Experiences and perceptions of Afghan-Canadian men in the post-September 11th context

Abstract

The events and aftermath of the September 11th attack on the United States had profound effects on Canadians and Americans alike. For some however, the implications are deeply personal. Afghan-Canadians, particularly young men suddenly found themselves defined as "risky" in official discourses (i.e. legislation), in state practices (i.e. airports, borders), in the media and in social interactions. Ten in-depth interviews with Afghan-Canadian men where conducted in order to examine how they experience and manage this newly ascribed identity. Foucauldian governmentality and "risk" theories were employed to make sense of the structural stigma, its genesis and its impact on the lives of this minority group. In addition Goffman's symbolic interactionism approach provided the lens through which to understand Afghan-Canadian males' experiences of symbolic stigma and their stigma management techniques during personal interactions. The combination of these theoretical frameworks allows us to situate the individual within broader social, regulatory and discursive frameworks while attending to their subjectivity and recognizing their engagement with (and resistance to) regulatory discourses/practices. The accounts of my Afghan-Canadian participants affirm the experiences of structural stigma at governmental sites of regulation (i.e. borders & airports) and interpersonal stigma during social interaction. It also revealed these men to be active agents who, although intimidated, nonetheless challenged the dominant discourse through multifaceted alternate discourses and practiced "everyday acts" of resistance.