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Label Use and Mixed Race Asian Americans: Discourses, Performances, and Boundaries UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 8-1-2012 Label Use and Mixed Race Asian Americans: Discourses, Performances, and Boundaries Ellen Macdonald University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Asian American Studies Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Repository Citation Macdonald, Ellen, "Label Use and Mixed Race Asian Americans: Discourses, Performances, and Boundaries" (2012). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 1682. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/4332663 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LABEL USE AND MIXED RACE ASIAN AMERICANS: DISCOURSES, PERFORMANCES, AND BOUNDARIES By Ellen C. MacDonald A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Anthropology Department of Anthropology College of Liberal Arts The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2012 THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the thesis prepared under our supervision by Ellen MacDonald entitled Label Use and Mixed Race Asian Americans: Discourses, Performances, and Boundaries be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology Department of Anthropology Heidi Swank, Committee Chair Jiemm Bao, Committee Member Liam Frink, Committee Member Rainier Spencer, Graduate College Representative Ronald Smith, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate College August 2012 ii ABSTRACT A person’s identity is not fixed or stable, rather it changes over time and even from moment to moment (Nagel 1994). Throughout an individual’s life he or she constantly cites discourses that relate specific appearances, actions, and behaviors to certain labeled social categories and those discourses make an individual intelligible as an acknowledged type of person (Butler 1990). The self, or identity, that someone presents at any point in time is comprised of the different types of information, both verbal and nonverbal, that the person provides to his audience (Goffman 1959). Labels are one verbal source of information that can both reinforce and subvert the discourses associated with them. Mixed race Asian Americans have a variety of labels to choose from when asserting a racial, ethnic, or national identity to an audience. Through interviews with 21 mixed race Asian Americans (Asian-white, Asian-black, Asian-Hispanic, and Asian- multiple other races), my research examines what factors influence mixed race Asian Americans to choose to assert a particular label at any given moment in time. Since ethnic identity is a result of the interaction of both internal and external opinions (Nagel 1994), my research also investigates how other people select labels to assign to mixed race Asian Americans. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: THE ACT OF CHOOSING A LABEL TO PRESENT A SELF .............. 14 Labels and Why People Choose Them ......................................................................... 15 Performativity and Race ............................................................................................... 17 Agency and Performance: Choosing a Label to Present a Self .................................... 21 Negotiating Boundaries and Authenticity ..................................................................... 28 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3: METHODS ................................................................................................ 35 Participants .................................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER 4: LABEL USE ON FORMS ........................................................................ 42 Opting Out .................................................................................................................... 46 Personal Benefit ............................................................................................................ 47 Physical Appearance ..................................................................................................... 49 Others’ Expectations ..................................................................................................... 50 Personal Identification .................................................................................................. 52 Majority Percentage of Heritage ................................................................................... 53 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER 5: LABEL USE IN EVERYDAY LIFE ........................................................ 55 Creating Boundaries ..................................................................................................... 57 Setting ........................................................................................................................... 58 Appearance ................................................................................................................... 60 Manner .......................................................................................................................... 62 Bringing Together ‘The Front’ ..................................................................................... 64 The Audience ................................................................................................................ 65 Expediency .................................................................................................................... 72 Stance ............................................................................................................................ 73 Explanatory Value of Labels ........................................................................................ 75 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER 6: ASSIGNING LABELS .............................................................................. 78 Creating Boundaries ..................................................................................................... 79 iv Setting ........................................................................................................................... 80 Appearance ................................................................................................................... 81 Manner .......................................................................................................................... 82 Bringing Together ‘The Front’ ..................................................................................... 84 The Audience ................................................................................................................ 85 Explanatory Value of Labels ........................................................................................ 86 Negating Assigned Labels ............................................................................................ 88 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 89 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 91 APPENDIX A: PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW ............................................................ 102 APPENDIX B: IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW ..................................................................... 104 APPENDIX C: FREE LISTS OF LABELS ................................................................... 109 APPENDIX D: QUESTIONS ON RACE AND ETHNICITY: 1990-2010 CENSUSES ......................................................................................................................................... 111 1990 Census ................................................................................................................ 111 2000 Census ................................................................................................................ 112 2010 Census ................................................................................................................ 113 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 114 CURRICULUM VITA ................................................................................................... 119 v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION I was at school on a Saturday with a bunch of
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