Anti-Asian racism and COVID-19 – which is the real virus? A study into anti-Asian racism in tourism and the role of COVID19.
Author: Liliana Yang
1 Commentries
Abstract:
The topic of this paper is related to how anti-Asian racism exists in tourism and what this means those of Asian ancestry, specifically those of East and South-East Asian ancestry. The aim is to also incorporate COVID19 and assess how racism has been fuelled as a result of the pandemic and what this could further mean for Asian tourists and those of Asian ancestry. The first and main intention of this paper is to raise awareness as it is a topic that is often passed over or it is a topic many people feel uncomfortable talking about. It is also a topic that lacks research and knowledge.
Keywords: racism, anti-Chinese racism, anti-Asian racism, virus, COVID19
Anti-Asian racism has always existed. However, it is often overlooked or downplayed because Asians are seen as the ‘model minority’ and are often perceived to be the ‘quiet’ type (Hsu, 2015). Not only is this stereotype false but it also masks the sacrifices many Asians had to give up to migrate to a new country for a ‘better life’ and better opportunities. Another stereotype many Asians regularly face is that they are often labelled ‘Chinese’ because ‘all Asians look the same’. Despite it being so prevalent in countries such as the U.S., the U.K. Canada, Australia, France and more, the topic remains highly silent in academia even though there has been, and still are, many opportunities to explore the role of racial discrimination in tourism and how this impacts the lived experience of Asian travellers. Whilst there are many studies concerning the lived experiences of western tourists in Asian countries, there is little study regarding the lived experiences of Asian tourists in general. Asian travellers commonly face the risk of racial encounters and discrimination because of their physical appearance and heritage. Asian travellers are often challenged by racialised risks in a tourism space, whilst female Asian travellers are challenged by the additional gendered risks as the tourism space is said to privilege white travellers. Anti-Asian racism has been violently fuelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of western media channels inappropriately labelling the virus by race. The popular names for the virus included ‘the Chinese Flu’ or the ‘Wuhan virus’. The consequences of this included increase discrimination and harassment towards those of Asian descent, increase violent attacks on Asian elderlies, vandalism of Asian properties, and more. In the U.S. alone, these are occurring on a daily basis. The current fears surrounding Asian communities worldwide is not the fear of COVID19 virus but the fear of racial encounters. Racism is like a virus. It is active, able to mutate, lurks in waiting, not knowing when it will attack, and contagious unless treated. Except, unlike COVID-19, racism cannot be treated with a vaccine but through education and awareness, which is the aim of this paper – to raise awareness and lessen the gap in academia. Yu and Hyun (2021) recognised that old fashion, traditional racism was based on a “belief system by which Black people should be discriminated against but white people are superior”. Modern day racism has mutated to be something that is “more subtle, clever, and subversive” (Yu and Hyun, 2021).
The results of the interview showed the participant, Lew, has faced subtle racial encounters in the past and also anticipates for racial encounters on a regular basis. It is also something she, as well as many others of Asian descent, have become accustomed to. Racial encounters is not something minorities should have to anticipate on a regular basis as racial discrimination represents a violation of human rights (Wen et al., 2020). In an interconnected world with transcultural societies, where it is almost impossible to travel without meeting individuals of another race, a ‘racial hierarchy’ should no longer exist. In the tourism space, whilst the participant has never experienced face to face confrontation, subtle discrimination and the odd side eyeing was often experienced which regularly resulted in an uncomfortable experience. The participant also revealed how her fear of racism has been intensified as a result of misleading names such as ‘the Chinese virus’ or ‘the Wuhan virus’. The participant had feared that they would be associated with causing and spreading the virus despite not having visited China. As well as worrying for herself, the participant also worried for family members who do not speak fluent English and who are not able to defend themselves. Lew additionally agreed that racism was a virus as racism, too, is passed on from one another and also has the potential to kill as it is a negative issue for mental health. In spite of this study, there remains a gap in knowledge regarding how racism affects the lived experience of Asian travellers and so, whilst this study lays the groundwork, there is a definite need for further research.
Yu, M. and Hyun, S.S. (2021) Development of modern racism scale in global airlines: a study of Asian female flight attendants. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2688. Available from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2688/pdf [accessed 18 May 2021]
Hsu, M.Y. (2015) The Good Immigrants: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press.
