“As an Asian”: Sticky Rice Politics as a Logic of Desirability in Queer Asian Women’s Sexual Field

Abstract

This paper explores how queer Asian American women negotiate their racial and political identities through racial dating preferences. I investigate a pattern of desire that has been consistently found in previous studies: Why are queer Asian American women more likely to prefer Asian women over white women? The analysis draws from 192 US-based online surveys and 22 interviews with queer Asian women ages 18–30. The participants were asked about their various preferences for female and (if applicable) male partners. I contribute to the racial dating preferences literature empirically by (1) extending the scope of analysis to queer Asian American women and (2) analyzing bisexuals’ preferences for both male and female partners. I contribute theoretically by (1) testing sexual fields theory against the gender white advantage hypothesis and (2) finding evidence to suggest that homonormativity, as a logic of desirability, is less operative in queer Asian American women’s sexual field. Rather, their sexual fields are defined by an alternative logic of desirability, “sticky rice” politics, that prioritizes dating Asian partners and avoiding white partners to resist and distance oneself from white supremacy. This was clear in Asian American respondents’ overwhelming preference for Asian American partners, even Asian American men, over white partners.