Model Minority Stereotype Analysis

In his essay “Paper Tigers,” Wesley Yang discusses his own experiences as an Asian American, tying them into the larger picture of Asians functioning in American society today. Yang’s argument is that even though Asian Americans are one of the most successful ethnicities in the country, stereotypes that Asian Americans are exposed to affect the way other Americans view them. Because of personal bias and racism, human society fails to see other people for who they are and put too much emphasis on what they are supposed to or not supposed to be in America today. Stereotypes cloud people’s vision and judgment and keep some from achieving their goals because others have a pre-created

Racism is very prevalent in today’s society against Indigenous people in Canada. They face many forms of individual and institutionalized racism. According to LaRocque, Racism is prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that one or one 's group is innately or genetically superior to another. Racists believe that “race” determines qualities such as intelligence, innovation, creativity and even morality” (N.D). People have been taught the stereotypes of Indigenous people whether it be from the educational system, health system, court system and many other institutions in Canada.

Have you ever heard the statement that all Asian Americans are good at math and science and they excel educationally? This paper defines the model minority myth, provides historical context in perspective of the Chinese Americans and explains how these Chinese American’s experiences do not fit the model minority myth. The model minority stereotype has various negative assumptions towards Asian Americans and one of them is that it assumes all Asian Americans are a homogenous ethnic group. There are several ways how Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans do not fit the model minority myth. Specifically, the historical context of these Chinese Americans contradicts the model minority stereotype.

“China has become the U.S.' most important trading partner (Ito, 2009). Additionally, China has surpassed India to become the top country sending students to study in the U.S.” (A Comparative Look at Chinese and American Stereotypes). Now in our modern day world, there have been many stereotypes built up around Chinese people or immigrants. Pre-existing views or perceptions about a certain ethnic group, culture or race will certainly affect and drive interactions with people of that certain culture. Since stereotypes are usually very broad and are long-lasting, many of these” expectations” are outdated/antiquated. My research proposal mainly focuses on the danger of seeing all Chinese immigrants in one way, mainly the idea that all Chinese are smart, nerdy and unathletic. This specific topic interested me as growing up as a Chinese person in Canada, I have seen and experienced the extent that preexisting perceptions can influence people's views and actions. I suspected that through my research I would find that not all Chinese people fit the stereotype and can “break the mould” given to them. For research and information, I went onto many articles and news sites. My research confirmed that the classic, traditional stereotypes for Chinese people definitely do not represent the entire population.

In the eyes of many Canadians our country is viewed as a historically racially-inclusive society. This idea is false, and there is very limited evidence to support the contrary. Many events in Canada’s history have shows that it is guilty of promoting racial hierarchies and cultural insensitivities. Throughout Canada’s development there has always remained an emphasis on promoting the supremacy of the white race, and Anglo-Canadian culture.

I consider you have exposed a great discussion. To understand why people behave a certain way we use something called attributional processes. Frequently, we tend to leap to conclusions that people’s behavior is due to some characteristics of their personality rather than to some aspects of the circumstances in which we are. Stereotypes are dispositional negative attributions, (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2007). Stanger and Crandal (2000) consider that it seems that stigma develops out of an initial, collectively held motivation to avoid danger followed often by an exaggerated perception of features that promotes threat and accompanied by social sharing of these perceptions with others. What is more, they conclude that stigmas for the most part

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 first issue is the model minority stereotype because it covers up the internal differences within the Asian population. As supported by Zia’s text, “Geeks are ‘model minorities’ who never have problems, like racism or poverty to contend with and never need assistance from government agencies or anyone else” (Zia 118). This quote illustrates that under the model minority myth, a certain group of people do not have problems of their own which is why they are seen as the ideal minority. Although the term “geeks” in the above statement may signify hard-working and intellectual students, it fails to include anyone else in this group who may be struggling with racism and is need of government aid. Therefore, the model minority stereotype is an overgeneralization of the entire Asian population because it does not incorporate the differences within the Asian population.

Being a minority in the United States of America means that you face some kind of racism at a point in your life, whether you realize it or not and it is no surprise that it affects the criminal justice system as well. When it comes to the Model Minority myth and the Asian community, the myth often benefits the Asian inmates by getting less time than other minorities but still more than whites. The Asian community while benefitting from this myth also face racial discrimination and while the myth was created to dissipate problems, the myth creates many problems that affect society and inadvertently affect the criminal justice system as well. This myth disregards any individual, personal characteristics that are not affected by race. The myth

1.Model Minority Myth: Asian Americans have generally been typified as the model minority which refers to a perception of them being “naturally gifted, hardworking and socially passive” (Asian Americans in Higher Education 13) Their ability to perform well academically and to remain passive in the larger social scheme makes them less threatening than other minorities, especially African Americans but the model minority myth may have worked against them, especially in the field of educational attainment. It is believed that due to the model minority myth, Asian Americans are victims of “political exploitation” (Chun 1980, p.7) and in education they are denied certain services which are readily available to other minorities such as preference in higher education systems. 2: Race: The concept of race is more often than not used as a social construct and it has been historically used as a means of making laws for the minorities and for the purpose of denying them certain rights which are easily given to the majority. Social construction of race has also been used as a means of denying citizenship and marriage rights to people and in the case of Asian Americans, Critical Asian Theory is

All the articles showed in this analysis debunk the common misconception that Canada is not a racist country, these articles also identify an often ignored social problem in Canada, racial inequality. Canada is perceived to be a nation of racial equality and politeness, and

Asian Americans are, as is the widely held belief, the “model minority” for their perceived

What is the “model minority” stereotype? It is a common portrayal amongst Asian American students that suggests they are more academically and economically successful than other races. It is believed they are more successful than other minority groups because their cultures value hard work. Throughout the Second Edition of Unraveling the “Model Minority” Stereotype, Stacey Lee investigates this stereotype by examining the population of “Asian American” students at Academic High School.

Model Minority Stereotype Asian Americans have been labeled as the model minority. Model Minority comes from a stereotype, a belief that they are hard work hard, and they don't complain. As the textbook says, “Popular culture has long portrayed Asian American men as geniuses, overachievers, computer geeks, or nerds.” This tells us the stereotype is that Asian Americans are smart and study hard, that are the only things they can do.

Asian Americans face constant subjection to what has become referred to as the “model minority” myth. This myth enforces both a false narrative and broad generalization upon all Asian Americans as the ethnic embodiment of an idealistic work ethic and outstanding academic and socioeconomic success. The deconstruction of this “single story” requires the introduction of new perspectives and proper representation of the intersectional spectrum of Asian Americans, who oftentimes do not fit this typecast. Perpetuating this single story, is the lack of understanding of how Asian Americans can stem from 51 different Asian countries, struggle from the effects of poverty, and also remain unrepresented in popular media.