Wen, J., Aston, J., Liu, X. and Ying, T. (2020) Effects of Misleading Media Coverage on Public Health Crisis: A Case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak in China. Anatolia, 31(2), 331-336. Available from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13032917.2020.1730621?casa_token=t58OHDAqpkIAAAAA:kAokpQNcpY_K0ck5UYPrHsapZGzh6ibAIDCg4abp4MwtRY6wwE85S2iotoEsoc927VebVW99GxE [accessed 25 May 2021]
The topic of this paper is related to how anti-Asian racism exists in tourism and what this means those of Asian ancestry, specifically those of East and South-East Asian ancestry. The aim is to also incorporate COVID19 and assess how racism has been fuelled as a result of the pandemic and what this could further mean for Asian tourists and those of Asian ancestry. The first and main intention of this paper is to raise awareness as it is a topic that is often passed over or it is a topic many people feel uncomfortable talking about. It is also a topic that lacks research and knowledge.
Keywords: racism, anti-Chinese racism, anti-Asian racism, virus, COVID19
Anti-Asian racism has always existed. However, it is often overlooked or downplayed because Asians are seen as the ‘model minority’ and are often perceived to be the ‘quiet’ type (Hsu, 2015). Not only is this stereotype false but it also masks the sacrifices many Asians had to give up to migrate to a new country for a ‘better life’ and better opportunities. Another stereotype many Asians regularly face is that they are often labelled ‘Chinese’ because ‘all Asians look the same’. Despite it being so prevalent in countries such as the U.S., the U.K. Canada, Australia, France and more, the topic remains highly silent in academia even though there has been, and still are, many opportunities to explore the role of racial discrimination in tourism and how this impacts the lived experience of Asian travellers. Whilst there are many studies concerning the lived experiences of western tourists in Asian countries, there is little study regarding the lived experiences of Asian tourists in general. Asian travellers commonly face the risk of racial encounters and discrimination because of their physical appearance and heritage. Asian travellers are often challenged by racialised risks in a tourism space, whilst female Asian travellers are challenged by the additional gendered risks as the tourism space is said to privilege white travellers. Anti-Asian racism has been violently fuelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of western media channels inappropriately labelling the virus by race. The popular names for the virus included ‘the Chinese Flu’ or the ‘Wuhan virus’. The consequences of this included increase discrimination and harassment towards those of Asian descent, increase violent attacks on Asian elderlies, vandalism of Asian properties, and more. In the U.S. alone, these are occurring on a daily basis. The current fears surrounding Asian communities worldwide is not the fear of COVID19 virus but the fear of racial encounters. Racism is like a virus. It is active, able to mutate, lurks in waiting, not knowing when it will attack, and contagious unless treated. Except, unlike COVID-19, racism cannot be treated with a vaccine but through education and awareness, which is the aim of this paper – to raise awareness and lessen the gap in academia. Yu and Hyun (2021) recognised that old fashion, traditional racism was based on a “belief system by which Black people should be discriminated against but white people are superior”. Modern day racism has mutated to be something that is “more subtle, clever, and subversive” (Yu and Hyun, 2021).
The results of the interview showed the participant, Lew, has faced subtle racial encounters in the past and also anticipates for racial encounters on a regular basis. It is also something she, as well as many others of Asian descent, have become accustomed to. Racial encounters is not something minorities should have to anticipate on a regular basis as racial discrimination represents a violation of human rights (Wen et al., 2020). In an interconnected world with transcultural societies, where it is almost impossible to travel without meeting individuals of another race, a ‘racial hierarchy’ should no longer exist. In the tourism space, whilst the participant has never experienced face to face confrontation, subtle discrimination and the odd side eyeing was often experienced which regularly resulted in an uncomfortable experience. The participant also revealed how her fear of racism has been intensified as a result of misleading names such as ‘the Chinese virus’ or ‘the Wuhan virus’. The participant had feared that they would be associated with causing and spreading the virus despite not having visited China. As well as worrying for herself, the participant also worried for family members who do not speak fluent English and who are not able to defend themselves. Lew additionally agreed that racism was a virus as racism, too, is passed on from one another and also has the potential to kill as it is a negative issue for mental health. In spite of this study, there remains a gap in knowledge regarding how racism affects the lived experience of Asian travellers and so, whilst this study lays the groundwork, there is a definite need for further research.
Yu, M. and Hyun, S.S. (2021) Development of modern racism scale in global airlines: a study of Asian female flight attendants. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2688. Available from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2688/pdf [accessed 18 May 2021]
Hsu, M.Y. (2015) The Good Immigrants: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press.
Wen, J., Aston, J., Liu, X. and Ying, T. (2020) Effects of Misleading Media Coverage on Public Health Crisis: A Case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak in China. Anatolia, 31(2), 331-336. Available from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13032917.2020.1730621?casa_token=t58OHDAqpkIAAAAA:kAokpQNcpY_K0ck5UYPrHsapZGzh6ibAIDCg4abp4MwtRY6wwE85S2iotoEsoc927VebVW99GxE [accessed 25 May 2021]