Gender Roles and Sexual Orientation in Asian and Arab American Communities

Introduction: Diversity Within Asian and Arab American Populations

Asian Americans comprise an extremely diverse population, representing dozens of different cultures and linguistic groups as well as every level of the socioeconomic ladder, making it impossible to generalize about sociological issues like gender roles. Arab Americans likewise come from varying socioeconomic, national, and religious backgrounds. Therefore, all analyses of gender roles and perceptions toward sexual orientation need to be cautious and respectful of intra-group diversity. Asian Americans include persons of South Asian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian descent. Some may be newly arrived immigrants whose gender roles and views toward sexual orientation most closely resemble those of their home country, whereas others may be second- or third-generation Americans who hold values more similar to those of mainstream American society. The same is true for Arab Americans: gender roles and attitudes toward sexual orientation will differ depending on degree of acculturation.

Generally speaking, Asian Americans and Arab Americans do tend to maintain patriarchal gender roles, with corresponding limitations on female access to political, financial, and social power. Both groups also hold heteronormative attitudes toward sexual orientation, with heterosexism diminishing with acculturation. Although patriarchal gender roles and heterosexism do predominate among these population cohorts, for both Asian Americans and Arab Americans, gender roles and attitudes toward sexual orientation are mediated by a host of additional variables.

Gender Role Conflict Among Asian Americans

East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian communities in the United States retain patriarchal norms and institutions, giving rise to patriarchal gender roles. However, immigration itself "disrupts traditional gender roles" in significant ways, sometimes leading to role conflict and strain within individuals and their communities (Xia, 2013, p. 710). Gender role strain is actually felt more acutely by Asian American men than by their female counterparts, due to the traditional pressure placed on men to fulfill fiscal obligations to the family and to occupy positions of power relative to women (Kim, O'Neil & Owen, 1996).

Interestingly, the study by Kim, O'Neil, and Owen (1996) did not find significant differences among Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, and Korean Americans regarding experiences of gender role conflict. Liu and Iwamoto (2006) also found that traditional East Asian cultural values rooted in Confucian societies dissolve upon immigration to the United States, precipitating crises such as gender role conflicts and related psychological distress — felt most acutely by Asian American men. For Asian Americans, then, constructs of masculinity can be far more problematic for mental and community health than constructed femininity. The pressure to align one's role in the community — including career path and social status — with traditional gender roles causes distress for males, particularly when their female partners surpass them in earnings or status.

Gender Roles in Arab American Communities

A similar pattern of gender role conflict has been observed among Arab Americans. For example, experiences of discrimination have led to greater psychological problems for Arab American men than for women (Assari & Lankarani, 2017). Yet in Arab American communities, gender roles are more constrained for women than for men. Gender norms within Muslim Arab communities can significantly restrict gender roles in the family and the broader community. New immigrants and those who closely adhere to traditional roles, values, norms, and institutions may exhibit more pronounced patriarchal gender roles, though these are mitigated by socioeconomic class and level of acculturation (Cainkar & Read, 2014).

Gender roles in Arab American communities can be either relatively fixed or fluid depending on the culture of origin. As with Asian Americans, Arab Americans do substantially revise gender roles and norms upon immigration to the United States, resulting in greater participation of women in the public sphere and increased access to economic and social capital. However, women in both Asian American and Arab American communities share with their counterparts from other cultural backgrounds a tendency toward concentration in the service sector and in unpaid domestic labor (Tzu-Chun Wu, n.d.). Gender roles remain strongly linked to socioeconomic class. Nonetheless, outmoded gender roles in both Asian American and Arab American communities have been steadily transforming to become more aligned with changes taking place in mainstream American society (Tzu-Chun Wu, n.d.).

Conclusion: Intersections of Gender, Sexuality, and Culture

Variables like generational cohort, level of acculturation or assimilation, and socioeconomic class will impact both gender roles and attitudes toward sexual orientation among Asian American and Arab American communities. These are both communities with patriarchal traditions and strongly entrenched social norms. Norms of masculinity tend to be more pervasive in shaping gender role expectations in Asian American communities, whereas Arab American communities tend to place greater emphasis on constraints on female behavior. Nevertheless, both Asian American and Arab American communities promote gender role differentiation that enhances male access to power.

Gender roles have changed significantly as a result of encounters with American society and in response to economic realities. Both Arab American and Asian American communities exhibit heterosexist and heteronormative orientations, revealing the intersections of sexuality, gender, and culture in identity construction. Any meaningful understanding of these communities must account for the full complexity of these interacting variables rather than relying on broad generalizations.

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