Friday, October 2, 2015

Fight the Tower Manifesto

Jeff Cha
ASA 2 (A02)
Blog 2

            Similar to the women of color in academia, many Asian Americans can relate to being “perceived as easy targets for discrimination and dismissal.” Asian Americans are underrepresented in the media and associated with stereotypes such as being nerdy, quiet, shy, and non-confrontational.  Even as he rose to fame for his incredible performance during the week of “Linsanity,” NBA player Jeremy Lin continued to be an easy target to bullying and racial comments.  Racial remarks that Lin faced include a Fox Sports columnist posting on Twitter, "Some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple inches of pain tonight," referencing the small Asian penis stereotype.  Another example was when ESPN put out a headline titled, “Chink in the Armor,” to refer to the Knicks only loss during “Linsanity.”  “Chink in the Armor” is a common phrase to describe a vulnerable area but the word “chink” is a racist term used to refer to Asians thus forming the conclusion that the racial remark may have been intentional even though it was denied to be true. 

            What would be the best method to approach the Asian American issue of being underrepresented in the media and misrepresented with stereotypes?  Building a presence in the media?

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