The Harmful Myth Of Asian Superiority Summary

Upon first glance, Takaki’s evidence seems to be very convincing. He seems to point to population size as a possible confounding variable in public perception. He also says that while Asians may hold high positions in certain companies, this fact may only be because Asians have more education than their peers. He also points out, in an attempt to turn this “stereotype” on its head, that many Asian grocery

A reading that stood out in Current Issues and Enduring Questions was “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority” by Ronald Takaki. Throughout his essay Takaki expresses how although it seems the Asian minority in the United States has superiority over other minorities, this assumption is false. He touches on many ideas why Asian Americans seem superior. These ideas include: acceptance into universities, high household incomes, and praise for their entrepreneurial effectiveness (Takaki,1990,p.123).

Of all the problems Asian Americans face that Ronald Takaki mentioned, it seems that the “Yellow Peril”, “Bamboo Ceiling”, and “Model Minority” are the major issues. The hysteria of Asians are going to takeover the United States is such arrogance. In addition, the notion that Asian Americans are having the most success in America is completely overblown. Moreover, the misrepresentations that all Asian Americans are not leaders or have poor communication tendencies are wrong. These stereotypes have negatively affected Asian Americans and it still being used today. Ronald Takaki believes that those three major issues “Yellow Peril”, “Bamboo Ceiling”, and “Model Minority” are cause of Asian Americans discrimination.

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.

Another reason in which how Model Minority negatively affects Asian Americans is the expectation of many Asians in modern media. In a recent report by the University of Southern California Annenberg’s Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative, researchers have found that out of the top films, only about 5.3% of the actors and actresses are asian. On top of that, many of the actors and actresses in these films only have minor roles.

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

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

American Asian The ideal Citizen Simona Nissan San José State University In the article The Asian Advantage in 2015, Nicholas Kristof praises the Asian American population by saying, “It’s no secret that Asian-Americans are disproportionately stars in American schools, and even in American society as a whole. Census data show that Americans of Asian heritage earn more than other groups, including whites. Asian Americans also have higher educational attainment than any other group.” Kristof describes I general the good virtues of the Asian American population, and by that continue to perpetuate the idea that the Asian Americans are a “model minority."

Asians are one of fastest growing minority groups in America today. During this century, various factors at home and abroad have caused people from Asia to immigrate to the United States for better or for worse. Due to these factors, Americans and American teachers, in particular, need to educate themselves and become aware of the Asian American students’ needs in terms of success and happiness. Before beginning my research, I felt I had an easy subject: studying Asian Americans in relation to their education in public schools. How simple! Everyone knows they are smart, hard working, driven to succeed in spite of their nerdish, geeky, non-athletic, broken-English stereotype. Of course they are

All Asian Americans are good at math, or at least that’s what I heard. They are also good at anything involving technology, science, and medicine. They study all the time, work really hard and live a version of the American dream I never thought to dream of. Afterall they’re Asian, their parents wouldn’t allow for anything less. In his article “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority” the ethnic studies expert Ronald Takaki writes about the idea that Asian Americans are more successful than other American minority groups. Takaki refutes this idea using reason and statistics to show that Asian Americans still face some of the same hardships and barriers as every other racially defined group in America.

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.

In this new day and age Asians are assimilating way better in America and they are definitely getting more involved with politics showing to be significant campaign donors for starters. Asians have been thriving quite positively due to their previous circumstances. Thus, Asian Americans are seen as a model minority in which their characteristic of hardworking and motivation that display the reasons of their achievements, leading them one step further to assimilation. Moreover, negative stereotypes of Asian American are turned to positive stereotypes, mostly, yet there are potential prejudice and discrimination still faced by this race, today. Especially, there are many ideas conditioned into people's minds about the culture or beliefs of Japanese

In the 1990s, there were more than 7 million Asian Americans in the United States of America. Bureau of the Census has published that there is a total of 3,726,400 Asians, which includes Pacific Isalnders, which is represented to about 1.6 percent of the population. Chinses Americans were the first Asian to be migrated in the United States.

The stereotype that Asian Americans just naturally have a step up above the rest that paves the path for the jealousy other ethnicities is really the result of ridiculous amounts of dedication and this group of people should be praised for their work ethic.

In the essay Takaki, states that the Asian American community has not seen many changes. One reason that he provides is that most Asian Americans live in states like California, New York, and Hawaii, which are the states with higher living costs. Another reason he gives is that when comparing family incomes the number of workers is not considered. Takaki also mentions that because of the language barrier they are not able to compete for good paying jobs.