UCLA

This chapter advances alternative examples of masculinity in Shawn Wong’s American knees, Li-Young Lee’s Winged Seed, and Russell Leong’s “Phoenix Eyes.” These three works counter the “emasculation” of Asian men without falling into the trap of presenting aggressive or self-denigrating counterexamples. Wong’s novel features a seductive lover whose eloquence and wit is reminiscent of Chinese poet-scholars. Lee’s memoir of his father portrays a spellbinding Christian minister. Leong’s short fiction depicts gay men who exemplify the “ethic of care” in the shadow of AIDS and in the light of Buddhism.