‘I Don't Know Why I Feel So Bad Being Asian’: A Qualitative Inquiry of Anti‐Asian Racism From a Racial Trauma Perspective

ABSTRACT Despite the incorporation of multiculturalism into Canadian federal policies since the 1970s, whiteness continues to dominate societal norms, perpetuating the racialisation of people of colour. Racialised adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of racialisation and racism. Focusing on Asian Canadian youth, this study adopts a racial trauma perspective to explore their experiences growing up in Canada and the impacts of racism. A total of 36 Asian Canadian youth (aged 14–23) participated in a focus group. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants reported experiences of alienation and being ‘othered’ during their upbringing. Anti‐Asian racism in Canada often appears in subtle, unacknowledged forms, affecting youth from an early age. These experiences erode self‐esteem and identity, leading some to internalise them as normal and inevitable. Some Asian youth suppress these experiences, gaslighting themselves into self‐blame or denying their existence altogether. Others cope by conforming to whiteness, erasing aspects of their Asian identities. This study highlights the ways in which racial trauma manifests among Asian Canadian youth growing up in a society deeply entrenched in a white racial order, as well as its enduring impacts on their well‐being and sense of self.