Annika Altura, Annie Deng, Natrine Cheuk
ASA 02
Professor Caroline Kieu-Linh Valverde
TA: Kaozong Mouvangsou
April 15, 2017
Week 3 - Model Minority, Tiger Mom, Affirmative Action, and New Debates in Higher Education
The Struggles of Being the Model Minority
In Asian Americans and Affirmative Action: From Yellow Peril to Model Minority and Back Again, Nancy Chung Allred examines the unique position that Asian Americans are situated in, where white privileges are overlooked and affirmative action was initially implemented to protect the minorities in the society. In particular, she references the consent decree of Lowell High School in San Francisco, which was a product of affirmative action, had ultimately split the Chinese American community. In addition to highlighting both the positive and negative aspects of affirmative action to the Asian American community, she also illustrates the internal struggles faced by Asian Americans by discussing the mascotting of Asian Americans, which has ultimately equated Asian Americans to be the “peril” of society.
For years, white political figures and white supremacists have utilized Asian Americans as mascots for their own advantage in the political regime. By assigning Asian Americans as the model minority, a status quo is set in society. Being a model minority means that a minority group is perceived as having higher accomplishments and successes than other racial groups. This myth assumes that Asian Americans are doing well in practically all aspects of life (education, finance, social). While this places Asian Americans in a higher socioeconomic status than other minority groups, they are still perceived to be separate and inferior to the dominant race. However, it is important to note that disparities exist between different ethnic backgrounds within the Asian American group, so it is illogical to assign the model minority stereotype to all Asian Americans. It is irrational to compare the struggles of Southeast Asians to Eastern Asians. Because Asian Americans are perceived as the successful minority group, our society also implicitly suggests that all other races deserve blame for their own lower status in American society (Allred, 2007). The model minority myth creates a hostile barrier between the minority groups. By setting minority groups against each other, racial divides in America are created. By putting the minority groups against each other in opposition, white supremacy and privilege is further reinforced and made more invisible.
Perhaps one of the most distinguishing factor of Asian Americans as the “model minority” is their achievements in academics which ultimately lead them into a better socioeconomic status. The increasing competitiveness of Asian Americans have led them to be labelled as the “Yellow Peril” in the western society, which potentially threatens the Whites. However, most fail to recognize that Asian Americans have lower incomes than white Americans despite having the same education level. As such, Asian Americans overcompensate by seeking for more higher education, and the stereotype of being single-minded and overachieving is assigned to Asian Americans. It was so common for Asian American parents to be stringent and push their kids to be successful academically that Yale law professor Amy Chua coined the term “Tiger mother” to describe such parents.
However, similar to the generalization that Asian Americans generally do better in all aspects of live, many fail to realize that the education of Asian Americans are not the sole product of strict parenting. In the article Beyond the Tiger Mom Anxiety, OiYan Poon and Ajani Byrd debunk the notion behind Amy Chua’s The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom… because she, like many Americans, fails to see the effects that this type of treatment has on the children, as well as the fact that there are other influences on a child’s life besides his or her parents.
This article explores the College Choice Model in Asian Americans, which is more specifically, how Asian Americans make decisions for their post-secondary education. The article is a summary of statistics that show how there are several influences, both individual and various interests, that played significant roles in shaping Asian American students’ college choice process. The article cites that parents were the most influential on student’s college choice process, followed by siblings, counselors, and teachers. It is interesting however, that despite this, students said that high school counselors provided the most valuable information to prospective college students. For second-generation Asian Americans, this makes sense. First generation immigrant parents usually do not have the knowledge to advise their children on the American higher education system. It would be natural for students to turn to their college counselors when seeking further guidance. On a personal note, I can acknowledge having experienced the same thing. Though my parents attended University in America, they, like me, grew up abroad, and knowing that times have changed, had me consulting college counselors for more information. Still, I based my final decision on attending Davis based on what would be best for me and my family as a whole.
The accounts from different students in the article also exposed that Asian American students tended to put more pressure on themselves to succeed for their parents. It is also evident that as minorities, Asian American students felt as though they had to overcompensate in the college application process for not having the same background, experiences, and resources that the majority would have. The article also explains how Asian Americans tend to be stereotyped as self-sufficient over-achievers that are usually the first in their families to go to college and are pressured into educational success by their parents. While this is partially true, it is important to remember that Asian Americans aren’t the criminals that they are seen as, and require the resources that every other student might. This kind of stereotyping is evident in the assumptions that people make at University, where Asian Americans are expected to be engineers, pre-med students, and other types of high intensity academic careers. The consequence of this mindset, is that it doesn’t give Asian American students the same type of freedom in the way that their viewed, and it closes them off to wrongly pre-conceived notions of what they should be based on the way they act or the way they are raised. This article exposes the faults of the Tiger-style parenting, and exposes that parental influence is not necessarily the greatest factor in determining a child’s academic success.
Asian Americans continue to confront external struggles to attain equality in the white-dominant society while combating internal struggles of the model minority stereotype. On one hand, Asian Americans are considered to be the minority group with most equality in the Western society. They are sandwiched between the black and white paradigm, which makes them seem “different” than the rest. However, they also face challenges of not being able to be recognized as real Americans because they are seen as individuals unable to assimilate completely to American culture. But what is American culture if not the “melting pot” of different ethnic backgrounds? On the other hand, Asian Americans also face internal struggles due to the model minority stereotype. While the myth is assigned to all Asian Americans, it creates many misconceptions. It fails to recognize the struggles faced by other racial groups in the for the pan-Asian American ethnic groups. The model minority myth creates hostility by pitting Asian Americans against their own community and other minority groups. It assumes that Asian Americans do not face the same struggles other minority groups have, which is completely false.
References:
Allred, N. C. (2007). Asian Americans and Affirmative Action: From Yellow Peril to Model Minority and Back
Again. Asian American Law Journal, 14, 57-84.
Poon, O., & Byrd, A. (2013). Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in
Asian American College Access and Choices. Journal of College Admission, 23-30.
Suzuki, B. H. (2002). Revisiting the Model Minority Stereotype: Implications for Student Affairs Practice and
Higher Education. New Directions for Student Services, 2002(97), 21-32.
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