The Model Minority Myth Of Asian Americans

Asians are one of fastest growing minority groups in America today. During this century, various factors at home and abroad have caused people from Asia to immigrate to the United States for better or for worse. Due to these factors, Americans and American teachers, in particular, need to educate themselves and become aware of the Asian American students’ needs in terms of success and happiness. Before beginning my research, I felt I had an easy subject: studying Asian Americans in relation to their education in public schools. How simple! Everyone knows they are smart, hard working, driven to succeed in spite of their nerdish, geeky, non-athletic, broken-English stereotype. Of course they are

The lack of representation for struggling students further infused the misconception of the stereotype. Since the majority of students do not understand their Asian classmates’ family dynamic and appreciate their dedication in school work, many non-Asians assumed academic achievements for Asian students happen effortlessly. While they labeled their Asian classmates as “model minority”, such compliment can evoke jealousy and resentment. To examine the relationship between positive stereotypes and negative feelings, researchers William Maddux, Adam Galinsky, Amy Cuddy and

In his essay “Paper Tigers,” Wesley Yang discusses his own experiences as an Asian American, tying them into the larger picture of Asians functioning in American society today. Yang’s argument is that even though Asian Americans are one of the most successful ethnicities in the country, stereotypes that Asian Americans are exposed to affect the way other Americans view them. Because of personal bias and racism, human society fails to see other people for who they are and put too much emphasis on what they are supposed to or not supposed to be in America today. Stereotypes cloud people’s vision and judgment and keep some from achieving their goals because others have a pre-created

Have you ever heard the statement that all Asian Americans are good at math and science and they excel educationally? This paper defines the model minority myth, provides historical context in perspective of the Chinese Americans and explains how these Chinese American’s experiences do not fit the model minority myth. The model minority stereotype has various negative assumptions towards Asian Americans and one of them is that it assumes all Asian Americans are a homogenous ethnic group. There are several ways how Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans do not fit the model minority myth. Specifically, the historical context of these Chinese Americans contradicts the model minority stereotype.

Although Asian Americans comprise only about 5% of the U.S. population, this group is the fastest growing segment of American society. Despite such rapid expansion, Asian Americans are widely underrepresented throughout media, whether in television, cinema, or literature. Moreover, there are different stereotypes associated with Asian Americans. One of the most pervasive stereotypes details how Asian Americans are a “model minority”. In essence, this myth describes how anyone who is Asian American will become a successful individual able to achieve the “American dream”.

Statistics that support this model minority theory can be found in many areas, the first being education. Fifty percent of Asian Americans 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree compared to twenty-nine percent of the white population. Many studies have used standardized tests and school records, such as SAT, GPA, and other measures to compare the academic performance of Asian American students with non-Asian American students. Several studies have indicated that the outstanding academic performance of Asian students might be attributed to their cultural and family values. Another area of model minority success is found in the professional workforce. Asian Americans as a group work in the same place of employment as whites. This alone suggests that they have succeeded. A high percent of Asians are found at the top of professional and managerial positions. This success in the workforce has also lead Asians to hold one of the highest income figures per family by race. On the other hand, the model minority label is also seen as a myth. This label suggests that Asian Americans conform to the norms of society, do well in school and careers, are hardworking and self-sufficient. It follows that Asian Americans are a model for all groups, especially other minority groups. However, a closer look uncovers

There is a model minority group called “Combating the stereotype,” which is based on ethnicity, race, or religion whose members are to achieve a higher degree on socioeconomic success than the population average. There is a myth that other races should not counted for and the Asian Americans are successful in life. Asian Americans are usually denied assistance if they need help in some ways. When Asian Americans are discriminated their society and their achievements are undstandable and ignored. Asian Americans are percepted of high income level and

The first issue is the model minority stereotype because it covers up the internal differences within the Asian population. As supported by Zia’s text, “Geeks are ‘model minorities’ who never have problems, like racism or poverty to contend with and never need assistance from government agencies or anyone else” (Zia 118). This quote illustrates that under the model minority myth, a certain group of people do not have problems of their own which is why they are seen as the ideal minority. Although the term “geeks” in the above statement may signify hard-working and intellectual students, it fails to include anyone else in this group who may be struggling with racism and is need of government aid. Therefore, the model minority stereotype is an overgeneralization of the entire Asian population because it does not incorporate the differences within the Asian population.

