Below is an abstract on the ongoing research that I am doing about male Asian international students’ experiences in the US.
Inspired and motivated by the desire to seek higher education and brighter opportunities for the future, international students risk multiple challenges in attending university in the United States. Universities across the country have been able to address the more obvious hardships international students face, such as cultural differences and adjustment to general lifestyle, language barriers through ESL support, etc. However, an important challenge that is often overlooked or lack of is in addressing international student’s mental health.
In many Asian countries and cultures, the concept of “mental health” is still relatively new to these Asian societies. Also, due to cultural and communal structures, mental health is either seen as an unnecessary issue or highly stigmatized, thus it is often left unspoken and unaddressed in communities and households.
Due to the thousands of years of hierarchical and patriarchal systems, Asian males enjoy certain privileges that are different from females. An example of these privileges would be that Asian males are not expected to do household chores and meal prepping. In school and professional settings, males receive more attention, respect and have more authority then females. On the other hand, at a young age women have already learned to take care of themselves, care for others, and learn to navigate in the patriarchal system, and to be independent. Thus, compared to women, some men can be more sheltered and protected.
When male Asian international students come to study aboard at universities in the United States, on top of experiencing unfamiliarity as most international students do, male Asian international students might experience additional stress from loss of social status as men. This loss of social status can cause low self-esteem, confusion, self-doubt, a sense of loss of control, and mental and emotional stress.
Externally, male Asian international students receive overt racism and discrimination, subtler microaggressions, and stereotyping. Compared to their counterparts, due to sexism in the U.S., it’s well documented that Asian females receive more attention and are more sought after within the dominant white American culture (Asian Fetish). However, due to the negative media, political, and societal propaganda that can be dated back to the 19th century, Asian males are often seen as weak, less macho, unattractive, and unwanted Asians in general. These examples of unequal views and treatments of male Asian international students can further contribute to their mental and emotional stress.
To address male Asian international students’ mental health, here are the recommended steps for higher education professionals. First, they need to establish a trusting relationship with the students by asking them to share about their family and cultural experiences back at home. Second, they need to encourage the students to share about their present experience in the United States, such as how they are handling the different gender roles.
At first, most likely these students won’t share much or open up at all. This is probably because they are still processing their thoughts and feelings and lack the language capability to verbalize it. However, this is a crucial stage in continuing to build trusting relationships. When students are more willing to share their experiences, the higher education professionals can have the opportunity to assess and understand what the students’ mental health states are. From, there the higher education professional will have a better chance of introducing mental health concepts and support to these students. And, the students can be more open and find it acceptable to seek help, if needed.
If you are an international, I would love to hear about your experience.
Photo by Valentin Antonucci from Pexels
Recent Comments