Abstract:
This article focuses on the harm of positive stereotypes of Asians. It examines how Asian minorities in the U.S. are considered as the “model minority” and how these stereotypes could not only perpetuate the preexisting stereotypes but also limit the career possibilities for current Asian Americans. By regurgitating these statements, Asian Americans are constantly reminded of their “limitations” within society and therefore, damaging their self-worth. With the current political climate that tends to persecute Asian minorities and target their traditions and actions, it is more than important to realize that it is not a responsible action to protect the people who are in need but also a necessity for those who are in constant danger. Grounded on the research of racist acts and subtle prejudice against Asian Americans in all areas of society, this article eventually argues that the seeming compliments, known as positive stereotypes, could be worse than the actual harm of “negative stereotypes” which people experience not as much as they used to.
Believe it or not, violence and racism towards minority groups still exist in this society we claim to be perfect.
Just a few weeks ago, a rampage gun shooting in Atlanta took the lives of eight innocent people including six Asian women. The shooter himself later on blamed his actions based on his “sexual addiction” and “fantasy” towards Asian women (Associated Press). This is not the first time that the Asian minority group has been treated in such sickening manner. The shooter’s statement sends out the signal that he is almost justifying his intent and that his gruesome actions are nothing but a purification of his malicious intent; he is a “poor victim” of his own demon, and he must eliminate this demon by killing these Asian women which he simply treated as objects. This way of objectifying Asian women is not the first time we see in history, and it will not be the last if no one chooses to change. For someone who is so backward in their mindset would still believe in this ludicrous idea that Asians must be inferior, and all the stereotypes must be inherently true. Hence, a day of a normal and common Asian would be as such.
“He walks into the classroom quietly and finds a spot in the back. He scans through the entire math test while calculating the answers in his head and finishes the whole thing in nine minutes and fifty eight seconds while others are still struggling with the calculator section. He asks the teacher if he can leave and yet the teacher doesn’t understand what he is trying to say. He asks again to no avail so he returns to his seat. He is quite skinny and tall yet the size of his glasses are too big for his head. He takes out his laptop and starts programming something on it. He soon becomes bored and starts spinning his pen. The bell finally rings and he can’t wait go back to home to play the piano. The music sounds much better to him than it usually do maybe because he breaks his fastest time of finishing the math test. He clicks the reports button on the school website: it is an apocalypse; only a one hundred without getting that extra two points. Everything is over, there will be no dinner tonight. “Wang Ming! Dinner is ready! I made you Kung Pao Chicken!” His mom yells. He is devastated that he doesn’t even have appetite. “How was the test today? You definitely did well!” His mom is very curious about his favourite subject. “I got a hundred…” He whispers. “WHAT?” “A hundred…” “What about the extra credit?” “I didn’t get it…” “No dinner tonight!” He goes to bed sadly without having any food. The end of the day.”
I am writing about a “stereotypical Asian,” yet there is no such thing as a “typical”Asian; we must realize that one’s individuality and distinct qualities should never be eclipsed by one’s ethnicity or race. However, to those who believe in stereotypes, Asians are all nerds who only like math and mechanical science. To them, Asians might eat cats as their breakfast… or at least, when they are not eating dogs. Their languages are always extremely hard and hilarious to hear; after all, they all sound like silverware dropping on the table: ching chong, ching chong, and still, ching chong. In short, Asians are nothing but flat figures.
Yet, they are wrong. We are individuals even when we seem to conform to stereotypes. We aren’t just engineers and video gamers; we can also be astonishing athletes and astounding artists. We don’t devour everything; many people in Asia nowadays enjoy the companionship of the pets they care for. Our languages rooted in thousands of years of history. The beauty and the elegance inside of them have been celebrated for centuries, and the spirit behind them have influenced generations and generations to such an extent that they can’t just be simply summarized by one ching and one chong.
