ABSTRACT

Although the biomedical processes of the alcohol flush reaction are well understood, no research has investigated social responses to the reaction. Interviews and focus groups with college students show that Asians and Asian Americans are acutely aware that flushing raises the specter of racial stereotyping, as in the colloquial term “Asian glow.” White drinkers are oblivious, however, both to their own flushing and that of others. Most Asian flushers develop positive interpretations of the alcohol flush reaction, internalizing it as an identity marker of a pan-ethnic Asian community. Moreover, many also understood their flushing as a positive “ability” that allows them to better control their drinking than non-flushers. These findings suggest that flushing must also be understood through a sociocultural lens of ethnic identification, with implications for theories of ethnic identification and interventions against alcohol abuse.

摘要

尽管酒精冲洗反应的生物医学过程已广为人知，但没有研究调查过该反应的社会反应。对大学生的采访和焦点小组表明，亚洲人和亚裔美国人敏锐地意识到，脸红会引发种族刻板印象的幽灵，就像口语中的“亚洲光芒”一样。然而，白人饮酒者对自己和其他人的潮红都视而不见。大多数亚洲冲洗者对酒精冲洗反应产生了积极的解释，将其内化为泛亚裔社区的身份标志。此外，许多人还将他们的脸红理解为一种积极的“能力”，可以让他们比不爱脸红的人更好地控制饮酒。这些发现表明，还必须通过种族认同的社会文化视角来理解潮红，