Meaning of Being Masculine

In response to "Threatening Men: Defining Filipino American Masculinity" by Kandice Chuh.

In this article, author Kandice Chuh talks about how Filipino men had to prove that they were masculine enough or do more to receive the same amount of respect. In the military, a man had served five years of service fighting for the United States, but this was questioned because it did not seem enough to grant him U.S. citizenship.

The article also talks about a novel in which the main character is Filipino. He goes through childhood and grows up learning about what it means to be Filipino American and also the idea of Filipino American masculinity. It also talks about how a white woman is symbolic for white masculinity because a desire for white women could mean the desire for American masculinity.

It seems to me that masculinity has been racially separated as well. It’s surprising that such an abstract concept could be racially determined. There is no difference between the supposedly “Filipino American masculinity” and the “American masculinity”, which really meant “white masculinity”. However, these men are conditioned by society to believe that there is a difference. 

Xishan (Lucy) Ye

Section A02