There are always times when people stereotype others simply by the way they look at times it is unconscious. It could be thought that one minority group is better than another when in reality all minority groups are the same. “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority,” by Ronald Takaki, he claims that the Asian Americans are not as successful as others claim. Even though Takaki gives enough evidence to support his claim, his argument is ineffective because of his undocumented sources, disorganization, and assumptions.

that despite the supposed success of Asian Americans, the statistics prove the expectations to be

To some people this is not be viewed as a stereotype due to the fact it is not instantly perceived as “negative”; for those readers who delve in deeper, this stereotype outlines the educational daily hidden pressure of people from Chinese descent whom do not fit this “positive” stereotype. Every day, especially in American society, classmates look to their Asian counterparts to provide the answers to questions they do not know in every subject they take. Nonetheless, this ridiculous assumption hurts the Asian students that do not feel comfortable with their intellectual abilities. Placing Asian students as the “model student” excludes the students who actually have problems and need help that other classmates are reluctant to give the students simply because their classmates do not view helping their struggling Asian classmates as an actual necessity. By “poking” fun and bringing into light both Asian stereotypes, Yang enforces view that stereotypes are in use today.

Asians have migrated to and have lived in the Americas since the days of our founding fathers. The first to come from the Eastern Hemisphere were a small group of Filipinos in the early 18th century that settled in present day Louisiana. The first major influx of Asian Americans was Chinese Americans who came in the 1800’s to find financial opportunity during the California gold rush. They settled in the Golden State and eventually spread out all over the United States, creating the now-famous Chinatowns that millions of Americans visit every year. There is a continual migration of well educated South Asians and East Asians for job and education opportunities and their success has formed the basis for the “myth of the model minority” (MMM). This is the idea that all people who are Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are successful both socioeconomically and educationally. This does have a logical basis rooted in statistics—AAPI students are reported to have higher grade point averages, math scores, and overall standardized tests scores on tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Exam (ACT). Other studies often use a racialized rhetoric comparing Asian Americans to white Americans in terms of education and socioeconomic status while contrasting them to the so-called “lazy” and “incapable” Hispanic and African Americans.

All Asian Americans are good at math, or at least that’s what I heard. They are also good at anything involving technology, science, and medicine. They study all the time, work really hard and live a version of the American dream I never thought to dream of. Afterall they’re Asian, their parents wouldn’t allow for anything less. In his article “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority” the ethnic studies expert Ronald Takaki writes about the idea that Asian Americans are more successful than other American minority groups. Takaki refutes this idea using reason and statistics to show that Asian Americans still face some of the same hardships and barriers as every other racially defined group in America.

The Model Minority theory is a concept that puts the assumption in the minds of people that all persons who are from Asian or of Asian decent are successful, smart, hard working, and model citizens who respect the authority of their country. The Model Minority theory became very apparent in 1966 when two major magazines, New York Times Magazine and U.S. New and World Report, each published articles that gave praise to the great achievements of Asian Americans (Fong 62.) While the theory might appear to give Asians praise for their hard work and success, in reality it covers up and marginalizes the real experiences Asian Americans face. For example, one of the ways the Model Minority theory harms the Asian American community is that it

Asian Americans have been considered the “model minority,” compared to other cultural groups. For instance, they are consistently regarded as high academic achievers and people that refrain from causing issues within society (McGoldrick et al., 2005, p. 272). However, Asian Americans describe and identify themselves based on where their family derived from. Also, educational attainment is encouraged among Asian Americans which are depicted among the graduation rates and postgraduate schooling they have merely been more successful compared to other ethnic groups (Pew Research Center, 2012). Asian-American parents are quite demanding toward their children of being academically successful in school. In any case, more recent foreign-born and native-born Asian Americans are pleased and agree that opportunities and success is highly probable compared to their parents at a comparable period of life.