Asians, African Americans, And Stereotypes In The Twentieth Century

Asians always have perfect scores on the test and aspire to be doctors. African Americans have serious attitudes, are thugs and live in poverty. While all Hispanics are illegal immigrants, who can not speak English and commit vicious crimes. If you watch much television, all of these previous statements may seem true. Television is a powerful source of knowledge that in some ways help us understand others in humanity and ourselves.

stereotyped for so long as being inferior. In addition, I feel that the reason why

There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.

Stereotypes seem to be very present in our country, especially stereotypes towards African-Americans. For the longest time, like it has been instilled as a fact in my brain, black people have been directly related to the words “ghetto” or “hood”. I don’t remember a time where I actually can remember the words “ghetto” or “hood” without the picture in my mind of an African-American person. I think that this is a big problem in today’s society because it is not true but still seems to be taught. In politics, society, and everyday life, it feels like African-American’s are being slammed for being hoodlums. This is a problem because there are millions of African-American people who do not fit this stereotype, but still get degraded and treated badly because of this age old belief.

The model minority stereotype suggests that Asian Americans as a group are achieving a higher level of academic, economic, and social success than the overall American population (Hartlep, 2013; Tran & Birman, 2010). This stereotype is very much engrained in the American culture today; however, such acceptance does not reflect the whole truth.

The ethnic groups stated before had been previously offered as options over the past century (O’Brien. 29). The broad scope that racial categories encompass do not take into account the diverse and often times complex mix of familial influences, societal influences, history, personal experiences, and contexts that make up an individual’s racial and ethnic identity. Individuals of Asian descent can be anyone from Indian to Chinese to Korean, all of which have diverse cultures. Due to religion, language, and phenotype differences brought on because of colonization, both Filipinos and Indian Americans show ambivalence toward their relationships with the Asian Pacific Islander racial category. For Indian Americans in particular, they were not included in the Asian Pacific Islander category in the U.S. census until the 1980s. Up until that point, Indian Americans were given the option of “white” or “other race”.

Throughout the history of the country, America has been considered a fairly racist union. From the workplaces to the society, as an Asian, I felt there's a strong barrier between white and black people, although I felt a little bit of racial among us. In this essay, I will talk about the major racial issue of this country through out my experiences.

Asian stereotypes are a product of prevailing myths propagated by various media, from books, plays, movies, television, to even historical propaganda. Generally speaking, the stereotyping of Asian women often swing to extreme types: the docile, subservient sexual object, or the dragon lady. Asian Americans only make up a small percentage of the United States population and live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii. Consequently, the rest of the American population will most likely get their exposures to Asian Americans through television and movies. Popular media exposure to Asian Americans lacks one-on-one acquaintance with Asian Americans. It hinders the process

The great Afro-American sociologist W.E. B. Du Bois stated in 1903 that the “problem of the “problem of the twentieth-century is the problem of the color line” and global view by describing the problem as “the relation of the darker to lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands by the sea”. Yet even an observer as perspicacious as Du Bois did not foresee late-twentieth-century American demographic and policy changes. Continuing high immigration, discrimination, and officially designated affirmative-action minority groups will ensure that if the twentieth century has the problem of the color line, the twenty-first will have the problem of color lines.

In her Special Section on Asian American Leadership, Chin (2013) explained that Asian Americans as a group exceed all others academically and obtain more higher education degrees, but are underrepresented in leadership positions. For example, Asian Americans make up approximately 5% of the population, but only approximately 1% of leadership positions (Chin, 2013). A commonly held stereotype of Asian Americans congruent with their high achievement, is the myth of the model minority (Chin, 2013). In Cabrera’s (2014) qualitative study evaluating the perceptions Caucasian male, college students had about Asian Americans, participants recognized the model minority stereotype as being representative of hard work, high achievement,

The model minority myth is used to represent the Asian Americans and their success in American society. It represents Asian Americans accepting their position in America as minorities and not letting it hinder them. Compared to other minorities, Asians are doing good for them self. Many Asians have found a way to survive in America without the help from the government. Specifically, students in the Asian community tend to excel in their academics making it to and through college. This is mainly why people see them as “model” minorities. Although this is seen as a positive stereotype there are many negative effects that comes with it. Essentially, categorizing all Asians as “model” minorities is stereotyping. Stereotypes are not always a true

People of non-Aryan decent are often times the ones we see get unjustly persecuted by society. The demographic we often see get this type of unfair treatment includes but is not limited to Asian Americans. Asian Americans have been the butt of jokes revolving around ignorant stereotypes for years and it taints how society views them due to these preconceived notions. This paper will further delve into the world of stereotypes regarding this ethnicity and how Asian Americans combat and deal with these biases especially when living in the United States.

Media underrepresentation and representation is a major source for stereotypes. How Asians are portrayed in media is one source for the prejudice that Asians are geeky and nerdy friends; they are mostly casted as extras and minor roles, and few Asian actors have played a lead role. Yellowfacing also contributes to embedding stereotypes about Asians in others starting from a young age. Some stereotypes that branch out from media are:

Although they are the “fastest growing ethnic group” in America, Asian Americans are still not prominent in mainstream media (Zhang 20). Just like every other racial group, they have their own stereotypes. Unfortunately, due to this underrepresentation, there are few instances where people openly speak against these racial stereotypes. In the article “Why Is It Still Okay to Make Fun of Asians?,” Elaine Teng mentioned Chris Rock’s performance at the Oscars. He joked about three common Asian stereotypes, something that people still find socially acceptable to make fun of. American Born Chinese brings up many common Asian American stereotypes and shows how the characters respond to these “jokes.”

Tell me I am nerdy. Tell me I am submissive. Tell me I am inarticulate.