Abstract
Few studies have been conducted to understand the experiences of gay Asian American men, and even less consider the experiences of gay Chinese American men. Existing studies of the experiences of other gay ethnic minority men have identified conflicts of identity between their ethnic minority identity and sexual minority identity (Wilson & Yoshikawa, 2004). In order to explore the experiences of gay Chinese American men, a qualitative study using in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews was conducted with 14 gay Chinese American men in the state of California, specifically in the Southern California and San Francisco area. Data were analyzed using the inductive approach to content analysis (Creswell, 2007). The results of analysis showed that there were a number of areas of conflict in both the Chinese American community as well as the GLBT community. In regards to the Chinese American community, the difficulty often centered around the lack of knowledge of sexuality, as well as the stigma that exists around homosexuality, that is often found in the community as well as within the participants' own families. Within the GLBT community, these difficulties often centered on the belief that gay Chinese American men are often viewed as lacking masculinity, and are automatically placed in the submissive role in a relationship with a non-Asian partner. These findings help to fill a gap in the psychological literature on gay Chinese American men. Specifically, these results will aid in highlighting the unique experiences of gay Chinese American men.