Abstract
The study of multiracial people in the United States has typically focused on the experiences of Black–White racially-mixed individuals. In this article, we review and analyze the theoretical and evidence base for the White-leaning characterization of Asian–White multiracials. Historically, Asian Americans have been positioned as a “racial middle” group in relation to White and Black Americans. In line with this perceived racial position, Asian–White multiracials have been generally characterized as being more White than Black–White multiracials, as well as “leaning White” in terms of self-identification. While there is growing recognition of the variability of experiences among Black–White multiracials, the depiction of Asian multiracials as White-leaning—though based on limited empirical evidence—continues to be prominent, revealing the tendency to view Asian–White individuals through a “White racial frame.” The racial identifications and experiences of Asian–White multiracials are far more complex than such a view suggests. We argue for the need to advance studies on Asian mixed-race people to accurately capture their racial positioning within a system of White supremacy, including the diversity of their identifications, political views, and racialized experiences.
Highlights
Asian American Multiracials and Mixed-Race Studies. It is within these general debates about Asian Americans, “assimilation”, and their racial positioning within the U.S racial hierarchy, that we must consider the experience of
We believe that a main reason for this is the general invisibility of Asian ethnics in the historical discourses/debates about race within the Unites States, largely due to the assumption that Asian Americans experience the least racism of all minority groups (Chong 2021; Kim 2007); if this is the case, as the reasoning goes, the experiences of Asian ethnic’s mixed-race offspring—at least the Asian–White offspring—must not be problematic or worthy of attention
We have reviewed and analyzed the theoretical and empirical evidence base for the White-leaning characterization of Asian–White multiracials, which is problematic for various reasons
Summary
It is within these general debates about Asian Americans, “assimilation”, and their racial positioning within the U.S racial hierarchy, that we must consider the experience of. Rather than providing evidence of a color-blind society, the characterizations of disparate types of multiracial people has become critical to debates about persisting forms of racial denigration and inequality. Despite the fact that Asian Americans, since the 1970s, have had one of the highest rates of out-marriage of all racial minority groups (Qian and Lichter 2007; Pew Research Center 2017), most of the studies on mixed-race people have focused on Black–. We believe that a main reason for this is the general invisibility of Asian ethnics in the historical discourses/debates about race within the Unites States, largely due to the assumption that Asian Americans experience the least racism of all minority groups (Chong 2021; Kim 2007); if this is the case, as the reasoning goes, the experiences of Asian ethnic’s mixed-race offspring—at least the Asian–White offspring—must not be problematic or worthy of attention. Asian–White mixed-race and discuss evidence provided by recent literature that presents a more complicated picture of Asian–White multiracial experiences
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