Olivia Wing, PhD candidate, History, and 2024–25 OHC Dissertation Fellow.

By the late 1960s Asian American youth played a central role in the creation of a pan-Asian American political identity. My dissertation seeks the pre-1960s origin of youth’s increasing prominence in the creation of Asian American cultural citizenship by examining intersections of youth, gender, and leisure/recreation. Charting the trajectory of Chinese and Japanese American youth involvement in beauty pageants, sports, and public celebrations, my project uncovers regional histories of community formation and representation that contextualize later interethnic tension and coalition.