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A “China-Woman's Chance”?: The Coronavirus Pandemic, Violence, and Perseverance

Karolin, Alexis Jing-Ni

Abstract Details

2022, Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, History.
This thesis explores how the history of Asian American immigration to the U.S. over the past 150 years explains the current epidemic of violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community during the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. Asian American women experience an intersection of race- and sex-based violence because of long standing stereotypes as the exotic prostitute and the submissive doll. Because of these stereotypes, Asian American women are seen as the ideal victim and are more vulnerable to hate crimes than men. With the increased reporting of hate crimes, there has also been a rise in reported cases of domestic abuse because of cultural stressors, white racism, and gender expectations from Asian and Anglo paternalism. This thesis then examines the origins of the “Model Minority” myth and how it and the “Black Criminality” myth have been used to perpetuate a narrative of racial tension between the Asian American and Black communities that draws attention away from systematic and institutional white racism. These two myths are important in the context of hate crimes against Asian Americans because most viral videos of these crimes depict Black people as either aggressors or inactive bystanders, even though most perpetrators of hate crimes against Asian Americans are white. Finally, this thesis discusses how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a history of community activism and racial solidarity with the Black community during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Likewise, today, in response to the violence, a pan-Asian movement called #StopAAPIHate has emerged, illustrating a larger historical trend of perseverance against white racism in the U.S. Notably, AAPI women have been leading the calls for change and pushing the American project of democracy forward.
Katherine Jellison (Advisor)
162 p.

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Citations

  • Karolin, A. J.-N. (2022). A “China-Woman's Chance”?: The Coronavirus Pandemic, Violence, and Perseverance [Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1650629847964003

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Karolin, Alexis. A “China-Woman's Chance”?: The Coronavirus Pandemic, Violence, and Perseverance . 2022. Ohio University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1650629847964003.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Karolin, Alexis. "A “China-Woman's Chance”?: The Coronavirus Pandemic, Violence, and Perseverance ." Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1650629847964003

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)