Moreover, one can argue that the negative stereotypes are not even the major challenge Asian Americans are facing at the moment. It is the subtle aggression and positive stereotypes that put Asian Americans in such disadvantage. Granted, certain studies have shown that rather than being disadvantaged in many circumstances, Asian Americans are actually in a much more advantaged situation than other minorities, it is still not appropriate or adequate for someone to repeat these stereotypes (Visalvanich). In other words, when one chooses to abuse these stereotypes and reaffirm these complements, these stereotypes are almost forced upon individuals who might not necessarily agree with these “anecdotal values.”
A classic example would be the “ancient” myth of Asian Americans being the best at academics. However, Zhao’s study has shown that while Eastern Asians students do have a lower dropout rate and perform relatively higher in SATs than other Asian subgroups, yet these other subgroups such as Cambodians and Hmong students perform distinctively different than others. Even within the Eastern Asian groups, the distinctiveness among these “high performing” students are high as well. In this sense, it is almost unfair and irresponsible to claim and to demand Asian students to perform better in academics (Zhao). Within the gigantic land of the Asia continent, there are so many cultures and countries. Each one of them is so distinctive from one another and that within many countries, the cultures are extremely unique. It is lazy and irresponsible to claim that Asian culture as a whole.
Furthermore, the myth of Asian students being born to be the best in STEM subjects is merely hearsay without actual proof. There are no special advantages within the cognitive systems in “Asian brains” that suggest one is inherently better than the other. This “born to be better” stereotype is rooted within the malicious accusation that attempts to erase all the hard work and efforts Asian students have put forth (Zhao). Many scholars believe that education is what Asian families tend to focus the most on when other paths to success have been blocked off for various reasons (Czopp, Zhao). However, one’s success and achievements should never be directly linked with one’s color of one’s skin. When we give credits and applause for people’s success in life, if we only give credits to their cultural identity and family backgrounds, we are essentially erasing their own efforts. I am curious to see these people’s innate reactions towards these complements.
In an experiment that scholars asked Asian American’s reactions towards the complements they get because they are Asians, 52% of the sample size claim that they feel marginalized by these positive stereotypes compared to the 26% who had positive reactions towards the statements such as “model minority” (Czopp). What is incredibly interesting is that among the 26% who believe they are truly being complemented and are proud to be referred as the “model minority,” they are more likely to share anxiety and psychological distress (Czopp). This is no coincidence but a direct correlation that shows the need for overcompensating when one is being praised to such standard. In other words, positive stereotypes could be best understood as a prejudice with a sprinkle of complement. However, this little piece of complement does not value so much at all as people are still being squeezed into this tiny space of “acceptable Asian behaviors.”
There are, of course, ways to combat and confront these positive stereotypes if one were to be heavily offended as one should be. It is both rewarding and educational for one to rebel against these labels that merely do not have any proof. However, the road to confrontation and reconciliation is not as easy as people may think. Granted, by confronting the prejudice caused by the stereotypes, the confronters can feel more satisfaction and less guilt, yet at the same time, these confronters are also labeled as “complainers” (Alt). The sickening and pervasive nature of the stereotypes actually showcases the paradoxical nature of people who believe in stereotypes as complements. By pinning down someone’s identity and limiting their possibilities within the career market or just in general, the confrontations people try to take seem so weak and impotent. In other words, positive stereotypes are so powerful and deeply perpetuated by people who have such prejudice, and when Asians try to fight back these comments, it is easy for the prejudiced ones to say, “it is only a complement” (Alt, Lee). What they do not realize is that when these complements pile up and evolve into something that is larger than the individuals they have attempted to praise, the positive stereotypes that we try to pin on Asian begin to become a curse that these minorities have to live up to for the rest of their lives. These complements may come from a benevolent nature yet eventually evolve to become a façade that is deeply dehumanizing and will eliminate the individuality of each and one of the Asian minorities.
