Asian American Identity Analysis

In the essay “Growing up Asian in America” by Kesaya E. Noda, being who you are, or accepting yourself is portrayed through her own life story. “Being Japanese means being a danger to the country during the war and knowing how to use chopsticks. I wear this history on my face” (Noda 34). Living in America can be said to be great, from those who are already the average American, because they don’t deal with the everyday life of being racialized. They also don’t have the label of having another ethnicity besides being American. “Clean, quiet, motivated, and determined to match the American way; this is us, and that is the story of our time here” (Noda 35). Kesaya struggled to learn about herself and her history, due to the fact that she didn’t know much about her Japanese race. When finding out that her family had been apart of the Japanese camps, Kesaya found it easier to just go along with the American way instead of being herself because she was ashamed of herself. “I come from a people with long memory and a distinctive grace. We live our thanks. And we are Americans. Japanese- Americans” (Noda 36). Kesaya had then accepted herself as a Japanese- American because she was proud of all that her family, and all Japanese, went through. Being American isn’t just about living in America, or being a citizen, but about knowing that you belong because America is your home. Along with being American, if it officially says it on paper or not,

As a teacher, it is important to know and understand the racial and cultural identities of both yourself, and your students. Knowing about your students’ backgrounds is a great way to make the classroom a safe and welcoming environment. Not all educational settings emit a feeling of safety to its students, and that needs to be changed. In this paper, I will discuss how my racial and cultural identity may be the same and may differ from my students, as well as some ways in which the institution of education can be changed to be more racially and culturally inclusive.

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.

When addressing self-identification, some multiracial or biracial individuals do identify as being two or more races. Some identity as just one, or that they feel closer to a certain racial group. About 69% of Multiracial adults with a black background considered themselves as black/African American (experiences, social interactions that align them within the black community). While Multiracial Asian adults, with a white and Asian background, feel more connected to the white community than to the Asian community. Another group of multiracial individuals, are those that are white and native American, and around 22% say they have a lot in common with the in the US that is native America. And 61% say they have a lot more in common with the whites.

In this essay, I attempted to lay bare the issues of being an Asian-American and being labeled as an ethnic “other” in modern America. This label of “other” causes them to become marginalized and lose their sense of identity, belonging neither to Western culture nor Eastern culture. In order help stop this loss of identity in Asian-Americans, we must tear down the social construct of the “other” and integrate the different cultures into the melting pot of popular culture. Once we have stopped alienating different cultures, we can then have a moral society that upholds diversity and identity.

Growing up as an Asian American, I often struggle to identify my own cultural identity. Being the first generation of both my mother and father’s side of the family, I more than often get confused between American and Asian culture when applying them to society or at home. While being raised at home, I am largely influenced by culture and traditions from Asian parents and relatives. However, when I go to school or someplace else, I am heavily judged for practicing part of my Asian culture because it is entirely different than western or American. With that being noted, I began to learn and adapt to the western culture in hopes of fitting with society as well of trying to keep my Asian culture intact. As can be seen, this situation I dealt with is the same problem the whole Asian American community faces. Mainly focusing on younger generations like me for example, the Asian American community struggles to adapt to the western culture because they were raised with an Asian influence. Wishing to fit in society and be part of the social norms, the Asian Americans community faces issues that identify their cultural identity.

Fae Myenne Ng is a contemporary Chinese-American author who is known for her first written novel, Bone. Her debut novel was published in 1993 and the story is told through the eyes of the main character, Leila Leong. Leila tells the story of her family’s history and the events that unfold following the suicide of her sister. As Leila’s story progresses, themes of identity and family life are revealed. Leila and her two sisters border the line between American and Chinese, two distinct cultures that belong to very different worlds. The sisters deal with the struggles of assimilation as they grow up in the seclusive community of Chinatown only to live in an American world. The family life of the Leong

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”.

