Read about the Model Minority Myth, and the effect it has on Asian Americans and other communities.
Edited by Jordan Guzzi
The “model minority” myth is extremely harmful and has driven a wedge between Asians and other people of color. Here’s how we can combat it. “Aren’t you supposed to be smart?” “You should know this. You’re Asian.” “Of course you did well on the test.” Growing up, I heard variations of phrases like these from both my peers and teachers too many times to count. Yet something about them never quite sat right with me. How can you assume what someone should or should not be based on their race? The fact that I am Asian has nothing to do with how I perform on a test or my level of intelligence. I later learned that the unfortunate stereotype of the perfect, studious Asian is just another fictitious character in the “model minority” myth (alongside other predetermined racial stereotypes) that slowly undermine the fight for racial justice. What is the “model minority” myth? By definition, the “model minority” myth refers to a group of minorities who have a cultural expectation to succeed. They become a “reference point”, and people downplay racism with the model minority’s socioeconomic success. “In particular, the model minority designation is often applied to Asian Americans, who, as a group, are often praised for apparent success across academic, economic, and cultural domains”. The belief that every Asian American individual is hardworking, intelligent, docile, independent, and wealthy, is not only detrimental to Asians but other minority groups as well.
How does the “model minority” myth affect Asians? The model minority myth places all the focus on Asian Americans’ rosy achievements and “elevated status” in modern society. Their success appears to be the embodiment of the “American Dream.” In reality, these fallacious claims completely mask the ugly truth. Contrary to popular belief, Asians have not been welcomed into America with open arms. Nicknamed “Yellow Peril”, the struggles of Asians include The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese Internment camps during the mid-1900, 1871 Anti-Chinese Massacre, and many more. Even today, these problems persist. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the country erupted with anti-Asian behavior and hateful actions, a repeat of the unpunished violence towards Asians during the SARS outbreak a few years back. In healthcare, Chinese, Filipina, and Indian doctors and nurses face discrimination daily. Hollywood continues to exclude and misrepresent Asians. American Asian college students have the highest rates of suicide attempts. It also needs to be mentioned that not all Asians are successful, nor should it be expected of them. According to the New York Times, despite Asians (as a whole) doing well financially, Asian Americans also have the largest income gap compared to all the other race groups. “As of 2016, the top 10th percentile of Asian Americans [earned] 10.7 times as much as the bottom 10th percentile, compared with 9.8 for black earners and 7.8 for both Hispanic and white earners” (The Model Minority Myth - The Practice). Yet all of this is overlooked. The model minority myth pretends that these problems simply do not exist. It leads people to believe that Asians do not experience hardships or are immune to racism due to the mirage of success they all supposedly achieve. How does the “model minority” myth affect other BIPOC? The model minority myth tells other BIPOC that if they work harder and become more obedient, they too can achieve the level of success some Asian American groups have, which creates a wedge between Asian Americans and other minority groups. This myth not only discredits Asian achievements but also serves as a severe means to normalize racism against other BIPOC. The underlying purpose of the model minority myth is to turn people of color against each other. It tries to make them fight for a spot on the unfair social hierarchy when they should be coming together. Dismantling the “model minority” myth If we wish to combat these prevalent stereotypes within society, it is essential to educate oneself. The focus here must be on unifying power while simultaneously highlighting the individuality within the Asian community. For too long, Asian American struggles have been ignored or completely erased from history, and the lack of Asian representation from education to activism certainly does not help. Thus, we must take it upon ourselves to learn and become more aware of the misleading “compliments” (such as “model minority”) to topple the social hierarchy and fight together for equality. Sources: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/what-is-the-model-minority-myth https://thepractice.law.harvard.edu/article/the-model-minority-myth https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/19/524571669/model-minority-myth-again-used-as-a-racial-wedge-between-asians-and-blacks
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