Suchergebnisse

The study examines the influence of the ethnic background on the parents' role in the ethnic socialization of youths in Malaysia. A survey of 894 youths, who were aged 18–40 years, and who were from Malay, Chinese, Indigenous, and Indian ethnic backgrounds, was conducted. The questionnaire results show moderate levels of ethnic affiliation and parental socialization. The influence of other people in the ethnic socialization, namely, relatives other than the parents, as well as friends and other adults (teachers, neighbors, and people of the same religion), was limited. The parents of the youths were engaged in more positive ethnic socialization than negative ethnic socialization. The participants' parents talked to them about cultural pluralism and cultural pride from once to several times a year, but the Indian participants reported frequencies of more than once per month. Conversations that prepared the participants for bias and that promoted mistrust occurred one to two times a year, but they occurred up to several times a year for the Indian participants. The parents of the Indigenous, Malay, and Chinese participants engaged in less frequent ethnic socialization. As a majority group, the Malay parents may have felt secure in their privileged status; however, the groups with immigrant backgrounds responded to their marginalized status in divergent ways with respect to the activeness of the parental ethnic socialization.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the public were still unaware of the disease and its transmission, and information on susceptibility and severity was not well understood. During this time, stigma of COVID-19 patients had led to some people dying in their homes because they did not want to be seen seeking treatment and getting stigmatized in the process. The study examined stigma-marking of COVID-19 patients in Facebook and Twitter messages written by youth in Malaysia. A total of 100 messages were collected from the posts of young people in Twitter (n = 66) and Facebook (n = 34) from March 2020 to April 2021 during the early phase of the pandemic. The social media postings, mostly written in Malay, were analyzed for stigma-markers. The results showed that COVID-19 stigma words were mostly related to health (57%), ethnicity (29%), social class (13%), and work (1%). The frequencies of the types of stigma-marker in Facebook comments and tweets are similar. COVID-19 patients were referred to as stupid, irresponsible, and criminals. Racist remarks were also evident in the social media messages. The findings indicate that people who are already victims of the disease are victimized further due to the stigmatization by strangers and people in their social and work circles.

This study examined the effect of age, gender and socio-economic status on attitudes of Malaysians of Chinese descent towards their Chinese dialect and Mandarin, the standard Chinese language. A survey of 300 Chinese (150 Foochow and 150 Hokkien) living in Kuching, Sarawak was conducted. Their Chinese dialect is valued as an ethnic marker but does not derive its importance from numerical dominance or status of ingroup members. The Foochow and Hokkien participants are significantly different in their attitudes on the importance of their Chinese dialect and Mandarin, and their pride in using these languages but are similar in doubting the instrumental value of their Chinese dialect and Mandarin, feeling embarrassed for not speaking the Chinese languages, and valuing their Chinese dialect as an ethnic marker. Factor analyses identified four and six factors which explained 75.85% and 77.32% of the variance for the Foochow and Hokkien participants' attitudes respectively. The Foochow participants have more homogenous language attitudes than the Hokkien participants. Gender did not have a significant main effect on the language attitudes of both groups but age significantly influenced the Hokkien participants' attitudes. Socio-economic status has significant main and interaction effects on attitudes of both the Foochow and Hokkien participants.

AbstractThe study assessed Chinese teenagers' perceptions of vitality of Hokkien Chinese in Penang using the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS). The survey involved 156 students aged 13–19 (100 Hokkien; 56 non-Hokkien Chinese). The results showed that the vitality of Hokkien in Penang is at EGIDS Level 6b (Threatened). The identity function of Hokkien in Penang is that of a home language, and children are the youngest generation of Hokkien speakers. The stability of the diglossic situation between Hokkien and Mandarin has been disrupted due to Mandarin encroaching into oral domains of language use, particularly the friendship and education domains. Both Hokkien and non-Hokkien teenagers have positive attitudes towards Hokkien. Chinese educational background is the only social factor that makes a significant difference in Hokkien usage among the Chinese teenagers, while gender, socio-economic status and language attitudes have no significant effect on Hokkien usage. In view of this, institutional support for Mandarin is the most important structural factor that has a clear, but adverse, impact on Hokkien usage. Hokkien cannot compete with the functions of Mandarin as a marker of Chinese identity in Malaysia, a gateway to career and business opportunities, and a global language within the Chinese diaspora.

