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Once an Other, always an Other Contemporary discursive representations of the Asian Other in Aotearoa/New Zealand A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in East Asian Studies at The University of Waikato by DONNA MOANA CORMACK The University of Waikato 2007 ABSTRACT Developments in the theorising of representation and the constitutive nature of language have encouraged an increased scholarly interest in the discursive construction of social identities, relations, and realities. This includes a growing body of literature internationally that focuses on the construction of social groups positioned as Others. However, critical research in this area is more limited in the domestic setting. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, the contemporary construction of social identities is embedded within a specific socio-political and historical context, including a particular colonial context. This context is fundamental to the ways in which social relations between the white settler Self and various Other groups have been, and continue to be, constituted. In this thesis, I have explored the discursive representation of Asian identity in dominant institutional discourses in Aotearoa/New Zealand, with a particular focus on the construction of the Asian as Other. Using critical discourse analysis, contemporary newspaper and parliamentary texts were examined to identify content areas, discursive strategies, and lexical choices involved in the representation of the Asian Other by elite institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Through this process, several recurring manifestations of Asian Otherness were recognised, namely those of Asians as threat, Asian as impermanent, Asian as commodity, and Asian as victim. These representations of the Asian Other embody continuities and contradictions. They function to contribute to contemporary understandings ii and positionings of Asian individuals and collectives, to the ongoing construction of the Self in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and to the broader national narrative. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my supervisors for your confidence in me, your insights, and your patience. To the whānau at Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare – for all your support throughout my studies, for your patience, and for creating a critical space that was so important to allowing me to develop my thinking and writing. Thanks also to Jean and to Jennifer for the support and help to get the PhD finished. To my whānau and friends for all your support and help over the years. Special thanks to Julian for putting up with my books and papers all over the place, my complaining, and for providing me with a steady supply of caffeine. To mum and dad for all your help, support, and love (leading up to and during the PhD), for teaching me to love and value learning, and for mostly knowing when to not ask about how the PhD is going. To Chris and Laurel for your encouragement. Saffronn and Ngatai – for your support, friendship, and for keeping it real. Bridgette and Shaun – for your help, friendship, and for sustaining me through my PhD visits to Waikato. Wendy and Deno – for your support and for talking about books and Foucault with me. Mihi – for your confidence and help when I was freaking out. To all my other colleagues, friends and iv whānau who helped in different ways. To Scuba Steve for all the support, and by support I mean … This thesis is dedicated to my son, Te Manaia o Rotokautuku Cormack Apatu, who brings the whole endeavour into perspective. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................IV LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................IX CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................... 1 POSITIONING THE THESIS ..................................................................................................... 4 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS ........................................................................................................ 6 CONTRIBUTION OF THE THESIS ............................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER TWO: BACKGROUND .......................................................................................... 9 A COLONIAL PAST AND PRESENT ..................................................................................... 10 MAPPING ASIAN IMMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT......................................................... 13 ‘Chinamen’ and ‘hindoos’: early years of migration and settlement ................. 14 The ‘Asian invasion’: recent patterns of immigration and settlement ................. 22 NEGOTIATING IDENTITIES IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND............................................... 30 Social identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand: talking race, ethnicity, and nation... 31 Who is ‘Asian’?: definitions of Asian identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand ............. 37 SITUATING SOCIAL IDENTITIES AND RELATIONS ............................................................... 39 CHAPTER THREE: DEPICTING THE ASIAN OTHER................................................................ 41 REPRESENTING OTHERNESS IN ELITE INSTITUTIONS ........................................................... 42 Mass media and the portrayal of Other groups.................................................... 42 Political institutions and the portrayal of Other groups ......................................... 46 Mass media and political portrayals of the Other in Aotearoa/New Zealand.... 48 REPRESENTATION OF THE ‘ASIAN OTHER’ ........................................................................ 50 Representations of Asian identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand .............................. 54 SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER FOUR: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND CONCEPTS ........................................ 58 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.............................................................................................. 58 Social constructionist approaches to inquiry......................................................... 59 vi Poststructuralism and the social world ................................................................... 61 Critical whiteness..................................................................................................... 63 KEY THEORETICAL CONCEPTS .......................................................................................... 68 Considering language and discourse.................................................................... 68 Discourse, representation, and ideology............................................................... 71 Elites and elite institutions........................................................................................ 74 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM WITH A CRITICAL EYE......................................................... 77 CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH APPROACH ............................................................................ 79 APPROACHES TO DISCOURSE ANALYSIS......................................................................... 79 CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS....................................................................................... 81 METHOD............................................................................................................................. 85 Selection of the dataset ......................................................................................... 85 Analysis..................................................................................................................... 90 SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER SIX: MEDIA DISCOURSE..................................................................................... 97 CHARACTERISING MEDIA DISCOURSE ............................................................................ 98 Mass media in Aotearoa/New Zealand................................................................102 REPRESENTING ASIANS IN NEWSPAPER DISCOURSE ..................................................... 104 Representing Asians as foreign students: ‘changing the face’ of New Zealand? .................................................................................................................................106 Crashing cars and getting pregnant: Representing (ir)responsibility