Boyung Lee

Jeff Cha

ASA 2 (A02)

Blog 10

Boyung Lee’s article discusses the common views of Asian American cultures on sexuality. The idea of sexuality being a taboo subject is prevalent and something I also see within the Hmong community. Many Hmong parents and grandparents do not teach their children about sex, giving birth and sexual body parts. For example, most of my Hmong friends and I were familiar with the idea that women gave birth through their belly buttons because of what our parents told us growing up. Of course it is natural for everyone to be embarrassed but American culture is definitely more open to educating on sexuality. It seems like in Hmong culture, it is assumed that children will learn by themselves as they age so anything regarding sexuality is kept quiet and avoided. Additionally, even adults continue to be extremely private, which is why many within the Hmong community do not seek healthcare services for issues with sexual body parts or screen for breast, cervical and prostate cancers. The Hmong culture also strongly emphasizes traditional marriages and having a family with many children. This results in parents avoiding discussions on sexual orientations because anything other than heterosexuality is not accepted. However, I believe educating on the importance of discussing sexuality will help this be a more comfortable topic with not just Asian cultures but also the general public.

Do other cultures share similar views on sexuality? Or is sexuality as a taboo subject seen more extremely in Asian American cultures?