THE PRODUCTION OF RACIALIZED MASCULINITIES IN CONTEMPORARY NORTH AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE RUTHANN LEE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIOLOGY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO AUGUST 2011 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your We Votre r&terence ISBN: 978-0-494-80574-9 Our file Notre rGfe'rence ISBN: 978-0-494-80574-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. ••I Canada ABSTRACT My dissertation troubles the continued valorization of normative, dominant, or hegemonic masculinities as white, male, Anglo, heterosexual, able-bodied, and middle- class. Through an interdisciplinary reading of cultural texts, I argue that newer representations of racialized masculinities—including racialized female and trans- masculinities—reflect an overall rise in the visibility of racialized people in globalized forms of media. Such representations are informed by competing and overlapping discourses that include enduring colonial myths, ideologies of multiculturalism and neoliberalism, debates concerning human rights, global migration and citizenship, as well as those generated by a range of seemingly disparate social movements—including gay and lesbian, labour, feminist, Third World, civil rights, Indigenous, and other nationalist movements. Correspondingly, I contend that cultural texts are sites of contestation and pleasure where the ambivalence and possibilities of political subjectivities are played out. By demonstrating how the interconnected processes of racial and gender formation are historically constituted in the context of transnational capitalism and settler state colonialism, my dissertation exposes the constructed nature of normative and hegemonic masculinities and reveals how masculinities can be re-made in alternative, contradictory, and (arguably) progressive ways. Selected works discussed include the films and videos Better Luck Tomorrow, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantdnamo Bay, Set It Off, The Aggressives, Stryker, the novel Soucouyant, and the artwork of Dominique Hui and Kent Monkman. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As agonizing as it sometimes felt, writing this dissertation has been a tremendous privilege. I have much love, gratitude, and respect for the many folks who motivated me to think and feel this project to completion. Huge thanks goes to my dissertation supervisor, Professor Deborah R. Brock. From the first day we met, I felt a heartfelt connection to her unassuming intellectual prowess and hilarious insights about the world of academia. Thank you, Debi, for inspiring me with your rigorous standards of scholarship and down-to-earth attitude. Your words of encouragement have always meant so much. My second reader, Professor Carmela Murdocca, is an exemplary and dedicated mentor. I was blessed to have her on my committee. Thank you, Carmela, for seriously engaging and helping me grow as a scholar. You are a gem. Very warm thanks to my third committee member, Professor David Murray, who graciously and generously stepped in at a late stage to offer new and productive insights. Your kindhearted vibe is truly appreciated, David. I had the exciting new opportunity to engage with additional faculty members at my defense, and I thank Dr. Ratiba Hadj-Moussa, Dr. Leslie Sanders, and Dr. Yasmin Jiwani for their time and valuable feedback on my dissertation. Thanks also to several mentors at York who were involved or influential at different stages of my project: Dr. Gamal Abdel-Shehid, Dr. Himani Bannerji, Dr. Warren Crichlow, Dr. Bonita Lawrence, and Dr. Bobby Noble: traces of their important insights are interwoven throughout my dissertation and I hope I have done them justice. v To my two dearest confidants, comrades, and colleagues: R. Cassandra Lord and Gulzar Raisa Charania—my chosen sisters: I'm incredibly fortunate and grateful for the gift of your friendship and what we continue to share and cultivate emotionally, politically, and intellectually. GRC 4-eva\ Numerous friends, colleagues, allies, mentors, and family members nourished my body, brain, and soul throughout this journey and I sing their praises: Kristen Hogan, Hon-Yee Choi, Vanessa Andres, Nicole Chung, Zahra Jacobs, Sabrina Hasham and Jamila-Sofia, Alissa Trotz, Dominique Hui, Vivian Wei, Alike Allspach, Shoshana Pollack, Merose Hwang, Luciana Ricciutelli, Janet Conway, Richard Fung, Coach E and Barbara from the Runners Shop, Audrey Tokiwa, Vanessa Rosa, Janice Sharon Joo, Helen Lee, Min Sook Lee, janet leiva romero, Teenah Edan, Rinaldo Walcott, Carrianne Leung, Eve Haque, The Toronto Women's Bookstore, and Mika. In Halifax: thanks to Marnina Gonick, Shirley Tillotson, and LiLynn Wan. Thanks to my bio-family for providing much inspiration and "fodder for analysis." Love in abundance to the Estrada family, especially G-ma and Uncle Norman, Stella Estrada and Uncle Henry, Gerry Estrada and Andrea Aitken, Nicky, Lola and the Vaaranpaas. They have showered me with incredible generosity over the years and it means more than I can ever express. Last, but never least, thanks to my (long-suffering!) partner, Anne-Marie Estrada: "can you imagine?" Anne-Marie: thank you for your enduring faith, encouragement, sensitivity, and for sharing your profound soul with me. I learn so much with you every day—especially what it means to love and give from the heart! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iv Acknowledgments v Table of Contents vii INTRODUCTION 1_ Stereotyping and the Problems of Essentialism 10 Complicating Identity and the Politics of Representation 15 Chapter Summary 24 CHAPTER 1 Theorizing Cultural Representations of Racialized Masculinities: Conceptual Framework and Research Methodologies 30 Introduction 30 Theoretical Context: Background of Research 31 Relational Analyses/Relationality 32 Anti-Racist Feminist Theory 34 Native Feminist Theory 36 Queer and Transgender Theory 37 What Do I Mean by Culture? 42 Theorizing Popular Culture 47 Gramsci and Cultural Hegemony 48 Historical Materialism 53 Foucault, Discourse and Subjectivization 59 Methodological Context: Multiperspectival Research 62 Production and the Political Economy of Culture 65 Textual Analysis and Cultural Critique 66 Audience Reception and Consumption Practices 67 Cultural Studies in a Transnational Frame: A Caveat 69 vn CHAPTER 2 No More Good Boys? Ambivalence, Desire, and the (Re)production of Asian American Masculinities in Better Luck Tomorrow and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantdnamo Bay 73 Introduction 73 Asian Boys in White Surburbia: Better Luck Tomorrow 79 Marketing Asian American Teen Archetypes 82 Bad Boys? Emerging Asian American Masculinities 84 Unearned Innocence and Ambivalent Desires 88 (Un)worthy Citizens: Harold & Kumar's Post-9/11 Masculinities 91 Heteronormative Patriots 93 Homoerotics and the Unspeakable 97 Conclusion: Moving Beyond Disciplinarity: Theorizing Asian American Masculinities as Relational 101 CHAPTER 3 (E)rac(e)ing Histories of Gender, Class, and Nation in Canada: A Relational Analysis of Indigenous and Diasporic Masculinities in Soucouyant and Stryker 104 Introduction 104 "My History is a Foreign Word:" (Re)imagining Diasporic Masculinities in Soucouyant 108 A Queer Feminist Diasporic Critique 112 Cultural Entanglements: Relationality, Indigeneity, and Diaspora 124 (Not) Our Home and Native Land: Stryker's Relational Masculinities 128 Racialized Masculinities and the Crossover Politics of Hip Hop 141 Conclusion: Native Feminisms and the Decolonization of Racialized Masculinities 145 CHAPTER 4 Post-Queer Feminist Diasporas? Thinking Through Intersectionality and the Production of Racialized Female Masculinities in Set It Off and The Aggressives 149 Introduction 149 (Re)setting the Terms: Defining Female and Trans