​Diane Yoong

Digital Publics Fellow

Diane Yoong is a doctoral student in the Critical Social/Personality Psychology program at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Their interest in Asian (American) LGBT/queers was guided by the lack of visible representations in popular media when they were growing up. They became invested in understanding the ways Asian American LGBT/queers negotiate (or not) the coming out framework. As coming out is often perceived as a process of liberation and a way to legitimize one’s sexuality, it is difficult to consider sexuality/sexual orientation without utilizing this framework. In addition, what it means to be Asian American LGBT/queer is further troubled by notions of belonging, legitimizing, and authentication; hence, they believe that the rigidity and specificity of coming out actually restricts and contributes to the erasure of their visibility. In future exploration of their work, they will include understanding and identifying different ways of articulating one’s sexuality/sexual orientation.