Asian/Asian American Feminist Youth-Led Coalition: Working at an Intersection of Asian and Female Identities

• In Event: What Is the "Truth" About Asian Americans? Interrogating Representations of Asian Americans in Literacies Research

Abstract

Objectives
In March 2020, when schools in the U.S. shut down, no one anticipated that COVID-19 would upend the lives of young students for years. But it would be worse for some young bodies as they encountered heightened anti-immigrant sentiment, anti-Asian racism, and xenophobia. It is against this backdrop that a group of high school students in a large northeastern city, who had either encountered racist slurs or had friends who had faced hateful comments, set up an online Asian feminist affinity club in the summer of 2020. The high school students drew upon their identities and experiences as female and Asian, East Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, or Asian American to form their high school’s first Asian Minority Feminist Club. This paper examines the literacy practices, both online and in-person, of this youth-led feminist coalition that advocated for representation in teaching and curricula for themselves and other minority communities in the school district.

Perspectives
This research draws upon critical feminist epistemologies (e.g., Mohanty, 2003; Moya, 2002) that view the body as a site of knowledge and centralize the individual experiences that emerge from how they are raced, gendered, classed or have been influenced by the larger societal systems. Further, this research engages with Campano et al.’s (2013) conception of coalition literacy practices—critical social language and literacy practices that members enact to work across cultural boundaries and social locations—as well as Vasudevan’s (2022) study of youth-led affinity spaces to understand the conditions that allow youth to come together around a shared passion.

Methods and Data
In this participatory “connective” ethnography—a methodological approach to study internet-related and offline literacy practices and sites (Leander, 2008)—I combined interviews and focus groups with different digital methods that allowed us to talk together about the participants’ experiences and positionalities. Video Cued Elicitation (VCE) was used to (de)construct participants’ interactions with club members in-person and online through the posts shared on the group’s social media handles. Data included field notes, interview transcripts, audio/video recordings of researchers’ discussions, screen capture videos, and VCE transcripts.

Results and Significance
This club, set up 2 years ago, has almost 150 members now. In their first call, they shared that “the goal of this club is to make sure everyone feels heard and included in discussions, a safe space where students will get to share the experiences of being a woman and Asian in the United States.” They continue to build on this just as they expand what it means to be Asian in the U.S and offer a unique third space for identity and expression to other youth and themselves (Gutiérrez, 2008). These coalitions are unique because these are created by youth and not created for youth; youth are the knowers in this space. Further, this study offers literacy educators and researchers powerful insights into the unique ways youth-led coalitions are formed within schools among students and offer transformational educational experiences.

Author

• Rabani Garg, University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author