Focus Groups with Asian youth
In 2021, we conducted focus groups with 36 Asian youth, age 12 to 25, about their experience of anti-Asian racism, thoughts and impact.
Our findings reveal that anti-Asian racism has a “sneaky” but ubiquitous presence in the daily lives of youth. Many youth recalled experiences with AAR as early as in elementary school, such as peers mocking their facial features, languages and food. Youth also reported experiences of racism related to COVID-19, such as being shouted at on the street or hearing racist remarks in schools or other public settings.
Most youth remarked feeling helpless and unequipped to respond to racism. Many resorted to internalizing and invalidating personal experiences in the past, which culminated in a sense of confusion, self-doubt and voicelessness. They also felt that AAR is challenging to discuss, both within the community and at home.
Findings from the group involve a call for more educational and community resources catering to the Asian community, as well as strategies for Asian parents to speak about racism at home.
We would like to thank Clover Chen for designing this infographic.
Citation
My Script My Voice. (2023). What do Asian youth think about anti-Asian racism?
University of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
https://www.myscriptmyvoice.com/focus-groups
Focus Groups with Asian parents
A continuation of our study with Youth, we turned to Asian-Canadian parents to understand whether and how they communicate with their children on matters related to race and anti-Asian racism (AAR).
In Spring of 2022, we interviewed 56 Chinese Canadian parents from different language groups, including Mandarin, Cantonese, English, across Canada. All parents have at least one child
who was younger than 18.
Our conversations revealed that most parents do not discuss race or AAR with their children at home. Many parents expressed that AAR or racism is too challenging a topic to discuss, and felt that schools will provide sufficient race education for their children. Some parents associate the word ‘racism’ with blatant and violent behavior and finds it difficult to identify less overt forms of racism, such as microaggression.
While some parents do discuss racism, they often adopt a color-blind approach, such as telling their children that discrimination is wrong and that they should always treat everyone as equals. Many parents also normalize the existence of AAR, stating that it is ‘inevitable’, ‘part of life’.
Our analysis also noted a difference between first-generation and later-generation parents. Many first-generation parents attributed their experience of AAR to language and cultural differences, and believe that their children, many of whom are born and raised in Canada, will not experience racism as they speak English or French as their first language, thus rendering discussion of racism unnecessary.
Later-generation parents, who were born, or spent their formative years in Canada, may better relate to their children’s experiences. However, they also find discussing racism at home challenging without a ‘helpful model’ to follow, as their own parents did not discuss racism with them growing up.
Despite the manifold findings, parents called for similar strategies and resources:
-
Developmentally Appropriate resources to guide conversations with their children from different age groups,
-
Educational and community resources specific to Asian communities and,
-
Strengthen school curriculum and education on Anti-Asian racism.
The findings from the study inspired the ongoing APPA project: the Community-University partnership project that aims promote capacity-building in Asian parents, and bring together parents and community service providers to address anti-Asian racism.
We would like to thank Clover Chen for designing this infographic.
Citation
My Script My Voice. (2023). What do Asian parents think about anti-Asian racism?
University of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
https://www.myscriptmyvoice.com/focus-groups