Asian-Americans: Model Minority?

Asian-American. A term that invokes a variety of thoughts and emotions with identity, culture, and experiences. Asia is a continent consisting of 48 countries-- each with its own set of traditions, history, cultures, customs, and individuals. Despite this, so many associate “Asian” or “Asian-American”, with the same East Asian perception-- even then, it’s skewed. With this in mind, the experiences and identity of Asian-Americans are not easily defined, considering how diverse they are, but nonetheless, the unique experiences that each individual obtains through navigating the duality of being both of Asian descent, but of American identity as well, is not a topic that is discussed deeply enough. Here in America, the racism towards Asian-Americans is so deep-rooted that many do not acknowledge the presence of it. Stereotypes, microaggressions, and prejudice towards Asians often are neglected and downplayed. Many people don’t understand the deep history of prejudice towards Asian-Americans. From the Japanese Internment Camps to the Chinese Exclusion Act, to yellowface and brownface, to lack of representation, to the perpetuation of stereotypes, racism towards Asians runs deep in this country. Stereotypes and assumptions that Asians all look the same, that Chinese people eat dogs, that Asians can’t see, and are all great at math, of fetishized Asian women, and of Asians being kung fu masters, are still ingrained in people’s minds today.  The experiences of discrimination that many Asians and Asian-Americans have faced are often downplayed and are actively compared to the struggles of other minority groups in a downgrading way. It seems as if “Asian” is some type of “other”, that does not face real discrimination or racism and are perceived as closer to the white identity rather than others. Shockingly enough, many people today still do not consider Asians as people of color. Something I see today when in conversations of intersectionality, and discrimination, is people promoting “oppression points” of sorts where which the point is not to unite and make change, but rather to assert oneself as if to say “my struggles are worse than yours”. This ideology comes into play with the model minority myth, because the truth is, our experiences as being Asian are promoted to the model minority narrative, rather than highlighting the struggles that have been and are being faced in different communities. To elaborate, the model minority myth is essentially the idea that Asian-Americans are the model citizen and minority, yet this idea of a model minority is completely based on stereotypes. Because of the minority myth, Asian-Americans are perceived as the embodiment of the American Dream. It’s when Asian-Americans are perceived as high-achieving, successful, obedient citizens of the US. While at first, this may not sound inherently negative, it boxes Asian-Americans within this myth. People perceive Asians to fit within this label, of stereotypes, and of this image that is so often portrayed. Additionally, with the constriction of the model minority myth, it also does not allow for differentiation within the Asian-American label. The model minority myth ignores the immense diversity of Asian-American identities and lumps groups together. If one was to look at demographics and statistics of achievement of all Asian-Americans together, versus, the demographics of specific sub-groups, then the data would be drastically different. The model minority myth is also used to enforce the idea that racism isn’t as prevalent today-- to say, “Hey look, the Asians are doing well, racism is going away, see!”. It’s used to justify claims that white privilege isn’t real, and it completely overlooks the racial barriers that Asian-Americans still struggle through. It’s a tool not only used to dismiss the struggles and racism towards Asian-Americans and to wholly generalize Asian-Americans, but to also disregard the racism that is very much so alive today towards other groups of minorities, especially towards Black Americans. By setting Asian-Americans as the gold standard and the model minority, we are essentially undermining the institutionalized racism and discrimination that the Black community in particular faces. The Asian-American identity is complex, diverse, and has a long history full of transgressions and historical events that have shaped this country and the people to where we are now. Yet despite this progression, as aforementioned, so many people bear unconscious or conscious stereotypes about Asians or Asian-Americans that often manifest themselves in negative ways. I urge everyone to examine their perceptions of the “model minority” idea, and of Asian-Americans, and really learn from stories and experiences from those of Asian descent.