Week 9_Joyce Vea_ASA114

Sinakhone Keodara, a plaintiff in the lawsuit against Grindr's because of racial discrimination Source: NBC News

In Daniel C. Tsang’s “Notes on Queer ‘N Asian”, he examines sexuality’s relationship with technology and technology’s relationship with race in the context of the 1990s in Orange County, California. Tsang particularly focuses on how his Asian American identity has influenced his experiences on a LGBTQIA+ dating site BBS, or Bulletin Board System; he writes that only about 8% of the site identify as Asian. In one particular instance, he notes that someone he knew had received more attention once he changed his race on the board to “Caucasian” instead of “Asian”.

Tsang writes that the BBS site is a highly transgressive medium/safe space that enables LGBTQIA+ young people of color to safely expore their sexual/romantic desires. It is even  a medium in which it is allowed for young gay men to “come out” anonymously, something that may be restricted in real life due to cultural and family traditions. Other barriers that the site allows to be broken is monogamy, interracial coupling, love, romance, and other topics that have traditionally been upheld in much more rigid terms.

I think this reading highlighted the key role that online dating and technology has played in Asian-American expression of sexuality and sexual exploration. Since this was in the 1990s, I am assuming that the website has since become defunct or evolved into something else, but I am aware of modern apps that allow for people to explore their sexuality and preferences. This apps has allowed people from all backgrounds to meet each other and establish (sexual) relationships and trysts much more easily.

Question: How does contemporary dating apps such as Grindr or Tinder affected sexuality and gender expression among young Asian Americans? How has this affected their self-perception and confidence in relation to their ethnic identity as Asians?

Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/asian-american-man-threatens-class-action-discrimination-suit-against-grindr-n890946

Tsang, Daniel C. "Notes on queer ‘n Asian virtual sex." Amerasia Journal 20.1 (1994): 117-128.