Gay Asian people in New Zealand are much more likely to remain isolated because they tend to only make contact with other gay and lesbians on the internet, senior social work lecturer Mark Henrickson of Massey University has found. Research findings from the 2004 ‘Lavender Island Study', New Zealand's largest study of LGB people, are still being analysed. Dr Henrickson surveyed 2269 respondents, of which 491 (21%) were born overseas. Of these nearly 11% were Asian. "Of Asian-born respondents, 34.7% had used the internet to make first contact, compared with only 10.6% of other immigrants," says Henrickson. "And a further 18.4% of Asian-born respondents said they had not made any contact with the lesbian, gay and bisexual community in New Zealand." Dr Henrickson, who teaches in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in Auckland, said the idea of "coming out" as a gay person did not have the same meaning for most Asian people. He said an Asian person's identity stemmed more strongly from family ties and marriage, rather than individual expressions of identity. "Whereas people from western cultures are more likely to be open and positive about the fact that they are lesbian, gay or bisexual - 'it's me, it's my major identity, who I am' - Asians regardless of sexual orientation, regard their identity as linked to who their parents are, who they are married to," Dr Henrickson said. Asian lesbian, gays and bisexual people in New Zealand are more likely to keep their sexuality a secret compared with Westerners, he also notes. Dr Henrickson said his findings reinforced the notion that the idea of having an LGB identity was a highly westernised European concept. The study found that while Asian-born immigrants were aware of having same-sex attractions at an earlier age, they were less likely to tell friends, family or colleagues as they grew older. Only 3% of non-Asian respondents said they hadn't disclosed their identity to anyone, compared with 15.3% of Asian people. The findings carry implications for the way health and social workers communicate with Asian clients who may not readily respond to blatant questions about sexual orientation, Dr Henrickson says. "Depending on the context, behavioural questions, such as 'Are you sexually active with men, women, both or neither ?' may elicit more useful information for the practitioner than identity-oriented questions such as 'Are you lesbian?'" Ref: Massey News (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 1st November 2006 - 12:00pm