Model Minority Myth
Being a minority in America is no easy task, it comes with endless criticism and reticule along with prejudices and discrimination. A common definition for prejudice would be “an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.” A more realistic definition would be “any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.” (Dictionary.com "Prejudice") The second definition is better to explain prejudice because it is not always negative, there is positive prejudice as well. Most minorities in America experience a large amount of negative prejudice, but there is also positives to go with the negative like “Black people are good at basketball”, or “Asians are good at
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(Chow "The Model Minority Myth") The problem with the model minority myth is that it is misleading. It gives a false praise to all Asian Americans when most of the time it does not apply to them. In Chyna and Me Joyin did not like being called a model minority because she felt like she wasn’t one and was still being treated differently and did not want to be thought of something she wasn’t. The myth also leads to educators making assumptions about the Asian American students which can cause them to overlook the actual needs of individual students. (Chow "The Model Minority Myth") It gives the Asian Americans a disadvantage in different aspects of their lives because everyone just expects them to have a better idea of what is going on just because they are Asian rather than what they have shown previously. This can also lead to more ridicule for Asian American students who do poorly on a math test or any other subject, they get called a “dumb Asian” or start to become the punch line of jokes. Another problem with the myth is that it makes the Asian American minorities seem like they are better than the other minority groups in America. Other minority groups are seen as horrible and treated that way. Latin Americans and Hispanics are told to go back across the border no matter what country are from. The African Americans are still the butt end of slave jokes and endless racism. The Asian Americans avoid most of this because they are seen as an improvement for our nation. A model
The article by Min Zhou titled "Are Asian Americans becoming "white"? was relatively interesting as it provides a look at a different perspective of Asian Americans regarding immigration. I found it particularly interesting to learn that Asian Americans are considered to be white in equal opportunity programs; however, the race is still seen as different from Americans of European ancestry. Furthermore, I was not shocked to read that Zhou described the Asian American race as the "model minority." When first looking at the reading, I was shocked by the title because I thought it was a little exaggerated. I believe the author could have chosen a more suitable phrase rather than "Asian Americans are becoming white"; however, it does provide significant
In article “The Problem with Serial and the Model Minority Myth” writer, Julia Carrie Wong, claims that “In Episode 8, it becomes clear that Koenig is deploying another classic racial trope— that of the “model minority.” A sum up of this term “model minority” is when people fill up the stereotype image that is put on their race. Koenig has done a great job to represent each important person without (stereotyping.) In episode 8, Sarah Koenig gets in depth information on Jay; what kind of person he is, opinions on what other people think of him, etc. I disagree with Wong unanimously because it’s reaching to look for racism where there isn’t.
We cannot deny the fact that, as Americans, racial realism has always affected us and our way of thinking. In my personal experience, being an Asian, I have had
...ut trying to find your place within society as a minority is even harder. When you go for a job interview and see the person you are being interviewed by shake their head when they hear your accent, you know that you are in trouble. It's the education that is lacking in America. We are known to be this great melting pot. But it isn't until the stereotypes that plague so many Americans come to an end, that we will truly be united as one.
Chinks, bad drivers, math and science nerds, F.O.Bs and ect. There are so many stereotypes and misconception for one specific ethnic group: Asian. But perhaps the most popular image of Asian Americans presented in society is being the “model minority.” If you were to ask any random person to pick a specific minority group that was more academically, economically and socially successful compared to the others, chances are 90% of them would answer: Asians. “Asians makes more money than any other race.” “Asians have the highest grades compared to other races, especially in math and science subjects.” But contrary to these popular stereotypes, the misrepresentation of Asian Americans as the model minority are false and simply just a myth. Furthermore, this misleading comparison may actually lead to harmful consequences in Asian American students.
In the beginning when Asians came to America, they had started out with nothing, no foundation, and no help. All they could do was work hard to create a better life with their own hands, someday, in hope that they will succeed. Back in the 1800’s, during the gold rush days, Americans were displeased with the amount of Asian immigrants who came and took their jobs. Since then, Asians were able to survive and to achieve a great amount of success in the US. In order to catch up along with the rest of the world, the government created an example for their own people, known as the model minority. The model minority is a stereotype suggests that Asian Americans are “more academically, economically, and socially successful than any other racial minority groups.” (Yoo) In today’s world, Asian Americans are known to be “culturally — even genetically — endowed with the characteristics that enable them to succeed in American society.” (Wu) Model minority refers to a racial minority that serves a good example to be followed and compared for all other race; therefore, Asian Americans are characterized to it as one. If an Asian American is successful and smart, then it must be true about the whole Asian race. It creates false assumptions that every Asian is the same, which can discriminate and stereotype all Asian Americans who doesn’t belong in the category. This creates an unfair and unjust disadvantage and treatment towards Asian Americans who are targeted as one, in other words, it’s a problem that their needs and aids are ignored by society.