When people regurgitate Asian stereotypes in their jokes, they showcase an Asian caricature and eclipse the complexity of the character. We are humans first, and then Asians, and we have just the equal potential as anyone else has. The so-called “positive stereotypes” aren’t compliments but something that will prevent the development of full potentials. It is not easy to eliminate this prejudice towards Asians specifically as people still believe positive stereotypes cannot be out of malicious intent, yet the first step of solving any problem is realizing that there is one. The problem is here right now, and we must not let our character to be washed away and only let the caricature take the victory.
Annotated Bibliography
Alt, Nicholas P., Kimberly E. Chaney, and Margaret J. Shih. ““But that was Meant to be a
Compliment!”: Evaluative Costs of Confronting Positive Racial Stereotypes: GPIR.” Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, vol. 22, no. 5, 2019, pp. 655–672. ProQuest, http://libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/scholarly-journals/that-was-meant-be-compliment-evaluative-costs/docview/2251006306/se-2?accountid=14244, doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.1177/1368430218756493.
Rather than an article describing positive stereotypes, this article deals with the costs of confronting these stereotypes. The audience gets to see the consequences when Asian Americans do fight back towards these malicious insults or positive reaffirmations of stereotypes. I will use this article as an illustration of how the system is rigged with prejudice and racism.
Associated Press, Tampa Publishing. “Asian Women Share Stories of Racism, Harassment after Atlanta Shooting.” Tampa Bay Times, www.tampabay.com/news/nation-world/2021/03/20/asian-women-share-stories-of-racism-harassment-after-atlanta-shooting/.
This is a primary source (newspaper) that focuses on the recent Atlantic shooting that killed eight people. I will use this source to kick off the essay and analyze how racism how could establish stereotypes and worsen people’s lives with these detrimental images and innate thoughts. This article offers views regarding the psychological analysis of the murderer which can further my points of racism and stereotypes combining into two.
Czopp, Alexander M., et al. “Positive Stereotypes Are Pervasive and Powerful.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 10, no. 4, 2015, pp. 451–463. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44290097. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.
This article is about the misperceptions of “positive Asian stereotypes.” I am interested in this topic that even positive stereotypes should never be considered as complements as they are just as malicious and limiting as the negative stereotypes. By regurgitating these positive stereotypes, this article provides more insights regarding this issue. Certainly, this is a great source for analyzing the deep-rooted problems of positive stereotypes and how they have affected our lives.
Lee, Stacey J. “Behind the Model-Minority Stereotype: Voices of High- and Low-Achieving Asian
American Students.” Anthropology & Education Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4, 1994, pp. 413–429. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3195858. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.
This source does not directly associate with the Asian stereotypes; it is, however, a published study with results regarding the misperception of Asian stereotypes. Limited within the positive stereotypes, Asians are encouraged to do certain things they do not particularly wish for. Rather than rather something I would quote on, this study gives me more concrete evidence to break the misperceptions of stereotypes on their grounds.
Visalvanich, Neil. “Asian Candidates in America: The Surprising Effects of Positive Racial
Stereotyping.” Political Research Quarterly, vol. 70, no. 1, 2017, pp. 68–81. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26384901. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.
This source focuses on the misconception of the “positive Asian stereotypes.” The author ran several experiments comparing Asian and White political candidates regarding their background and etc. These experiments show that Asian Americans are not as underprivileged or disadvantaged as people might imagine. Most of them are actually much more advanced because of the education they have received and the family background they come from.
Zhao, Yong, and Wei Qiu. “How Good Are the Asians? Refuting Four Myths about Asian-American
Academic Achievement.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 90, no. 5, 2009, pp. 338–344. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20446110. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.
Rather than a plain argument, this source clears up the common myths of Asian stereotypes and targets on eliminating these myths by providing concrete data. A great argument from this article states that Asia as a whole is way too large and vast to be represented as one, and it is irresponsible and lazy to conclude Asians as one. I will use this source to support my other arguments regarding the stereotypes of Asians in the United States.
