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The social construction of race affects
The social construction of race affects
The social construction of race affects
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The United States is the country that gives its citizens freedom, but is that really true? Freedom is when an individual has the right to do or say whatever they believe in without restraint. If that is so, why are certain individuals facing problems because of how they dress, where they are from, and even because of what they believe in. That is because ‘Racism’ exist in our country. It exist in our country because there is one group which most people refer to “White”, which some believe are superior than everybody else. This is a problem we as a country are facing because instead of being “United”, we are separating and categorising. Some people will say racism doesn't exist, but I believe it does and there are readings that prove it. Generally, racism is one thing that leads to stereotypes. “I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early” (Cofer). In the essay “Don’t Call Me A Hot Tamale” written by Judith Ortiz Cofer focuses on the struggles a young Latina faces because of where she is from. In the essay Cofer explains how it was her school dance and she believes the way she was dressed is what provoked her date to take certain action. Like she also addressed, “Neither the music nor the colors we wore could be too loud” (Cofer). To her, dressing beautiful or what people would say “Sexy”, was …show more content…
“The stereotype that “Asians are smart” becomes “Asians are smart only because they are Asian” (Yook). The essay “Positive Stereotypes Are Hurtful Too” written by Hailey Yook shows how the author is affected by this act towards her race. Like mentioned before, some people believe racism does not exist. But this essay proves that it does because even what people may consider “compliments”, can be insults due to labeling and not recognizing the actual work. That is how Yook feels, she feels like just because she is Asian people already know what to expect, but do not look at all she has to
The stereotypes for Asians are never ended; generally we assume that they are quiet, smart, good in math and science and passive. This movie tried to devour these stereotypes and give the audience an inside look into the minds of the Asian women interviewed. I have a good friend from high school who is Korean and having grown up with her, I have watched her struggle with acceptance and trying to overcome these horrible stereotypes. When we reached our junior year in high school and began looking at colleges, she decided that she wanted to attend a college where she wouldn’t be one of the only Asian girls. Growing up in a small rural community, she often felt like an outcat in our white high school. She is now attending SUNY Buffalo and is very happy that she is in a more diverse community.
How are stereotypes formed? Why do we stereotype whole cultures? What role does popular culture play in this process?
According to Harris and Sanborn (1989), media portrays Asians more positively than other minorities, as they are shown to “succeed academically, commercially, and socially” (p. 104). Though London is certainly not an example of this, her father still expects nothing but the best, suggesting her upbringing is not far off with the stereotypes that go along with Asian
Stereotypes are everywhere and can often create problems for people, however they become even more detrimental with teens, especially at schools. Writer and science correspondent for the NRA, Shankar Vedantam, in his article, “How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,” explains that stereotypes can hurt the performance of the one that it is associated with. He supports his claim by first explaining that how well people do on tests are determined on who administers the questions, then he explains that studies show that when people take tests and they are reminded of negative stereotypes that associate with them, then they don’t do as well, and finally he states that the studies are being widely ignored by all the people which should take heed of the findings, such as test makers and college acceptance people. Vedantam’s purpose is to tell you about the research conducted by Huang in order to inform you that stereotypes can affect performance on tests.
In addition to discriminating against Asians, what most people don’t realize is that they are discriminating against the other ethnic groups too, thus creating interracial tension. When one superficially praises the success of one group, they are indirectly bringing out the failures of the other group. For example, when comparing Blacks, Hispanics or Native Americans to Asian American success, they are disregarding the fact that Blacks, Hispanics or Native Americans can be successful too. The model minority myth also creates an exaggerated portrayal of Asian students as hard working, studious, and persevering, which can lead to Asian American students being bullied by their fellow peers.
