New Women of Empire: Gendered Politics and Racial Uplift in Interwar Japanese America

Strong, bold, and vivacious—Japanese American young women were leaders and heroines of the Roaring Twenties. Controversial to the male immigrant elite for their rebellion against gender norms, these women made indelible changes in the community, including expanding sexual freedoms, redefining women's roles in public and private spheres, and furthering racial justice work. Young men also reconceptualized their ideas of manliness to focus on intellectualism and athleticism, as racist laws pre...