Misogyny, Acculturation, and Ethnic Identity: Relation to Rape-Supportive Attitudes in Asian American College Men

Abstract

Asian Americans have been understudied with respect to sexuality and rape and its contributory factors. Some attitudinal research has shown that Asian American college males tend to hold more rape-supportive beliefs than their White counterparts. Generally, this research treats ethnicity as a proxy for culture rather than examining specific facets of culture per se. The current study incorporated measures of misogynistic beliefs, acculturation, and ethnic identity to investigate these ethnic differences in rape-supportive attitudes. White (n = 222) and Asian American (n = 155) college men read an acquaintance rape vignette and evaluated it on four judgments: how much they blamed the perpetrator and the victim, how credible they viewed the victim’s refusal, and to what degree they defined the event as rape. Consistent with previous research, Asian American men made more rape-supportive judgments than Whites. This relationship was partially mediated by misogynistic beliefs for all judgments except the extent to which they defined the vignette as rape. Among Asian Americans, acculturation was negatively associated with all four rape vignette judgments above and beyond generational status, and ethnic identity was positively associated with two of the four judgments above and beyond acculturation and generational status. These findings suggest that cultural constructs are relevant to understanding rape-supportive attitudes among Asian American men, and may be useful for promoting culturally enhanced theoretical models of rape and sexual assault prevention efforts, as well as a deeper understanding of cultural influences on sexuality.

Appendix: Presented Vignette

Mary is a 25-year-old, Asian/White* woman who works as an editor for a newswire service in downtown Seattle. She graduated from the University of Washington 3 years ago and decided to live in Seattle after her graduation. Her family lives only a short drive away and she has two very close friends who also live in Seattle. She is currently single and loves all the opportunities for biking and sailing.

About a year ago, Mary moved to the home she now shares with a housemate. She liked the neighborhood because it has easy access to downtown, making it very convenient for her commute to work. It’s near several good restaurants and a coffee shop.

On a warm summer evening in September, Mary found herself at home having a quiet evening. She had been reading a book and listening to her favorite CD. As twilight approached, she realized it was time to call her cat, Bandit, inside, a nightly ritual they both disliked. It was always a struggle. He preferred to stay out and play.

She stepped outside onto the porch and a warm breeze ruffled her dress. She noticed a young Asian/White* man, about her same age, walking down the street. He was wearing slacks and a jacket and appeared to be coming home from work. She recognized him as one of her neighbors, John. The people on her block tended to be neighborly and Mary had met most of them. John lived with a housemate two houses down the street from Mary. He once helped her get her lawnmower started and she often talked to him if she happened to be outside when he came home from work. She turned her attention back to finding her cat. Bandit was being stubborn and not responding to her calls so Mary stepped onto her front yard to look in his favorite hiding place.

Bandit was under the bushes in the front yard. She began speaking to him softly to entice him out from under the bushes. He gave in and slowly approached her. Finally! She picked him up and scolded him playfully. John was now in front of her house. He said, “It’s a great evening to be outside.” Mary agreed, it was a picture-perfect evening. She said, “Yes, it really is.” She then turned and walked slowly back toward the house with Bandit in her arms.

As Mary approached her front door, she realized that John had stopped in front of her house. She put the cat down in the house and turned back to meet him. They began to have a cheerful conversation about the summer evening and Bandit’s stubborn personality. It began to get chilly so they went inside.

Once inside, Mary changed the CD. They sat on the couch for a while, listening to music and continuing their conversation about the neighborhood, the latest movies they had each seen, and their jobs. They each drank a few colas/beers* and were feeling good/somewhat intoxicated.* They both felt comfortable and relaxed with each other. As they were talking, John moved closer to Mary, leaned forward, and kissed her softly. Mary pulled away from him.

John put both arms around Mary and held her tightly. He kissed her again and then opened his mouth so that his tongue intruded into her own mouth. Mary said, “No, stop!” and tried to push him away. Ignoring her protests, John responded, “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He continued to kiss her.

With Mary struggling to get away, John slid his hand inside Mary’s dress and began to fondle her breasts. He then started unbuttoning her dress and a few buttons ripped off as Mary tried to turn away. Mary said again, “Stop, please, don’t!” and managed to slap him across the face. John said, “Shut up!” Soon, he managed to open the front of Mary’s dress and, with Mary twisting her body trying to keep her dress on, pulled it off her shoulders, exposing her breasts. Kissing her so that their mouths were in continuous contact, he stroked her breasts and then moved his hand to the inside of her thighs. His other arm was wrapped tightly around her, pinning her arms to her side. She said again more forcefully, “Stop! Don’t make me do this!”

John pressed his forearm against her neck making it difficult for Mary to breathe. He kissed her breasts. Then he pushed her dress up to her waist, removed her underwear, and quickly unzipped his pants and pulled them down. Mary thrashed her body around, trying to get loose. John increased the pressure on her neck and pressed the full weight of his body on hers. Managing to get one arm loose, she hit him on the chin with the palm of her hand and started to push his face away. While Mary struggled, he penetrated her with his penis and intercourse occurred.

*Manipulated variable that was collapsed for analyses in the current study.