Sexual citizenship and Asian immigrants in post-marriage equality Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT To date, few studies on sexual citizenship have explored how gender, sexuality, and ethnicity intersect to influence individuals’ migration and post-migration experiences in post-marriage equality Australia. This article argues that a more expansive concept of sexual citizenship is required when exploring the lived experiences of Asian immigrants in contemporary Australia because racialised contexts present various barriers to social inclusion. We posit sexual citizenship as an intersectional, multi-dimensional, and multi-scalar notion that encompasses transgender citizenship. We explore sociocultural stereotypes and sexual racism to highlight the intersectionality between SOGIESC and ethnicity in cross-cultural international migration. We further argue that, as SOGIESC is an integral dimension of immigrants’ lives and cannot be analytically separated from migratory processes and experiences, the concept of sexual citizenship remains central to migration studies. Furthermore, that sexual citizenship research would benefit from further critical engagement with issues of race, gender, sexuality, and immigration status of Asian Australians.