Jessie Benedict, A01, Week 2

          In “Taking Action: Asian American Faculty against Injustices in the Academy”, I learnt more about the racial discrimination experienced by Asian Americans. Shirley Hune states that “Through mainstream culture, Asian Americans are stereotyped as hard workers, high achievers, and economically successful—a model minority group that, in this view, no longer encounters the racial discrimination of the past.” (Valverde & Dariotis, 3) While this seems like a positive stereotype, it unfortunately suggests that Asian Americans have equal rights to their Caucasian peers and no longer face racial discrimination, which is not true. The result is that any racial injustice they face is glossed over, making it difficult for it to be addressed by society and thus placing them at a continuous disadvantage.

         Not all Asians are smart, yet because they are perceived as a “model minority without academic needs, issues, or concerns” (Lee & Zhou, 2015), they are robbed of the opportunities to access academic tutors and additional resources that could aid in their studies. In addition, some Asians want to pursue a career in the Arts, but because of the notion that all Asians wish to pursue a career in the Sciences or Maths, heavy emphasis is placed on these paths and limited resources are allocated to the development of their artistic skills. They are moulded to excel in a certain academic aspect and career path, but not the other.  The reality is that in order for Asians to excel in these unequal circumstances, they are forced to work harder than their Caucasian peers, perpetuating the stereotype of the “hardworking Asian” even more. Even then, they may not be able to obtain the same successes and recognition that their peers could more easily get.

Question: How can we, as a society, work to eradicate these stereotypes?

References

Image: Khor, S. (2016, November 29). It's Already 2016, But Asians Living Abroad Are Still Hearing Racist Comments Like These. Retrieved from https://says.com/my/news/this-is-2016-but-asians-abroad-are-still-subject-to-stereotypes-from-2004

Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.