Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites?

MIA TUAN is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Oregon.

TuanÆs book is a major contribution to Asian American studies because she lets her respondents speak. . . . Her thesis is clear: that no matter where Asian Americans go they cannot hide from their race and ethnicity. In addition, Tuan provides a picture to how a pan-ethnic Asian American cultural experience emerges not from a common cultural tradition, but through a common experience of racialization. TuanÆs book is essential reading for those that conduct research and teach on the experiences of American born Asians. (Journal of Asian American Studies) Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites? informs the reader of the racialized ethnic experiences as felt and lived by third-plus-generation Chinese and Japanese Americans and California. To question the plethora of æethnic optionsÆ for Asian Americans, Tuan opens the book with one of the most alarming examplesùthe Ito DÆAmato incidentùthat blatantly denigrates Americans of Asian descent as æforeigners.Æ. . . the analytical contrast between modernizers and traditionalists provides a consistent integrating theme that enhances the bookÆs usefulness in advanced undergraduate or graduate courses. (Social Forces) Mia Tuan investigates the role of ethnicity in the lives of later-generation Asian Americans. As the title suggests, the study engages the debate over the applicability of the white ethnic assimilation paradigm in addressing the experiences of racialized ethnic minorities. Tuan concludes that Asian Americans can choose the cultural practices and values they wish to maintain in their private lives but cannot escape identification in ethnic and racial terms when in public. . . . TuanÆs study allows later-generation Asian Americans to convey their experiences. Their stories and opinions provide an understanding of the changes occurring in one segment of contemporary Asian America. (Journal of American Ethnic History) A compelling account of the ongoing acculturation of West Coast Asian Americans and their continuing experience of racism. Mia Tuan uses her sociological skills to paint a disturbing portrait of the hidden and not-so-hidden injuries of race suffered by Californians who have been here form many generations, as well as an early warning of what the future might hold for some of our newest immigrants. - Herbert Gans (Roberts S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University) This well-written book advances our understanding of the changing and situational construction of American and ethnic identities by exploring the ways in which multigenerational Asian Americans constitute, express, and transform their identities. - Yen Le Espiritu (Author of Asian American Women and Men: Labor, Laws, and Love)

• Tables and Figures Acknowledgments"The Ethnic Game"1 Introduction2 Racialized Ethnics Compared to White Ethnics: Visiting the Theoretical Debates3 Cars, Girls, and Baseball--but with an Asian Twist: Growing Up Asian Ethnic4 "I knew that I was different": Childhood Neighborhood Influences5 "Practicality always steps in": The Continuing Erosion of Cultural Traditions in Adulthood6 "I'm an American with a Japanese look": Emerging Identities and Practices7 Conclusion: The Racialized Ethnic ExperienceAppendix A. Interview QuestionnaireAppendix B. List of ResponsibilitiesNotesBibliographyIndex