I also researched instances of counter actions taken by Asian Americans to protest against these negative images. My research also has examples of Asians that have succeeded in breaking through the racial barriers in the media. The results show that even though racial stereotyping still exists in various forms of mass media, there are signs that show noticeable improvement in allowing a more balanced image of Asian Americans. Statement of the Problem There are close to 12 million Asian Americans living in the United States (U.S. Asian, 2000). Asian Americans are considered one of the fastest growing minorities (Pimentel, 2001).
Minority is a broad term that classifies my family and me. This term can mean something bad and something good, depending on who’s perceiving the term. For me, personally it is a little bit of both. Being part of the minority group, it can and has been a barrier in my educational pursuit. However, it does not stop me from trying to reach my goals, it is like a motivation.
For 20 years, Asian Americans have been portrayed by the press and the media as a successful minority. Asian Americans are believed to benefit from astounding achievements in education, rising occupational statuses, increasing income, and are problem-fee in mental health and crime. The idea of Asian Americans as a model minority has become the central theme in media portrayal of Asian Americans since the middle 1960s. The term model minority is given to a minority group that exhibits middle class characteristics, and attains some measure of success on its own without special programs or welfare. Asian Americans are seen as a model minority because even though they have faced prejudice and discrimination by other racial groups, they have succeeded socially, economically, and educationally without resorting to political or violent disagreements with the majority race. The “success” of the minority is offered as proof that the American dream of equal opportunity is capable to those who conform and who are willing to work hard. Therefore, the term ...
In the end, it is up to Asian-Americans to discredit the positive and negative stereotypes. By assimilating with other race groups, Asian-Americans will gain more understanding from their non-Asian peers. In addition, when Asians are more forth-coming with their struggles, it will unmask the myth of perfection and allow others to see them as an individual.
Takaki, R. (1999). The myth of the “model minority.” In D. M. Newman (Ed.), Sociology:
An important topic that was not discussed in the course that may be deemed useful to the pursuit of Critical Filipino American Studies is the discussion of the implications the model-minority myth implicits on Filipino-Americans. Model-minority is the expectation placed upon the Asian-American groups that distinguishes most as having “superior academic ability, as being hard-working and economically self-sufficient, and therefore, as requiring less special support to become independent and successful in U.S society” (Cunanan). Though Filipinos fall under the umbrella of Asian-American, their immense differences from their Asian-American counterparts are important to recognize in order to comprehend as to why most Filipinos struggle to uplift the title of being a model-minority. Recognizing the Philippines’ history of being colonized by both the Spanish and the United States separates them from the cultural and historical experiences of other Asian-American countries.
Race, as a general understanding is classifying someone based on how they look rather than who they are. It is based on a number of things but more than anything else it’s based on skin's melanin content. A “race” is a social construction which alters over the course of time due to historical and social pressures. Racial formation is defined as how race shapes and is shaped by social structure, and how racial categories are represented and given meaning in media, language and everyday life. Racial formation is something that we see changing overtime because it is rooted in our history. Racial formation also comes with other factors below it like racial projects. Racial projects seek
African American and Asian American are continuously treated unlike any other racial group in the country. They are judge by their race, religion, background information, and physical appearances. Asian American face model minority daily because they are “supposed” to be smart, wealthy, hard-working, never in need of assistance, and living “the American dream.” On the contrary, African American are seen as criminals, “drug dealers”, no education, and poor. These are all examples of internalized racism.
Many immigrants are aware of the history of the Civil Rights movement, slavery and the history of race in the US. Yet, they believe those times of discrimination is over. Immigrant optimism is why immigrants push their children to excel. The openness of the educational system and pay off to higher education is too good to ignore. Many groups strive when they come; Asian immigrants are the minority model. Their consistent success is an example of overcoming all odds to succeed. Unfortunately it overshadows the reality for many native born people of color. It overshadows systemic racism and its many forms. It ignores the cycle of poverty and set up for failure by the education system. It ignores laws and Acts that have passed that impacts people of