Asian American Model Minority Myth Essay

To be young and Asian in America is a special brand of torture. There is an unspoken dictum of silence that grips Asian youth, a denial of our place in popular culture. Asian youth walk in America not quite sure where we fit in-black children have a particular brotherhood, Hispanic children have a particular brotherhood, white children own everything else. We cannot lay claim to jazz or salsa or swing; we cannot say our ancestors fought for equality against an oppressive government or roamed the great hallways of power across the globe. We do not have a music, a common hero, a lexicon of slang. Asian youth experience personal diasporas every day.

In Streets of Gold: The Myth of the Model Minority by Curtis Chang, he discusses the stereotypes labeled against Asian-Americans and explains how the U.S. Society sees them as the “model minority”. He goes to the core of the “model minority” assumption, and shows the reader how the media heavily influences these ideas. He shows how cultural patterns within the Asian-American society fuel these ideas. Chang uses very interesting ways of presenting evidence by putting quotes within his piece thoughtfully, so that the quotes blend in with the paragraph. The author also has a humorous voice throughout the essay, which connects to the reader with the subject as if it were a one on one

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.

Despite the fact that Asian Americans have been in Hollywood for decades, there are very few positive representations of them in film. More often than not, they’ve been depicted as stereotypical caricatures, and more specifically, as foreigners who can’t speak grammatically correct English. Moreover, the negative representations of Asian Americans in film has perpetuated certain misconceptions about their culture. Chan is Missing (1982) calls for more genuine representations of Asian American identities through its cast of complex characters and defiance of Asian stereotypes. The film also urges its viewers to critically think about their own notions of identity through the use of several recurring themes and filmmaking techniques.

The Asian American population is a major facet of American life; beginning their lives as immigrants they have worked their way to become integral members of society. In 2010 there were 14.7 million Asian Americans living in the United States and in 2011 that number increased to 18.2 million.1 Culturally, Asian American people have traditions and beliefs that contradict those of the Western world.2 “Culture molds people’s values, attitudes, and beliefs; influences their perceptions of self and others; and determines the way they experience their environment.”10 As a result there are certain barriers that exist when communicating with Asian Americans due to their cultural background. Additionally, Asians living in America suffer from the Model Minority Myth, which typecasts these people as being financially and educationally well off in comparison to other ethnic groups.2 Due to this Asian Americans aren’t considered more at risk for many health risks compared to other ethnicities; cultural and physical barriers act as a hindrance to Asian Americans receiving healthcare services, primarily mental health related services.

In his essay “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority”, Ronald Takaki comments on how the Asian race is perceived. He believes that the Asian race is viewed as a “model minority” and he discusses how this perception is both false and harmful. Takaki supports his stance by providing statistical facts about the Asian population in the United States. He further discusses the media’s involvement in the perpetuation (and likely, the genesis) of this perception. Takaki provides statistics that he then compared to other ethnicities in the United States to further solidify his stance. While I tend to agree with most of Takaki’s general thesis, I disagree with how he makes his points.

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

Asian American parents believe in keeping many of their issue within the family which makes them reluctant to seek services. Because of this culture believe, Asian Americans utilize mental health services at a lower rate compared to other Americans (Sue, 1994). Socially sanctioned claims concerning Asian American's social character or integrity helps to explain why they don't utilize services as often as other Americans. Counselors can work to lessen the effects of racism and discrimination that have impacted Americans by expanding their knowledge of discriminations experiences of Asian American's and

The Individual and the Model Minority Myth Almost everyone who knows anything about Asian Americans has at least heard about the “model minority” stereotype. There are different ways the stereotype is worded, but it most often characterizes Asian Americans as smart, overachievers, obedient, exceeding in sciences, math, technology and engineering fields of study, having authoritarian parenting, and having the desire to get good grades. Although the stereotype is now frequently referred to as a “myth”, it still persists in American society; it can be seen in the college application process where a study found that Asians need to perform higher on standardized tests than non-Asians. Since this notion is still kept by many in America, it is especially

topic quite extensively and has the facts and figures to back up his points. For example, the author states that although there are many successful Asian Americans in the business world, many have hit the "glass ceiling" and will not rise to the higher ranks of their business. This presents problems for the community and proves that calling Asian Americans the "model minority" is not entirely accurate.

Even though the stereotype that Asian Americans are high academic achievers comes across as being relatively positive toward Asian Americans, there are a number of negative consequences that result because of this belief. First, this stereotype can negatively affect the mental health status of Asian Americans by increasing the probability for the development of psychological disorders, including those relating to anxiety or depression. For instance, a study by Owens, Stevenson, Hadwin, and Norgate (2012), which evaluated the effects of anxiety and depression on working memory and executive processing of the brain with regard to test performance, found a positive relationship among factors of anxiety (e.g., negative affect, worry) and tasks

Asian-Americans have a stigma of being society’s “model minority.” The notion that is perceived of them being well off and successful is justified by their outstanding achievements and studies in school. However, Pan Suk Kim argues just how precarious this sentiment is. Not every Asian-American is well off and successful like how society depicts them to be. Kim’s main claim is that calling Asian-Americans a “model minority” disguises the diversity and discrimination that still goes on for many Asian-Americans today and it impacts many aspects of life for them like searching for jobs, getting promotions, etc.

After reading the novels assigned in this Asian American class, it seems that many Asian American experiences are similar. One similarity that is outstandingly prominent is how an outside culture impacts either directly or indirectly a foreign society. Often, the influences of the powerful yet glamorous American lifestyle lead to self-hatred of one's own society and culture. We see this in "Obasan," by Joy Kogawa, and in "Dogeaters," by Jessica Hagedorn, where many of the characters cease to acknowledge their own identity by living vicariously through movies, music and other American influences. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the portrayals of this self-hatred, and analyze how America

​Model minority is a myth that prescribes the Asian-descent group as intelligent, diligent and family-oriented. Appraising the community as highly gifted in science and rich in financial base, the Whites appeal other races to learn from them. However, as a saying goes, “all is not gold that glitters.” The titles of “doctors” or “triumphant” are so enticing that may cover up the damages beneath it. The myth is indeed more of a bane than a benefit, especially when you consider the four influences it brings to the Asian minority: it integrates the group as a whole, evading people’s identity; it acts as a measurement and anyone who do not meet the expectations are labeled as failures; it puts quotas on both the education and the employment for Asian people, making them extremely difficult to get in good schools or get jobs with high salary, and finally it unfairly discriminates other minority races by implying they are lazy and stupid.

Everyone feels pressured to excel in school, and this is especially true for Asian American students. The stereotype that all Asians are smart is a common label that defines the model minority stereotype. It consists of Asians being labeled as one group where they are all intelligent in the sense of being naturally good at math, science, and technology, as well as being hard-working, self-reliant, uncomplaining, and never in need of help from anyone (“Model Minority Stereotype”). This racial stereotype has an influence on college admissions, increases academic struggling, and raises mental health issues. Although the model minority stereotype may seem positive because it portrays Asian Americans as geniuses, it is actually quite harmful.