“The Othering of Women” in Karen Tei Yamashita’s Circle K Cycles and Jenny Zhang’s Sour Heart: Hybridity Issues and Gender Representation

Abstract

The aim of this Master’s Thesis is to analyze Yamashita’s Circle K Cycles and Zhang’s Sour Heart and examine the literary representations of hybridity and diasporic characters, particularly women, in their stories, as well as the way those representations influence the sense of identity/belongingness of such characters, by emphasizing or refuting stereotypes concerning Asian American women and Asian American narratives. Theoretical perspectives on the concept of hybridity are presented as well as theoretical framework regarding diasporic subjects and gender, specifically Susan Stanford Friedman’s concept of “the othering of women”, followed by an analysis on how gender and hybridity are portrayed in Circle K Cycles and Sour Heart. I conclude with a comment on the importance of literature in shedding light on the issues of Asian American diasporic women.