David Tokiharu Mayeda

Talking Story with Hawaii's Youth: Confronting Violent and Sexualized Perceptions of Ethnicity and Gender.

This study reports qualitative data collected between December 1997 and May 1998 regarding ethnic and gender identity among at-risk youth in Hawaii. The data were derived by conducting 13 focus group interview sessions with a diverse sample of adolescents (N = 58) at various youth centers. Findings suggest that identity development theories expand their frameworks beyond the notions of ethnicity and gender. Theoretical frameworks must also incorporate unique circumstances within differing communities, such as interethnic violence, sexual exploitation, immigration patterns, and class constraint.

“You’ve gotta set a precedent”: Māori and Pacific voices on student success in higher education

A substantial body of literature has examined the challenges that indigenous students face in higher education. Across Aotearoa New Zealand, the indigenous Māori population is under-represented at the university level, as are ethnically diverse Pacific students who trace their ancestries to neighbouring Pacific nations. This study relies on focus group interviews with high-achieving Māori and Pacific students (N = 90) from a large New Zealand university. Using kaupapa Māori (theory and methodology grounded in a Māori world view) and Pacific research principles, the study identifies the social factors contributing to indigenous students’ educational success. Three broad themes emerged from discussions: family and university role modelling and support; indigenous teaching and learning practices; and resilient abilities to cope with everyday colonialism and racism. A positive indigenous ethnic identity ties these themes together, ultimately serving as the steady factor driving Māori and Pacific students’ achievement motivation.

Constructions of Honor-Based Violence: Gender, Context and Orientalism

In the 1990s, honor-based violence (HBV), and in particular honor killings, began receiving extensive international media attention. However, HBV includes a broad continuum of mechanisms used to control women and girls with varying levels of severity. Attention directed toward HBV has portrayed communities from South Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa in culturally rigid ways, where Orientalist discourses fail to demonstrate diversity. This essay will draw on small group interviews conducted with 27 adolescent girls and young women from diverse Asian backgrounds living in Auckland, New Zealand. Findings will illustrate the varied ways that research participants and their families negotiate gender and gender violence, with some adhering to a range of cultural norms supporting HBV and others diverging from an HBV culture.