Exploring Perceived Racism, Body Image Dissatisfaction, and Coping Mechanisms Among Vietnamese American Young Adults

Internalized racism refers to a situation where individuals belonging to a minority group start to embrace the beliefs, values, and expectations of the dominant culture. This results in the minority group unconsciously supporting and sustaining the biases, prejudices, and stereotypes of the dominant group. One way this manifests is when the minority group begins to prioritize and normalize the standards established by the dominant group, including beauty standards. To gain acceptance from the dominant culture and cope with acculturative stress, individuals belonging to minority groups may dissociate from their own community and modify their appearance to conform to the dominant group's beauty standards. Studies have highlighted the importance of the connection between racism-based body image and its impact on the behavioral health of Asian Americans. For example, some Asian American men may engage in harmful bodybuilding behaviors associated with anabolic steroid abuse because they idolize high muscularity. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and behavioral health among Vietnamese Americans, who are one of the fastest-growing Asian American subgroups. This study aims to understand how perceived internalized racism affects the body image and behavioral health of young Vietnamese American adults, such as their use of various substances. This research is essential because it focuses on an understudied group of young Vietnamese adults.

We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study using purposive and snowball sampling methods to recruit 17 young Vietnamese American adults aged 18 to 25, who were born to parents from Vietnam and currently residing in Northern California. The study included nine females, eight males, and two non-binary individuals who participated in virtual, in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews. The average age of the participants was 23.6 years (SD= 1.95) and the majority of the participants (71%) reported having part-time or full-time employment in various occupations.

Based on a preliminary thematic analysis, five main themes and corresponding subthemes emerged. Participants reported experiencing microaggressions in the form of "orientalism," marked by instances of emasculation and fetishization (theme 1). Secondly, participants expressed dissatisfaction with their physical appearance, which led to lowered self-esteem, internalized emasculation, and negative body image (theme 2). Participants noted that white beauty standards were idolized, which included prioritizing muscularity and white hegemonic masculinity, as well as idealizing white body image ideals for women (theme 3). The participants reported engaging in a variety of behaviors related to body modification, including exercise, superficial alterations and enhancements, and subversive body image modification behaviors (theme 4). Additionally, participants demonstrated alternative coping mechanisms for handling perceived racism, such as self-acceptance and resilience, as well as minimization of racism (theme 5).

The findings of this study indicate the importance of understanding the relationship between internalized racism and body image ideals or dissatisfaction. The prevalence of internalized racism can have negative consequences for both the individual and society.