Understanding Immigrant Youths’ Negotiation of Racialized Masculinities in One U.S. High School: An Intersectionality Lens on Race, Gender, and Language

Immigrant adolescents’ masculinity negotiation is underexamined in language education research. Drawing on intersectionality and critical race theory, this article examines three immigrant boys’ negotiation of racialized masculinities and its impact on their language learning in one U.S. English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Through analyzing data from an ethnographic case study, we illustrate that their masculinity was connected to negotiation of hyphenated selves in transnational and transcultural spaces where gender identities were intersectionally shaped by racism, linguicism, and heteronormativity. While racism and racialization were the central forces impacting their masculinity negotiation, they each experienced different configurations of systems of oppression. Their masculinity negotiation was based on an indivisible combination of intersecting identity inscriptions which constituted a new marginal social location. This study contributes to language education research by shedding light on the complexity and intersectionality of immigrant youth’s masculinity negotiation. It underscores the importance of addressing racism, homophobia and linguicism in their precarious lives.