Victor Dionisio, Week 3 - AO1

After reading these articles, it made me realize how much the Hmong community is underrepresented and how the Asian community can be easily influenced by American society. Before reading this, I had little knowledge in Hmong-Americans because of the lack of representation in academic books. However, while reading Navigating Graduate Education as a First-generation, Hmong American Woman: An Autoethnography by Manee Moua, I was able to better grasp an understanding of what barriers the Hmong community faces on a daily basis. Some of the barriers consisted of “lack of understanding and guidance to seek resources and counseling support... and the pressure of cultural and gender responsibilities, expectations, roles and obligations to one’s family, and financial struggles.” All the while having this “model minority stereotype” placed upon them, therefore adding more pressure to the community, especially to Hmong women in graduate school. If you’re even to fail once at something, your self-worth and value can be easily shattered due to the strong connection with academic accomplishments, which is created by society. It was interesting that the author was able to had her experiences during her years in graduate school as well. She explained about the fact that although many Asian American students and other minorities in academia face discrimination and are also underrepresented, it is important to overcome the challenges in order for you to be the voice of your community and bring awareness to academic equity.

Question: Who created the “model minority” stereotype and how do we as a minority group put an end to this myth?

References:

• Moua, M. (2018). Navigating Graduate Education as a First-generation, Hmong American Woman: An Autoethnography. Hmong Studies Journal,19(1), 1-25.
• Nguyen V. (2018). Don’t Call Me a Model Minority: I Come From a Working Class Family. Actual Voice for Asian Women. Retrieved from: https://www.aprilmag.com/2018/04/17/dont-call-me-a-model-minority-i-come-from-a-working-class-family/