Queer Mongering: The Violence of Asian American Fear on Queer Modalities

Asian America has historically been susceptible to white supremacist national manipulation, by way of fear mongering. Recruitments of Asian America to fulfill nationalist agendas often result in enactments of violence towards the wellbeing and affectiveness of queer modalities. This further ostracizes, invalidates, and commits acts of violence upon different queer modalities: bodies, griefs, existences, acts, and desires, as well as positions such modalities as an unconsenting site for political battles. Set in the Bay Area during the 1940’s to 1990’s, this paper examines a fictional novel, lesbian Asian American activist circles, and University of California Berkeley (UCB) hiring practices. These cases serve to illustrate ways in which unconsenting queer subjects are forced to succumb to battles of national politics and demonstrate processes that further enact violence and halt efforts towards collective liberation.