The Iban is an indigenous group living in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, located on Borneo Kalimantan. The study examined ethnic identity and consumption of Iban pop songs by investigating the influence of half- or full-Iban parentage on knowledge, attitudes and practices of listening to Iban pop songs. Questionnaire data were collected from 189 Iban participants (21.16% half-Iban; 78.84% full-Iban). The favourite genre of Iban pop songs is ballads but 74.6% of the participants could sing the iconic Iban rock song, Biar Bekikis Bulu Betis. A majority of the Iban participants listened to Iban pop songs on YouTube channels although a fair number still used the radio and mobile phones. The participants believed that Iban songs can unite the Iban and represent the Sarawakian identity. The male participants were more familiar with Iban pop songs than the female participants. Consumption of Iban music does not differ significantly with monthly income and education level. The results showed that full-Iban participants are more interested in, knowledgeable about, and positive about Iban pop songs, compared to half-Iban participants. The full-Iban participants felt strongly that Iban songs can represent the Malaysian identity, and modern Iban culture and attain the international standard. The findings suggest that Iban parents shape their children's interest in Iban popular music by inculcating a strong Iban ethnic identity.

Recent years have witnessed significant growth in research on the phenomenon of Asian Boys' Love (BL) dramas, a new entertainment genre that features male characters who engage in same-sex love relations. However, much of this research has focused on, among others, heterosexual female viewers in terms of their knowledge of BL and their consumption patterns and motives. The present study aims at addressing this knowledge gap by gathering the views of gay male viewers regarding the BL that holds a place in their lives. In-depth interviews were conducted with six gay-identified participants living in Malaysia, with the study informed and guided by the framework of audience uses and appropriations of BL, and with the data collected and analyzed following the interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) procedures. The findings revealed, on the one hand, polarized consumption patterns and, on the other hand, homogeneous motives, and reasons for consuming BL, including pure escapism, self-identification, and pure entertainment. The findings also revealed the participants' views on whether the BL drama represented their identity and the real-life struggles of being a gay man in a country where homosexuality is still condemned and made illegal. These findings have implications that are relevant to the discussion of the role of the homoerotic media as a source of identity and livelihood among gay men.

Abstract
The study examined how LGBTQ individuals negotiate their identities in the Malaysian heteronormative society using
the Discourse-Historical Approach. In-depth interviews were carried out with 13 LGBTQ individuals to find out the discursive
strategies they used in describing the triggers for coming out, their experiences, and the reasons for their struggles. The
analysis of the interview data showed that the participants used the "destiny" and "rights" arguments to counter the "legal",
"religious" and "traditional values" arguments used by heterosexuals to reject them. Referents and personal pronouns were
selectively used by LGBTQ participants to present different perspectives, "us" versus "them" (heterosexuals), "I" and other LGBTQ
individuals, and "I" versus "they" or "you" (other sexual orientations). The findings have implications that are relevant to
mitigation of LGBTQ identities in contexts which have strong heteronormative norms due to legal, religion and traditional
values.

Abstract
Research on cancer narratives has not contextualised emotional and cognitive processes in stages of coping. The study examined linguistic indicators of affective and cognitive processes in narratives of 31 Malaysian cancer survivors. The analysis of the 58,787-word transcript using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (liwc) software revealed that coping with cancer is a case of mind over emotions, with 12.52% of words related to cognitive processes and 4.17% to affective processes. Frequently used words linked to cognitive processes indicated the cancer survivors' rationalisations of their denial of the diagnosis and explanations of treatment. Frequently used positive affective words reflect their optimism after reaching acceptance. Frequently used negative affective words indicate their trauma and uncertainty about the prognosis and treatment. Linguistic indicators of emotional and cognitive processes may be useful in identifying stages of coping so that appropriate support can be given to cancer patients and survivors.

This article presents the findings of a larger ongoing study that explores visions of "unity" and "belonging" among present-day Malaysians that are shaped by their engagements with popular music genres of the country's indigenous ethnic communities. Through a critical theory-informed qualitative analysis of Malaysians' views on the popular Iban song, "Biar Bekikis Bulu Betis", the study described in this article examines the visions of unity and belonging that they conceived through various engagements with the song. The findings show that these visions were co-created in and through a dynamic interaction between the song and the audience. The former evoked a sense of solidarity and cohesion, and the latter conceived their visions of unity and belonging based on those feelings. However, the findings reveal that these visions did not coalesce with the "grand" or "official" narratives of unification and inclusion, given the audience's strong sense of togetherness and attachment to their state of origin and community rather than to the country and the nation. Such findings are important as they provide insights into the potential role that popular music of Malaysia's indigenous ethnic communities can play in the complex and never-ending process of achieving a national sense of unity, belonging and identity in Malaysia.