Gendered Perceptions of East and South Asian Men

Abstract

Gendered race theory argues that in the United States, Asian men are perceived as more feminine and less masculine than Black and White men. However, extant research has focused predominantly on East Asians while overlooking South Asians. In five studies (N = 1,773 U.S. participants), we examined the perceived femininity-masculinity of East and South Asian men. East Asian men were perceived as more feminine and less masculine than South Asian, White, and Black men. South Asian men's perceived femininity-masculinity depends on whether they have facial hair or not. South Asian men with facial hair were perceived as less feminine, more masculine, and more threatening than men from other racial groups. This hyper-masculinization of South Asian men is likely due to alignment of the bearded terrorist stereotypes with facial hair cues. Results for South and East Asian women were inconsistent. This research highlights the importance of disaggregating Asian targets in social cognition theories.