Deconstructing The Model Minority Myth

Asian Americans are a diverse group of people who are among the fastest growing minority groups in the United States. Despite their minority status, they often surpass Whites in America and do so while holding on to their cultural values regarding family, education, and success.

Asian Americans may also face the realities of racism and discrimination in the United States. Institutional racism, like initiatives to speak English only, as well as individual racism that includes “differential treatment, verbal insults, and racial slurs” are a reality that some Asian

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”.

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.

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

Asian Americans have been considered as the “model minority” and research shows that this minority is achieving “the American Dream”. With a good education, earning a good living, being “hardworking, patient” and earning the highest college degree attainment rate in the US, Asian Americans fit the stereotype very well. They even fit

Nguyen implies that the model minority myth is acting as a mask covering the truth behind the successful image of Asian Americans. Many people are not aware of the growing poverty rate in this population which includes “more than 11.7% of Asian Americans who are homeless” (Nguyen 1).The social constructs of America are turning the diverse Asian American community into a monolithic group. Due to these social stereotypes, many Asian Americans are facing disparities and unequal treatment when they are asking for help concerning financial issues. Furthermore, with the high rates of high educational attainments, Asian Americans are portrayed to be very smart in education, especially in mathematics.

Throughout history, Asian Americans have been perceived as outsiders in the United States. They have been denied basic privileges in this country and have been treated very unfairly. However, during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Asian Americans gained success through their businesses and cultural background leading them to have a manageable life. This labeled them as the “Model Minority;” it can be defined as an image in which a minority group are seen to be successful than the average population. This image led Asian Americans to be the nation’s stereotypical image of a model minority all the while shifting the blames of the countries to the other minority groups.

Asian Americans are, as is the widely held belief, the “model minority” for their perceived

Asian Americans have been significantly affected today because of the “model minority” ideology. The idea of Asian Americans being the model minority encouraged and pushed Caucasian Americans that if you have the right cultural values, you can make it. This causes an erasure of the economic disparities and social issues that the poor working Asian Americans have today.

Asian Americans have been unintentionally benefiting from “a specific set of immigration and domestic policies” (Jennifer Pan, 2015). They are “highly selected” and better educated which allows for creating institutions for increasing rates of education. Also, they receive financial support that is not available to other communities of color (Pan, 2015). This results, as Pan says, in Asian Americans having a higher median income than any other race today.

Growing research has explored the impact of ethnic stereotypes on mental wellbeing amongst Asian Americans, one of the most rapidly expanding ethnic groups in the United States (United States Census Bureau, 2010). The stereotype of Asians in America as an academically and economically successful ethnic group who have “made it” in America are often labeled as a “model minority” (Lee et al., 2009). More specifically, the model minority myth refers to the idea that Asian Americans in the U.S. are perceived to have high educational, occupational, and economic statuses and are able to acculturate better due to these successes in comparison to other migrant groups (Gupta, Szymanski, & Leong, 2011). The idea of a “model minority” instilled the assumption that any migrant group can pursue the American dream through determination and hard work (Lee, 2009). This assumption focuses on the upward mobility of Asians in America yet fails to address the socio-cultural disparities of varying Asian sub-groups. The flourishing Asian population in the United States presents a growing concern for mental health

What is the “model minority” stereotype? It is a common portrayal amongst Asian American students that suggests they are more academically and economically successful than other races. It is believed they are more successful than other minority groups because their cultures value hard work. Throughout the Second Edition of Unraveling the “Model Minority” Stereotype, Stacey Lee investigates this stereotype by examining the population of “Asian American” students at Academic High School.

Gupta discusses that some students embraced the model minority myth as a better alternative than being a demonized minority (Gupta 28). But by embracing the model minority myth, those South Asian students overlooked other South Asian students who were excluded from the myth. In which case, are there times when the model minority myth may be deemed appropriate to use? At times, can it be seen as a defense mechanism?