Of race and romance: A qualitative investigation of queer Asian American men’s romantic relationships with queer Asian American men

Abstract

Past research has identified that internalized racism affects Asian Americans’ dating preferences; however, fewer studies have sought to examine Asian Americans who choose to date one another. For queer Asian American men, dating fellow Asian American men may represent a rejection of idealizing White men in romantic relational contexts. The present study thus utilized a grounded theory qualitative methodology with a strengths-based approach to understand the lived experiences of queer Asian American men who are currently in romantic relationships with fellow queer Asian American men. Queer Asian American men who are in romantic relationships with other queer Asian American men from across the United States (N = 10) participated in a semi-structured interview. Analyses identified a four-category empirical framework capturing queer Asian American men’s experiences being in a romantic relationship with fellow queer Asian American men. The core theme, Race and Romance, emphasized factors that motivate queer Asian American men to initiate and sustain romantic relationships with fellow queer Asian American men. The remaining four themes were (i) Factors contributing to dating an Asian American man, (ii) Benefits of dating a fellow queer Asian American man, (iii) Challenges of dating a fellow queer Asian American man, and (iv) Attitudes toward Asian/White interracial relationships. Participants provided insights into how queer Asian American men’s romantic relationships with one another serve as a source of liberation from White supremacy within the broader LGBT+ community.