caused by the sound or vibration produced in
another
14
15
16
Resonant Texts
• In the context of this study, resonant texts are
objects of expression created by the participants, in
a format of their choice, to represent their
perspectives on gender, cultural identities, and
sexualities, or what resonated with their lived
experiences.
• It was also a tool to facilitate ‘resonance’ among the
participants:
– to evoke emotions of empathy, connections, and
resistance
– to promote critical reflection and dialogue
17
Why Resonant Texts?
The use of resonant texts:
• promotes socially engaged research practice;
• disrupts the conventional didactic data collection
method in which the participants’ narratives are
restricted by the questions pose by the researcher;
• opens up a space for self-expression beyond the sole
use of written or spoken language;
• provides opportunities for participants to express
their ideas and present their experiences in aesthetic
forms that tap into their multiple ways of knowing.
18
Resonant Texts: Self-identity
19
Distinction: Bodily Capital
(22, Korean)
• “The yellow faced thing is me. . . I went
to XX Public School which is an
affluent, white school. I was the only
person of colour growing up there.
When I was in grade 6 all my friends
got to dye their hair different colours
but they had lighter hair. They were
mostly blondes or brunettes so if they
died their hair green or blue, it would
show up. I wanted blue streaks in my
hair because that's what Wonder
Woman has. But it didn't really work
out. It only went blue for a day and then
it turned my bathtub blue. (Laughter.)
So it represents my disadvantaged
colour hair and what I can do with it.” 20
Tension:
Gender Expectation on Self-Identity
I made an arm to represent
that I am strong; the muscle
and the multi-color hand
show that I am accepting of
everybody; and the pink
lining is like - sometimes I
wish I am a little more
feminine. I am out there a
lot and sometimes I am
perceived to be masculine…
(19, Pakistani)
21
Doxa & Masculine Domination
Three words
associated with
“sexuality”: Sex,
Feminine, Flirting
“Being feminine
makes you flirt,
and that leads to
sex (laughed); if
you are feminine,
you attract the
opposite sex more,
then it leads to
more stuff.”
(19, Pakistani)
Ideal partner - “I like a
little bit of mystery in a
man; he is strong and
silent, but when he is with
me, he opens up, like he’s
my secret. He has to be
tall, because I am quite
tall. He has to be strong,
because I am quite
strong. The norms that
influenced me when I was
growing up, the man has
to be taller and stronger,
and that’s what I feel I am
attracted to.”
22
Habitus: Family vs. Peer Socialization
“The black thing is the wall, and
the blue thing is me. I have
always been known as a shy
person, so it’s like I am trying to
get over the wall to get to my
outgoing side.”
“The whole cultural thing, like not
being able to be in an interracial
relationship. It is actually forbidden
in our culture, but among my
group of friends, because they’re
multicultural kind of, so they were
allowed to be in relationships and
things.” (23, South Asian)
23
Habitus, Capital & Fields
“The cage symbolizes all the [family and cultural] expectations on
me… I am supposed to be this, or I am supposed to do this. I have
never tried to kind of find myself or who I am. I just kept on listening
24
to all these things in my head.”
(22, Filipino)
Habitus & Field: Potential Ruptures
I'm a person of extremes. I'll be
extremely outgoing one day and then the
next day be completely different . . . That
really bothered me for a while because I
felt like I had no identity as a person but I
think that's the best way for me to slowly
build myself and find who I am… (21,
Korean)
It is difficult to confine myself to one
thing. The frame represents the
feelings of boxed in… The happy face
and the heart represent that regardless
of the chaos in my life, I surround
myself with loved ones and stuff to
make the best out of life. (23, Sri
Lankan)
25
A poem: You are a bird (19, Filipino)
They say birds of a feather
Flock together, but
You are the odd bird out.
With your wild colours
And strange mannerisms
At first you fluster amongst
A strange new flock.
You are encouraged to play
With the other birds all you want—
And so, you do.
Soon you prefer being with the others
Than your very own kind.
You’ve learned to adopt their bird calls
And even mating rituals.
Yes, you definitely feel like one of
them.
Despite this, there is a lacking
disconnect
That cannot entirely be named.
For you can fly like the others
And chirp like the others
And, in a sense, have been adopted by
the flock.
But yet, you cannot entirely erase the
fact
That although you could galavant
With the new birds any time you liked,
You still had to return to your cage at
night
To join your brightly colored family.
For after all, you are still a bird of a
different feather
And you can never hide your true
colors.
26
Dialogue: Subjectivity? Reflexivity?
Recognition of New Fields?
“Last week we talked a lot about
how society in general tries to
mold us into something. I do not
feel I fit into this cookie cutting
thing; it’s not me. So, literally I
am that person on the cookie
dough.
“It’s funny because I criticize and complain about [inequity] a lot, but I
have never thought about finding the solution; there’s lots for us to think
about” (22, Korean).
27
Cultures, Identities & Sexualities:
Complexities
Acculturation:
mainstream
vs. heritage
Growing up
experiences –
family
contexts
Social class &
neighbourhood
Sexual
practices
Hegemonic
gender &
sexual
expectations
28
Collective Resonant Texts
“I started off this path because I feel like that’s what the study has been; but it also feels
like it’s leading to something more… the people are us and the carrot trees symbolize
29
the energy and life in us…”
(21, Korean, Group 1)
Collective Resonant Texts
“Ten very different people – black brown, white, female, male, big, fat,
small, gay, or straight... The ultimate idea is to accept everybody…
There’s a connection between all of us.” (19, Pakistani, Group 3) 30
Research As Processes & Outcomes
• Participants’ desire to engage in follow-up
activities
– To take part in the next phase of CIV
– To volunteer for Asian community agencies
• Asian nursing students doing research
with Asian young women
– Reflexivity about assumptions
– Exploration of self-identity
– Applying learning to real live situations
31
RAs: Resonance
RA#3: Many of the participants’ domestic challenges and life
experiences were like my own, and I felt a vast sense of
connectedness to each participant.
RA#3: The first [tree] is just sprouting
and that represents our initial
perceptions or stereotypes about what
we think the lives of Asian young women
consisted of … the bigger tree is the
fuller experience… the different colours
represent different experiences and that
everyone’s experience even of the same
context is a little obscured from the
previous or one person.
32
RAs: Resonance
RA#2: The colours are
intertwined because of all
the different assumptions
that I have, where I come
from, my beliefs and values,
it’s from different
experiences, different
backgrounds and the same
goes for the participants …
I kind of spread all the
particles here because this
is like us unwinding our own
values.
33
References
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste (R. Nice,
Trans.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of
theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York:
Greenwood Press.
Bourdieu, P. (2000). Pascalian meditations (R. Nice, Trans.). Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press.
Esbjorn-Hargens, V., & Anderson, R. (2006). Intuitive Inquiry: An exploration of
embodiment among contemporary female mystics. In C. T. Fischer (Ed.),
Qualitative Research Methods for Psychologists: Introduction through empirical
studies (pp. 301-330). Burlington, MA: Elsevier.
Tracy, S. J. (2013). Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting evidence, crafting
analysis, communicating impact. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Silverman, D. (2005). Doing qualitative research: a practical handbook. LondonThousand Oaks-New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
34