By Ian Kung
As a part of growing up and discovering who you are, you look for places that might offer some guidelines. Most look towards their parents and peers, but I quickly came to understand the pervasive notion that Asians in general are supposed to be good in school and not so much elsewhere. Naturally, this came to shape the decisions I made. Today, I still feel the pressure of the model minority stereotype, and actively try to combat it by being aware of its influence. However, the subtle pressure is always present, and it’s sometimes hard to distinguish societal expectations based on a stereotype from my own.
As can be expected from a stereotype that describes strong performance in school, I felt most of the tug to behave a certain way when I was in the classroom. When it came to academic endeavors, or stereotypically Asian activities, my own high standards for myself combined with societal expectations for that extra bit of pressure. No matter the setting, I was wary of giving in to preexisting expectations that would lead to reinforcing the existing model minority stereotype. But it seemed to happen anyway - I ended up playing piano for eight years, got good grades, and attended Chinese school until I graduated from high school. To me, that is the most sinister part of the model minority ideal in particular. Despite efforts to separate yourself from the pack, your efforts actually perpetuate the stereotype’s influence. I was continuously worried about how it would seem for me to do such activities outside of school, and how I might be discredited because it was already expected from me. I suspect many of my Asian American peers experienced something similar.
In reality, the model minority ideal is inseparable from the blatantly negative yellow peril stereotype, in which Asians seem to outdo White Americans and pose a collective threat to the white race. Regardless of how much more “official” the model minority stereotype seems, it is simply a less threatening version of the yellow peril, where Asians succeed “silently and diligently”. Depending on which version is in use, Asians are either depicted as a masculine threat or take on a more feminine and passive/docile role (Kawai).
When I thought about whose perspective to get on the state of Asian Americans today, my mind immediately went to one individual: my last Chinese school teacher, who has been teaching at the school for many years after retiring from an aviation career in Taiwan. When I spoke to him over the phone, I asked about how Asian culture could be valuable to American society at large. He had some insights on how to gradually transform American perceptions of Asians and Asian culture in general, as well as on the phenomenon of how a culture will be gradually diluted and eventually dissipate with each consecutive generation born and raised in America. I’m not able to provide quotes since his responses were in Mandarin Chinese, but I can include the important ideas from his lecture.
My teacher is well aware of the lack of the gap in understanding between American and Chinese culture. From his viewpoint, if we are seeking to increase the level of appreciation and exchange between the two, Asian Americans must be
San Francisco's Chinese New Year parade celebrates the Year of the Pig, 2019
willing to meet Americans halfway. This means simply promoting Asian culture will have a minimal impact - instead, we need to merge with American lives and match their values. If we make it a priority to make a memorable good impression, covering cultural nuances and making it enticing, we could overcome any animosity between peoples that arise from country-to-country politics. He cited the activity in our Chinese school where students try Chinese New Year pastries and rate them by how much they like them. By extending this practice, placing an emphasis on simply giving people a fun experience, they will come to naturally understand aspects of Asian culture and customs. This will take time, but is essential for the goal of reducing the foreigner status of Asian Americans.
With the insights from my old teacher, I put together my own perspective for moving forward. Despite the day-to-day slight discomfort that I had being Asian in one situation or another, it is ultimately inseparable from my identity. Whether I like it or not, existing stereotypes will continue to influence my actions both consciously and without me being completely aware of their impact. The most pervasive of which being the model minority stereotype, which is not as positive as it initially seems. Given all the ways that my ethnicity alters my actions, I have realized that the best way forward is not to dwell on the shortcomings of some societal expectations. I should not only value my heritage, but also cherish my own experiences that make me who I am today.
Works Cited
Kawai, Yuko. “Stereotyping Asian Americans: The Dialectic of the Model Minority and the Yellow Peril.” Howard Journal of Communications, vol. 16, no. 2, Apr. 2005, pp. 109–30. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/10646170590948974.
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