Stereotypes are the shackles of mankind. Personally, after racism, I really detest stereotypes; I just don’t understand why people in this world judge each other so much, it’s aggravating, irritating and infuriating. You can’t and shouldn’t judged someone over someone else’s actions; hence being the reason as to why God created everyone to be different and unique. For instance, one of the most common stereotypes that Indians are labelled with is that they love curry. “Oh I’m sorry” I didn’t know you get judged for liking a type of food. Individually, I love food and I also love curry but I am African, so does that make me an Indian? NO! Stereotypes can’t define a person and it shouldn’t define a race either. Why let someone else’s actions falsely define another person or why let someone’s skin colour define that person? For example: an albino is white but what if both of his parents are black, how would you define him, Black or White? Also, another thing that I hate, which I think a lot of teenagers can relate to, is when you’re walking down the street wearing a hoodie or a tracksuit and an older person in front of you sees you but chooses to cross over to the other side of the road because “you’re dangerous” or “a drug dealer” or maybe even “a serial killer” just for wearing that type of clothing. It’s actually truly pathetic classifying someone else by their choice of clothing as the last time I checked it was a free Country and you can wear as you please. I admit some of these stereotypes might be true but that doesn’t mean they relate to everyone. As, sometimes even I get quite terrified when I’m walking by myself and a see a gang of teenage boys in hoodies and tracksuits, but it’s because my brain is brain washed with all the negative things that’s said about them. Peoples’ personal characters can be unpredictable but it still doesn’t
The media purposely reports about the fact that “[m]ost Asian Americans (49 percent) have college degrees compared with all other U.S. adults (28 percent)” (Lee 376) as well as their ability to “[outscore]outscored other racial groups on the math portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) year after year” (Lee 376). These types of discussions causes people to believe that all Asian Americans succeed academically, which perpetuates the model minority stereotype. Considering the fact that other minoritized groups have negative stigmas, some may argue that Asian Americans should appreciate the positive label, “model minority.” Although a positive stereotype may seem beneficial, it can
As a second generation Asian American, I have not experienced much discrimination, since I have grown up surrounded by the American language and culture. However, after reading Strangers from a Different Shore, I realized that Asian Americans today are experiencing a new type of prejudice: “The Myth of the ‘Model Minority’” (474).` This stems from Asians’ success in school and in their jobs. The stereotypical idea of “Asian parents” also contributes to this misconception. The media helped spread the idea of this “super minority.” The New Republic praised the “Triumph of Asian-Americans” as “America’s greatest success story,” and CBS’s 60 Minutes presented a glowing report on Asian’s achievements in academics (475). This misconception leads many teachers and employers to assume that all Asians are intelligent beings and little powerhouses of work.
There is a phenomenon happening in most schools throughout the country. Asian students as young as seven years olds are labeled as gifted and enrolled in various accelerate programs to further develop their talents. Certainly, most of these students are deserving of the honorable recognition. However, many skeptics do question how many of them are viewed as exceptional students based upon the stereotype: they are genetically smarter than their non-Asian peers.
Cheng writes that racial grief is then translated into social ideals by the racialized. The feelings of melancholy and being ostracized become naturalized and racial ideals that were imposed become the ideals to live up to. For example, Asians feel the need to be mathematically inclined, and tend to be apologetic if not. The single story of the smart Asian, the Asian that studies all day, thus becomes the Asian’s identity that is internalized and pursued. There is a gradual acceptance of the impossibility of attaining ‘whiteness’ – the paragon of race.
There are many influences that end up making stereotype what it is today. In reading Charles Ramirez-Berg article on “Categorizing the Other: Stereotypes and Stereotyping” gave wonderful insight to every element that is connected to stereotyping. Ramirez-Berg sums up stereotyping into three terms category making, ethnocentrism and prejudice. “A stereotype is the result of this process and can be defined as a negative generalization used by an in-group (Us) about an out-group (Them). Lippmann called these mental constructs “picture in our heads” (Ramirez-Berg pg. 15). In developing a bad stereotype there are two elements that take place. One is in having your own group be in the center of everything. Second is judging others in differences from your own. “Stereotyping regarding the Latina/o population in the United States seem to prevail in our public discourse, are promulgated by media, and go mainly unchallenged throughout our educational systems” (Rodriguez pg. 10). The Hollywood films caused the construction of whites stereotyping racial minorities. Films degraded Latinos and presented the
At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate.
Just like any other racial stereotypes, Asian Stereotypes have been and always will be around in our society. The fact that Asians are allowed to be portrayed stereotypically in Media shows the lack of voices of this minority group. Asian stereotypes are taken lightly by others, and yet heavily by the Asian population. Whether one likes it or not, Asian stereotype does not disappear eternally. As individuals of intellectual specie, we have to acknowledge the power of a racial stereotype and the possibilities of it remaining to be an eternal issue. To allocate such problem to another perspective, we must aim to become aware of them, by viewing these Asian Stereotypical films of what your average American watches on TV or at the movies. Although when Asian characters seem harmless (Jackie Chan in “Rush Hour” series) or humorous...
We’ve all heard it said that Asian Americans are good at math; anything involving science, technology, and medicine. They study all the time, work really hard, and live a version of the American dream many of us never thought to dream of. And of course, we know these stereotypes are dangerous and often untrue, but perhaps we still find ourselves buying into them. Ronald Takaki”, the ethnic studies expert, writes about the idea that Asian Americans are more successful than any other American minority group in his article “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority. Takaki refutes this idea by strategically, and somewhat effectively, using reason, statistics, and word choice to show that Asian Americans still face some of the same hardships and barriers
For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued. In essence, he was shunned” (Hongo 4) by the white people who could not believe that he would attack their superior American ways. According to writers such as Frank Chin and the rest of the “Aiiieeeee!” group, the Americans have dictated Asian culture and created a perception as “nice and quiet” (Chin 1972, 18), “mama’s boys and crybabies” without “a man in all [the] males.” (Chin 1972, 24). This has become the belief of the proceeding generations of Asian Americans and therefore manifested these stereotypes.