Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Theses
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ItemExperiences of racism by Aboriginal Australians and Vietnamese immigrants: a comparative study( 1998)In their analysis of racism and related theorizing, social scientists have largely ignored the victims' experiences and responses. Because of this, knowledge of racism as a social process is incomplete. There are several reasons for this, among which are an apparent lack of interest by majority group social scientists in the experiences of minority groups, difficulties in using the methods of the positivist scientific paradigm to investigate these experiences and responses to them, and a lack of trust in other means of conducting such investigations. In order to begin to re-dress this situation, this study was based on the naturalistic paradigm, and used qualitative methods with checks for the trustworthiness of the data and findings. Fifty Vietnamese and thirty-four Aborigines participated in in-depth interviews about their experiences of racism and their responses to those experiences. In accepting these narratives as having both veracity and worth, the study provides an understanding of the range of racist experiences, the impact of those experiences, and the coping responses invoked. Although both groups reported a similar range of racism across the verbal and behavioural domains, in discriminatory experiences and in racism at the general community level, there were quantitative and qualitative difference between them. The data suggest that while Vietnamese are generally accepted into the mainstream, conditional upon their assimilation and occupation of lower status positions, Aborigines are expected to stay in their place in a lower echelon outside the mainstream. The emotional and coping responses identified within the groups were also similar, although again there was some variation in the way the groups responded to their experiences. In general though, coping can be considered to be defensive, controlled or confronting. In reporting the findings, a series of assertions are made. Firstly, theories about racism need to recognize that there may be variability in the way it is perpetrated against, and is experienced by different groups. It may also serve varying purposes. Secondly, to argue that contemporary racism is predominantly subtle, symbolic and modern racism may be misleading. It ignores the fact that blatant overt racism is still a major problem for minority group members. Thirdly, the role of emotion in the experience and response to racism needs to be explored further and incorporated into theorizing about the processes of racism. Fourthly, the conceptualization of response to racism according to the dimensions identified in these data may contribute to a more cohesive and inclusive theory of coping with racism. Fifthly, social scientists should be self-reflective in relation to their work on racism, or face the risk that their theorizing may bolster racist political arrangements within society. Finally, qualitative methods are recommended for similar studies of the phenomena under investigation. Just as the victim's perspective complements the perpetrator's perspective, qualitative methods may complement the use of quantitative methods in the search for a more complete understanding of the phenomenon of racism.