Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Who is Asian? A category that remains contested in population and health research

Aspinall, Peter J. (2000) Who is Asian? A category that remains contested in population and health research. Journal of Public Health Medicine, 25 (2). pp. 91-97. ISSN 0957-4832. (doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdg021) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:11947)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdg021

Abstract

Continuing inconsistent use of the term 'Asian' and its appearance for the first time in the 2001 Census justifies an examination of its utility in population and health research. Given the potential for 'Asian' to describe either persons with origins in the Indian subcontinent or those originating from continental Asia, there is a strong argument in studies employing ethnicity as a measure of broad historical processes of colonialism, migration, and discrimination for privileging 'South Asian' over this contested term. Where the focus is on ethnicity as personal identity, there is some evidence of the emergence of bicultural terms such as 'Asian British' and 'Scottish Asian' and of more limited use regionally of 'Asian' and qualified terms such as 'Hindu Asian'. However, such usage cannot be generalized to the acceptance of a pan-Asian identity. Further, the different meanings that attach to terms such as 'Asian' and 'Indian' in the USA and Canada in terms of the specificity of each country's historical process of ethnogenesis mean that, where international comparisons are being made, accurate description of the population is needed to explain the terminology.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/pubmed/fdg021
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Depositing User: Paula Loader
Date Deposited: 03 Jun 2009 13:10 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:50 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/11947 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Aspinall, Peter J..

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.