The History of the Model Minority Myth & its modern day impact on mental health
The model minority myth has been a phrase to describe Asian American communities for many decades (Blakemore). With ties to the beginnings of restrictive immigration laws in America to the recent hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, the model minority myth has driven and been perpetuated by harmful stereotypes that continue to impact Asian American mental health today (Blakemore).
This project explores the lasting impact of the model minority myth and presents a resource platform aimed to better support Asian American mental health and awareness. I designed a mobile platform with three main functions:
- Connect users to Asian American therapists who are better equipped to hold conversations surrounding Asian American mental health.
- Allow users to anonymously post thoughts, expressions, and emotions to encourage them to share with less pressure.
- Create a space for resource and knowledge-sharing centered around Asian American health, safety, and other useful guides/information that would be helpful for Asian American communities.
Background
The “model minority” is a phrase that has been used to describe a minority group that is perceived to be more successful and adaptable to American society than other minority groups (“The Practice | The Model Minority Myth”). The model minority term most commonly refers to Asian Americans because of their perceived academic, cultural, and economic adaptability in America (“The Practice | The Model Minority Myth”). This myth is perpetuated by stereotypes that surround Asian Americans’ academic and economic efforts by claiming Asian Americans’ success is attributed to their “genius” characteristics and “tiger mom/STEM dad” parenting (“What Is the Model Minority Myth | Learning for Justice”).
The term “model minority” specifically identifies Asian Americans as a minority group that achieved success despite being immigrants in America (“What Is the Model Minority Myth | Learning for Justice”). This praise for Asian Americans is based on the idea that the ideal minority group is economically successful while quietly following the laws and rules (“What Is the Model Minority Myth | Learning for Justice”). This means that having a “model” status requires complicity and assimilation.
History
While Asian Americans are currently referred to as the “model minority,” this was not always America’s view on their presence. In the 1850s, Asian American immigration began heavily fueling the economy and country’s expansion (Blakemore). Soon after, Asian Americans quickly became the target of some of America’s first restrictive immigration laws (Blakemore).
After a series of immigration laws in the United States, World War II brought forth an era of anti-Asian sentiment and hatred towards Asian Americans. The post-war era forced Asian Americans to “stay low” out of fear for being targeted as they found their closest chance for peace was to stay quiet and “out of trouble” (Blakemore). Slowly, they were seen as less and less of a threat to white supremacy, and praise began to circulate around their lack of resistance and presence in America.
By the time of the Cold War, America was on the search for allies (Guo). Quickly, Asians became glorified as the idea of the “model minority” began to set in place, and Asian Americans were praised as law-abiding citizens who were obedient to the majority and never complained about their struggles (Guo).
This glorification allowed for the United States to present a stronger international front to avoid claims of discrimination (Guo). Also, by praising one minority group, it provided a convenient way for the United States to draw comparisons and deny the demands of African Americans (Guo). The term “model minority” quickly became a tool that was used to simultaneously praise Asian compliance and blame Black poverty in America (Guo).
Mental Health for Asian Americans
The model minority myth sets up an expectation and assumption that Asian Americans have a higher resilience for discrimination, academics and work, and physical and mental health (Blakemore). This plays into stereotypes that define Asian Americans as civilians that assimilate quietly into the American industry without taking on overpowering leadership roles (“The Practice | The Model Minority Myth”).
Within Asian American Communities, the model minority myth discourages aid and support to Asian Americans (“The Practice | The Model Minority Myth”). From an internal standpoint, this has resulted in Asian Americans being less likely to reach out to seek mental health services or find support from others (Blakemore). With a stigma around mental health already surrounding Asian communities and cultures, the potential dangers of being outspoken in American society prevents Asian Americans from vocalizing their internal struggles and opinions (“Why Asian Americans Don’t Seek Help for Mental Illness | McLean Hospital”).
“The pressure of supposedly inherent Asian excellence can also have mental health consequences; the myth has been correlated with everything from increased depression and anxiety to higher suicide rates and lower likelihood of seeking mental health services.” (Blakemore)
The model minority myth also dismisses the individuality across Asian cultures, particularly within East Asian ethnic groups (“Why Asian Americans Don’t Seek Help for Mental Illness | McLean Hospital”). This erasure of unique Asian cultures trickles down to the individual struggle of identity. Young Asian Americans struggle to understand their identity in a white society that simultaneously praises Asian culture for its timid success and condemns Asians for being “other”.
The model minority myth has stemmed from a long history of anti-Asian sentiment that discredits the Asian American identity and perpetuates the glory of the “American Dream.” The accumulation of historical events, microaggressions, and racial wedges between Asian Americans and other minority groups in America has led to modern day tensions and inner-turmoil. These lead to self-imposed restraints for Asian Americans that prevent them from being outspoken about their struggles, opinions, and identity.
Design Project
While my research was heavily centered around the history of the model minority myth, I wanted to explore modern-day interventions that can help alleviate negative stigma around mental health for Asian Americans and provide more awareness and helpful resources.
For this project, I started by identifying the largest pain points I wanted to target in order to set appropriate goals for my intervention. These main takeaways could act as guidelines for the premise of my design project.
