Reading Responses WEEK 7

Reading Response Week 7: #1
Pg. 644 #1

In this essay Han explains the difficulties gay Asian men face in comparison to white gay men. Because society and the media have made the Asian heritage into a feminine, meek appearance, Asian men, especially gay Asian men, find themselves having to deal with stereotypes that the gay white male has surpassed. Also due to this stereotype, Asian men have often been excluded from ‘masculine’ positions in the workforce, and other leadership positions. Gay Asian men are often pressured to conceal their sexuality because of family pressures, where families would reject them if it came out that they were gay. This pressure, in addition to the already existent negativity radiating from general society, makes for two marginalization’s of gay Asian men.
The picture of gay white men has recently morphed into a macho, chiseled appearance. Asian gay men then feel an added pressure in trying to obtain this look too, but have trouble getting past the feminine, inferior stereotype that is placed on them. Gay Asian men often have difficulty finding partners, and when they do they have been shown to be the subordinate person in the relationship, taking the role of the ‘woman’ perhaps.
Largely because of already placed racism and stereotypism towards Asian Americans, gay Asian males are in a particularly stressful position. They do not fit into the “macho-stud” category that white gay males do, and have the added pressure of familial pressures and expectations.

Reading Response Week 7 #2
Pg. 755 #1

Marquez brings up a very real issue that many can relate to. When a different language is being spoken around them, one may feel annoyed that they cannot understand the conversation. Typical American behavior seems to be very nosy- this can be seen in the way we are obsessed with any drama in anyone’s lives, especially celebrities. When a conversation is happening that we cannot understand, it can be perturbing. It also conjures up feelings that they are talking about them, which can definitely be uncomfortable. Marquez mentions this in her essay. She explains that her and members of her family are going to talk in Spanish because it’s their right, it’s a part of their culture, and America is home to many different cultures, and many different languages. She says that speaking in their native tongue shows that they aren’t ashamed of who they are and where they came from.

Marquez makes it a point to comfort those who may not like when she and her parents speak Spanish around them. She understands that English is vital to success in America, she is not purposefully not using it to criticize or rebel against it. It is just a within-her-family thing, and solely for maintaining the rich tradition and culture of her Cuban roots. At the end, her tone turns very serious when she explains that she would never put someone she knew who just knew English in an uncomfortable position by speaking in Spanish around them.

Reading Response week 7 # 3
Pg. 908 #2

The U.S. Government likely had some issues with discrimination, harassment, or searching of Muslim people before this add came out. The informational poster has the purpose to educate those who don’t know about the Muslim culture, and especially to make sure people don’t automatically think these individuals have something to do with terrorism because of their attire. The images supplement the text by showing that these are normal people, they’re young and old, and there’s different ways Muslims utilize the head scarf. The people in the pictures are all gentle looking people, with smiles on their faces. This kind of gives people the comfort of knowing that Muslims are simply humans with a different way of dressing. If there were only the verbal descriptions, they wouldn’t be as effective as having the pictures. People respond to seeing pictures more than they do to simply a big paragraph of text, because the pictures draw the attention and itiate the curiosity to read the accompanying text. The credit at the bottom about the source of some of the pictures being from the Arab Anti Discrimination Committee doesn’t appear to be detrimental to the credibility of the ad. It is obvious that this ad could be classified as a type of anti – discrimination add, or at least an awareness add, so the fact that they retrieved some of the images from the Arab Anti Discrimination Committee doesn’t really ignite any suspicions about the integrity of the ad.