Neglected from Societal Narratives and Minoritised

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of Taiwanese, Hong Konger, Malaysian, Singaporean, and Vietnamese community members as invisible Asian communities in Canada before and after covid-19. Ten interviewees participated online in semi-structured interviews, and results showed that minoritised Asian communities had a different experience from hegemonic ‘Asian’ community members in Canada because of their ethnocultural identities. Society’s attempts to homogenise the experience of ‘Asians’ has rendered the interviewees’ ethnocultural experience invisible in Canadian society. These experiences stirred polarising sentiments among interviewees towards their ethnocultural identity. As covid-19 hit, daily anxieties surrounding both the pandemic and ethnic-related attacks came to the fore of minoritised Asian community members’ concerns. Community members have been ambivalent about the impact of organised solidarity movements against anti-Asian racism. Given the findings from this study, researchers should consider disaggregating broad categories like the ‘Asian’ category for future research as well as policymaking.