Because I wanted to consider an intervention that would be easy to engage with, I thought about the convenience of a mobile app that could factor in each of these features. Being able to participate in mental health services through an app could be easier for people than to go to an in-person appointment online and feel like less of a commitment.
Although mobile apps and web platforms are not an encompassing or holistic solution for these systemic problems, this project aimed to provide convenient and low-barrier support for Asian Americans who feel intimidated in participating in mental health services. Because participating in these services is largely connected with pressure and identity, I chose to design a mobile app in hopes that it would be an accessible starting point for Asian Americans seeking mental health support and provide a sense of agency for the user.
Because I have recently seen a few online services that connect people to therapists who are people of color, I thought about how this could be particularly helpful for Asian Americans to be able to talk to people who understand similar experiences.
To see what information is important to include my app, I looked at existing web platforms that are meant to connect people to therapists of color. Two sites that I found particularly effective and helpful were Therapy for Black Girls and Innopsych. These two sites were two user-friendly platforms that would be great for first-time clients to use.
While my project was more aimed towards mental health for Asian Americans and resource-sharing, looking through other platforms was very insightful for my initial designs for my own app.
To make sure my app would include all the functions that touched on the goals of the project, I sketched out an overview of what features would be included in the screens.
Mobile Platform
The central feature to my mobile app is the therapist search function. This allows users to be able to search for Asian therapists in their area while also being able to adjust based on preferences such as price range, insurance, or virtual therapy options. The search function helps increase users’ ability to talk with Asian therapists who can better understand the Asian American experience in the United States. Also, by creating a mobile app, I wanted to help users feel that there is a lower barrier of commitment by providing the convenience of a digital service.
This project serves to not only help Asian clients find therapists who have shared similar experiences and backgrounds, but to also decrease the overall stigma surrounding mental health as a whole. By showing a consolidated source of Asian therapists, users can see other Asians participating and engaging in mental health services. After clicking on a therapist in their area, users can read their information/specialties and make informed decisions on whether they want to contact them.
The other two pages on the mobile app are focused on expression and resource-sharing. The first page acts as a blog for users to be able to express their thoughts and feelings anonymously . Because the feeling of failure is so closely tied to Asian American pride and identity, the ability to post anonymously can help users freely express themselves and become more familiar with sharing their thoughts. To support this ease of expression, I included the features of emphasis and sending love for other viewers to still be able to react to create a sense of support and community. Because I wanted this section of the app to feel more like a personal blog or journal and avoid the platform shifting into more of a social media platform, I decided not to include reply/comment functions into the posts to allow users to post more openly.
The third part of the mobile navigation bar is the resources page. The resources page contains a series of categories that would be helpful for Asian Americans to unlearn stereotypes that have been perpetuated for years. It also includes a consolidated list of resources that better support Asian American mental health that may be difficult to normally find. Because mental health is rarely talked about in Asian communities, this part of the app acts as a non-exhaustive resource that Asian Americans can rely on for social, racial, and personal topics. Users can also submit their own resources for review so that the app resource list can grow across different communities and individuals.
Reflection
In reflection, this project became increasingly exciting for me to work on over time. When I first thought about how the topic of decoloniality personally connects to me, I immediately thought about how it felt to grow up in the suburbs of Georgia as an Asian American. Learning about the history of the model minority myth was not only insightful to learn about for the first time, but it also felt like connecting the dots between my own personal experiences and attitudes to the roots of Western domination. Looking back, I feel that the external treatment of Asian Americans growing up actually impacted me less than the internal changes I felt when it came to my own identity and belonging. The cultural tear between being an Asian American and growing up in a white community created a series of internal tensions that I did not personally address until later on in life. This project has widened my understanding of how these modern day struggles connect back to the idea of Western assimilation, shifting my perspective on almost every belief I had about Asian Americans when I was younger.
The largest takeaway that I wanted to emphasize in this project was that although the model minority myth is a seemingly positive or even outdated phrase, these historical views and discriminatory behavior continue to impact Asian Americans’ identities and relationships to this day. This project aimed to unpack the ideas that currently make Asian Americans feel silenced and misplaced today and translate it into a modern solution that can begin chipping away at these stereotypes. While the changes that I hope to see go beyond a mobile app, I wanted to design a consolidated platform where features that I wish I could have had growing up could be implemented.
Next Steps
Moving forward, I hope to build out my app to include more screens and features that can better support its function. Taking this project to a larger scale would also mean including more background research and user testing in order to fully ensure that I am targeting the right pain points and aspects of the “problem.” This way, I could implement feedback into the platform and make it more user-friendly so that it is ultimately more effective in combating internal and external stigma surrounding Asian American communities.
Beyond the app itself, this project has made me consider what other ways I can use my skills as a designer to increase awareness around this topic. My feedback from the class presentations helped me realize that many other Asian Americans feel a personal attachment to speaking up about mental health yet there are not a lot of resources online about ways to create change. While I do feel that services and solutions such as apps and websites definitely support these movements, I think the most important awareness stems from conversation and discussion. I’m interested in exploring more ways in the future I can bring in my heightened awareness of Asian American stereotypes and mental health stigma into my projects as a designer.
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