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Stereotypes Of Asian Stereotypes

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It was the first day of YMCA Summer Camp, and I hardly knew anyone there. I spun in circles trying to find at least one familiar face at camp. After ten minutes of looking, I almost gave up, but then I saw Layth. I quickly approached him and told him I was glad to see him since I did not know anyone else there. Layth has attended the camp in the last two years, so he knew a lot of people that were there. He introduced me to the other kids at camp. After the introductions, they would immediately ask me if I was Chinese or if I was from China. I replied, “I am Vietnamese. Not all Asians are Chinese”. At this moment, I realized that no matter where I go or who I meet, I will always be overshadowed by the Asian stereotypes. When you hear someone bring up an Asian person, an image of a short, yellow person who probably cannot drive and eats dogs and cats come to mind. Asians are also thought to make straight A’s in school, have karate in their genes, and are from China. According to Heidi Burgess, “Stereotypes (or “characterizations”) are generalizations or assumptions that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group, based on an image (often wrong) about what people in that group are like”. As an Asian teen living in the United States, I hear too many jokes relating to these Asian stereotypes that are just plain out overused and not true. Asians are always assumed to be bad drivers because they can not see due to their small eyes. I have been driving for

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