Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students

The negative effects of stereotyping arising from a victim’s acceptance and internalisation of stereotype identities are well-known. As stereotypes are created and maintained in discourse, understanding how targets of stereotyping employ discursive resources to resist the constraining structures of...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Seng, Hui Zanne, Chan, Mei Yuit, Yap, Ngee Thai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter Mouton 2020
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
_version_ 1848860629114290176
author Seng, Hui Zanne
Chan, Mei Yuit
Yap, Ngee Thai
author_facet Seng, Hui Zanne
Chan, Mei Yuit
Yap, Ngee Thai
author_sort Seng, Hui Zanne
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The negative effects of stereotyping arising from a victim’s acceptance and internalisation of stereotype identities are well-known. As stereotypes are created and maintained in discourse, understanding how targets of stereotyping employ discursive resources to resist the constraining structures of stereotypic identities imposed upon them can provide insight into the process of stereotyping and contribute to efforts to reduce the threat of stereotyping. We examined the strategies used by targets of stereotyping in contesting stereotypic representations of their social group through the mobilisation of a range of discourse strategies when presented with stereotyping attacks on the group. The findings revealed that stereotypes are subtle in nature and may not be easily recognised and hence, difficult to resist. Participants employed a number of discourse strategies to repair their fragmented self and group identities. However, in their attempt to maintain identity coherence, they ended up using stereotyping discourses themselves to devalue the perceived outgroup as well as subgroups they created within their own social group. The study highlights the complexity of stereotyping and its self-perpetuating character, and sheds light on the difficulty faced by targets of stereotyping discourse in reconciling their identities through intense discursive and identity work.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T12:48:16Z
format Article
id upm-88486
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T12:48:16Z
publishDate 2020
publisher De Gruyter Mouton
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-884862021-12-23T08:34:24Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/ Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students Seng, Hui Zanne Chan, Mei Yuit Yap, Ngee Thai The negative effects of stereotyping arising from a victim’s acceptance and internalisation of stereotype identities are well-known. As stereotypes are created and maintained in discourse, understanding how targets of stereotyping employ discursive resources to resist the constraining structures of stereotypic identities imposed upon them can provide insight into the process of stereotyping and contribute to efforts to reduce the threat of stereotyping. We examined the strategies used by targets of stereotyping in contesting stereotypic representations of their social group through the mobilisation of a range of discourse strategies when presented with stereotyping attacks on the group. The findings revealed that stereotypes are subtle in nature and may not be easily recognised and hence, difficult to resist. Participants employed a number of discourse strategies to repair their fragmented self and group identities. However, in their attempt to maintain identity coherence, they ended up using stereotyping discourses themselves to devalue the perceived outgroup as well as subgroups they created within their own social group. The study highlights the complexity of stereotyping and its self-perpetuating character, and sheds light on the difficulty faced by targets of stereotyping discourse in reconciling their identities through intense discursive and identity work. De Gruyter Mouton 2020 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/1/ABSTRACT.pdf Seng, Hui Zanne and Chan, Mei Yuit and Yap, Ngee Thai (2020) Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students. Applied Linguistics Review. pp. 1-28. ISSN 1868-6303; ESSN: 1868-6311 https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/applirev-2019-0109/html 10.1515/applirev-2019-0109
spellingShingle Seng, Hui Zanne
Chan, Mei Yuit
Yap, Ngee Thai
Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students
title Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students
title_full Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students
title_fullStr Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students
title_full_unstemmed Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students
title_short Discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the Chinese among Chinese students
title_sort discursive work in resisting stereotypic representations of the chinese among chinese students
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88486/1/ABSTRACT.pdf