Jenna Lee ASA 002 A03 Week 2

This week’s reading was “Fight the Tower: Women of Color in Academia Manifesto ix Prologue: TakingAction: Asian American Faculty against Injustices in the Academy” by Shirley Hune. The writer introduces the difficulties that Asian Americans face in this world, from growing up as a child to surviving as an adult. In the past, Asian American children were not able to receive the same high-quality education as white children, simply due to the difference in their skin color. After that academic inequality was resolved came another problem. Asian American children now face stereotypes as the model minority, being labeled as “hard workers, high achievers, and economically successful”, which stress students out when they are not excelling in their class (Hune, 2013, pg. 2). This stereotyping also affects the lower-class Asian Americans’ abilities to receive certain services and resources necessary for their wellbeing, as the society fails to acknowledge that there are Asian Americans who don’t fit into the stereotype.

Later, the author goes one to introduce four brave Asian Americans who stood up for themselves, risked their jobs, and fought for equality in the workforce. Hune mentions how the “tenure and promotion cases of Jean Jew, Rosalie Tung, Marcy Wang, and Don Nakanishi (three women and a man) were highly publicized at the time and resonate with similar cases today” (Hune, 2013, pg. 14). On one hand, I was relieved to hear that all four of their unfair situations in the workforce were resolved; however, on the other hand, it was also heartbreaking to hear that such cases still occur to this day. These individuals have worked just as hard as their white peers (if not harder) to obtain the position, so it does not make sense to me why Asian Americans don’t deserve the same treatment and opportunities in the workforce as everyone else.

Question
Where did this Asian American stereotype of being “hard workers, high achievers, and economically successful” originate from? What caused society to think of Asian Americans in this way?
References
Valverde, Kieu-Linh Caroline (2013) "Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia," Seattle Journal for Social Justice: Vol. 12: Iss. 2, Article 5.
Wong, J. (2015). [Photograph of an Asian American following the smart stereotype]. Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/why-the-smart-asian-stereotype-not-flattering