In Their Own Words:
The Diverse Perspectives of
Being Asian in America
In the fall of 2021, Pew Research Center undertook the largest focus group study it had ever conducted – 66 focus groups with 264 total participants – to hear Asian Americans talk about their lived experiences in America. The focus groups were organized into 18 distinct Asian ethnic origin groups, fielded in 18 languages and moderated by members of their own ethnic groups.
These quotes reflect participants’ initial reaction to the question: “What does it mean to be you in America?” Many of the participants told us this was the first time they were ever asked this question. Others told us their answers to this question had evolved over time.
Use this interactive to sort focus group quotes by ethnic origin nativity (immigrant or U.S. born), years lived in the U.S. (for immigrant participants), gender and age. To start, choose an origin group or select “view all quotes” to see responses from all focus group participants.
What does it mean to be …
… living in America?
Key | Display Text |
---|---|
all | Selected quotes from all focus group participants |
origingroup_filipino | Selected quotes from Filipino focus group participants |
nativity_foreignborn | Selected quotes from the Foreign-born group on case by case basis |
lengthofstay_over10years | Selected quotes from the Over 10 years group |
age_under50 | Selected quotes from the Under 50 group |
gender_man | Selected quotes from the Man group |
origingroup_chinese | Selected quotes from Chinese focus group participants |
age_50 | Selected quotes from the 50+ group |
origingroup_pakistani | Selected quotes from Pakistani focus group participants |
nativity_usborn | Selected quotes from the U.S.-born group |
lengthofstay_na | Selected quotes from the N/A group |
origingroup_vietnamese | Selected quotes from Vietnamese focus group participants |
lengthofstay_lessthan10years | Selected quotes from the Less than 10 years group |
gender_woman | Selected quotes from the Woman group |
origingroup_hmong | Selected quotes from Hmong focus group participants |
origingroup_bangladeshi | Selected quotes from Bangladeshi focus group participants |
origingroup_japanese | Selected quotes from Japanese focus group participants |
origingroup_indian | Selected quotes from Indian focus group participants |
origingroup_laotian | Selected quotes from Laotian focus group participants |
origingroup_taiwanese | Selected quotes from Taiwanese focus group participants |
origingroup_nepalese | Selected quotes from Nepalese focus group participants |
origingroup_cambodian | Selected quotes from Cambodian focus group participants |
origingroup_burmese | Selected quotes from Burmese focus group participants |
origingroup_thai | Selected quotes from Thai focus group participants |
origingroup_korean | Selected quotes from Korean focus group participants |
origingroup_srilankan | Selected quotes from Sri Lankan focus group participants |
origingroup_bhutanese | Selected quotes from Bhutanese focus group participants |
origingroup_indonesian | Selected quotes from Indonesian focus group participants |
lengthofstay_lessthan10yyears | Selected quotes from the Less than 10 Yyears group |