From Chinatown to Monterey Park, Asian Americans across the boundaries of Los Angeles are flourishing from bustling inner cities to middle class suburbia. The suburban life style was originally created by white Americans for white Americans however in today’s suburban cities and towns there seems to be a substantial group of Asians and Asian Americans thriving in these once predominately white areas(Li 1993, 318). The development of Asians and Asian Americans in the suburbs occurred through the following three ways, first is the development of Chinatown and how it became the Mecca for immigrants and the second is Asian American assimilation into American society. The last reason is the gentrification of towns such as Chinatown, and Little Tokyo.

For 20 years, Asian Americans have been portrayed by the press and the media as a successful minority. Asian Americans are believed to benefit from astounding achievements in education, rising occupational statuses, increasing income, and are problem-fee in mental health and crime. The idea of Asian Americans as a model minority has become the central theme in media portrayal of Asian Americans since the middle 1960s. The term model minority is given to a minority group that exhibits middle class characteristics, and attains some measure of success on its own without special programs or welfare. Asian Americans are seen as a model minority because even though they have faced prejudice and

The pain and the suffering, the oppression, and the exclusion all describe the history of Asia America. When they arrived to the United States, they become labeled as Asians. These Asians come from Japan, China, Korea, Laos, Thailand, and many other diverse countries in the Eastern hemisphere. These people wanted to escape from their impoverished lives as the West continued to infiltrate their motherland. They saw America as the promise land filled with opportunity to succeed in life. Yet due to the discrimination placed from society and continual unfair

What comes to mind when I think of Asian Americans I think of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. I envision them having the look of a Chinese or Japanese person. Black or darker hair, droopy eyes, and a smaller built body. Until this project I thought those were the only people considered Asian but I was wrong. Asian also includes Filipino, Asian Indian, and Vietnamese people as well. The three main types of Asians are Chinese, Japanese, and the Filipino, and they all have been in America the longest.

Asian Americans has been perceived as the coined phrase model minority because, although they have experienced prejudice and discrimination, they seem to have succeeded economically, socially, and educationally without resorting to political or violent confrontations with Whites. (Schaefer, 2014). Asian American value hard work, traditions and education. They tend to focus on themselves rather than what another race is doing and because of that I believe this is one of the many reasons they are so successful. The have the highest income in the U.S. Asians also have a high expectation for success.

Asians have migrated to and have lived in the Americas since the days of our founding fathers. The first to come from the Eastern Hemisphere were a small group of Filipinos in the early 18th century that settled in present day Louisiana. The first major influx of Asian Americans was Chinese Americans who came in the 1800’s to find financial opportunity during the California gold rush. They settled in the Golden State and eventually spread out all over the United States, creating the now-famous Chinatowns that millions of Americans visit every year. There is a continual migration of well educated South Asians and East Asians for job and education opportunities and their success has formed the basis for the “myth of the model minority” (MMM). This is the idea that all people who are Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are successful both socioeconomically and educationally. This does have a logical basis rooted in statistics—AAPI students are reported to have higher grade point averages, math scores, and overall standardized tests scores on tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Exam (ACT). Other studies often use a racialized rhetoric comparing Asian Americans to white Americans in terms of education and socioeconomic status while contrasting them to the so-called “lazy” and “incapable” Hispanic and African Americans.

As the immigrant population currently projected to overtake latinxs and hispanics as largest group of residents in the United States of America, Asian Americans have shown their will to survive in a way that many groups have not, and that is by banding together in order to achieve the life they deserve. Taking the overgeneralization of pan-ethnicity and using it as a device for increased numbers and support for the causes of a group of people who otherwise may not have much to do with each other, is a testament to how vulnerable they must have felt as well as how successful they have managed to be many aspects of progress. What I have gained from this course is the understanding that at the root of ethnic studies and the Asian American community is the “for us, by us” sentiment that contributed to the blurred lines between the different part of their communities as social, political and cultural, structures, collectives and groups which came out of an obligation and necessity to protect those immigrants and their future generations from a country which has always pushed European superiority in all aspects of society.