Exploring Race, Gender, and Resistance Mong Mixed-Race Japanese Women in Canada: Critical Narrative Inquiry

Background and Purpose

Mixed-race Asian-white women in Canada often encounter complex forms of gendered racism, shaped by societal stereotypes, historical racial hierarchies, and intersectional oppressions. Despite the growing population of mixed-race individuals in Canada and globe, their specific experiences remain under-researched and frequently overlooked in mainstream racism discourses. This study aims to explore the nuanced everyday experiences of mixed Asian-white women, specifically addressing how they navigate authenticity, belonging, and resistance in racialized and gendered contexts. The research question guiding this inquiry is: How do mixed-race Asian-white women experience and respond to societal stereotypes and expectations related to their gender and racial identities?

Methods

Employing a qualitative research design grounded in critical feminism and intersectionality, this study utilized snowball sampling methods to recruit participants through social media platforms from January to March 2024. The sample comprised 10 women over the age of 18 with Japanese and white ancestry extending up to their great-grandparents. Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews, allowing participants to articulate their lived experiences in their own words. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to interpret and identify patterns and themes, guided by frameworks of critical race theory, anti-oppressive practice, decolonial theory, and intersectionality.

Results

Analysis reveals several interconnected themes. Participants frequently described strategies of masking, assimilating, or strategically managing visibility to navigate professional and social contexts where they were subject to exoticization or marginalization. These adaptive behaviors underscore the emotional labor required to balance multiple identities. In dating scenarios, participants recounted intentional patterns of partner selection and noted complexities in handling racialized attention. Experiences related to cultural expectations, particularly around food and femininity, revealed nuanced pressures specific to gendered racial identities. Additionally, the study uncovered significant internalized racial and gendered biases affecting self-perception, body image, and self-worth. Participants reported being frequently subjected to societal beauty standards tied explicitly to their mixed racial identities, creating additional pressures to conform.

Conclusions and Implications

This research highlights that mixed-race Asian-white women face unique and intersecting oppressions characterized by simultaneous hypervisibility and invisibility in their daily lives. Their experiences are heavily shaped by systemic racial and gendered power structures, perpetuating stereotypes and identity invalidation. For anti-racist and critical feminist social work practice, these findings emphasize the urgent need for culturally competent, intersectional approaches that affirm mixed-race identities and counteract both overt discrimination and subtle microaggressions. Further research should continue exploring these intersections with larger and more diverse participant groups to enhance theoretical understanding and inform anti-racist and feminist social work practice, policy, and education.