I am proud to be Asian. All the stupid stereotypes jokes. "He's probably smart because he's Asian"."Damn all you Asian look alike"."Go learn some English, Chink". I'm standing here now to explain that I don't represent all Asians. I'm standing here to prove that I'm me and what define me. The first point I wanna tell you guys are about my race and my nationality. just because I am Asian does not mean that I always have an A on my test. Let me tell you something about me, I do struggle. Everyone in this room does. I don't understand this math problem, just like the rest of us. My race is not just looking at my face. I don't represent all Asians. My culture is part of me, but does not define me. Ask me but don't assume.
The school system typically emphasizes participation in speaking in class, which may be more intimidating for Asians due to their background and importance of silence. Participants of Sue’s study “felt forced to conform to Western norms and values (‘talking more’) when such behaviour violated their cultural upbringing” (77). In other words, Asian participants felt uncomfortable trying to fit the White standard of talking and participating in class. Furthermore, the college and university admission decisions may be influenced by unconscious biases. These biases are usually prominent in individuals faced with an uncertain decision.
One of the most destructive forces that is destroying young black people in America today is the common cultures wicked image of what an realistic black person is supposed to look like and how that person is supposed to act. African Americans have been struggling for equality since the birth of this land, and the war is very strong. Have you ever been in a situation where you were stereotyped against?
In addition to discriminating against Asians, what most people don’t realize is that they are discriminating against the other ethnic groups too, thus creating interracial tension. When one superficially praises the success of one group, they are indirectly bringing out the failures of the other group. For example, when comparing Blacks, Hispanics or Native Americans to Asian American success, they are disregarding the fact that Blacks, Hispanics or Native Americans can be successful too. The model minority myth also creates an exaggerated portrayal of Asian students as hard working, studious, and persevering, which can lead to Asian American students being bullied by their fellow peers.
A strong work ethic and high expectations in education are values of many Asian-American parents. Their children are not only expected to get good grades but to be at the top of their class or get straight As. Many Asian-American children experience test anxiety due to their fears about pleasing their parents or shaming the family.
In this paper I will be sharing information I had gathered involving two students that were interviewed regarding education and their racial status of being an Asian-American. I will examine these subjects’ experiences as an Asian-American through the education they had experienced throughout their entire lives. I will also be relating and analyzing their experiences through the various concepts we had learned and discussed in class so far. Both of these individuals have experiences regarding their education that have similarities and differences.
As students, education is essential when gaining knowledge in areas in which they are not familiar with. Although students are exposed to the core curriculums, they are lacking the ability to retain knowledge from the world around them. As an Asian American, I receive many questions that involve my cultural background and lifestyle. Even though Asian Americans are considered as the “minority,” I often find myself asking the same questions about other backgrounds. Being able to learn about world culture may bring more awareness to our actions, knowledge of our peers’ backgrounds, and an understanding of diversity around the world.
As a second generation Asian American, I have not experienced much discrimination, since I have grown up surrounded by the American language and culture. However, after reading Strangers from a Different Shore, I realized that Asian Americans today are experiencing a new type of prejudice: “The Myth of the ‘Model Minority’” (474).` This stems from Asians’ success in school and in their jobs. The stereotypical idea of “Asian parents” also contributes to this misconception. The media helped spread the idea of this “super minority.” The New Republic praised the “Triumph of Asian-Americans” as “America’s greatest success story,” and CBS’s 60 Minutes presented a glowing report on Asian’s achievements in academics (475). This misconception leads many teachers and employers to assume that all Asians are intelligent beings and little powerhouses of work.
In the end, it is up to Asian-Americans to discredit the positive and negative stereotypes. By assimilating with other race groups, Asian-Americans will gain more understanding from their non-Asian peers. In addition, when Asians are more forth-coming with their struggles, it will unmask the myth of perfection and allow others to see them as an individual.
U.S. media history has been plagued with limited representations of Asians and Asian Americans. Specifically Asian American female roles have been limited to stereotypes such as the Lotus Blossom/Madame Butterfly and the dragon lady. The Lotus Blossom and the Madame Butterfly stereotypes are seen as being sexually attractive, alluring, passive and obedient. On the other hand the Dragon Lady is seen as sexualized, sinister and conniving. These stereotypical representations of Asian females are what Darrel Hamamoto refers to as “controlling images”. The repetition of these loaded representations within contemporary media has created a limited perspective of Asian American images. According to Hamamoto in “Monitored Peril: Asian Americans and the Politics of TV”, controlling images involve the process of objectification, subordination, and justification. These images are used to create a hierarchy of gender, race, and class; this hierarchy can also be understood as media racial hegemony. In their book “Asian Americans and the Media” Kent Ono and Vincent Pham articulate media racial hegemony as the way people think about how race is represented through media and how media representations help guide and regulate beliefs and actions of those within society in indirect ways.
The first word that resonates within me is the word daughter, I am the daughter of my parents and of my God. I have a duty as a daughter to abide by what my parents say and be a shining example of my family values. To be a daughter is one of the characteristics I value most in myself because it signifies honor, love and trust. The values of a daughter will help cultivate Whitman’s outward perception of strength and righteousness.
I was late for school, and my father had to walk me in to class so that my teacher would know the reason for my tardiness. My dad opened the door to my classroom, and there was a hush of silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on my father and me. He told the teacher why I was late, gave me a kiss goodbye and left for work. As I sat down at my seat, all of my so-called friends called me names and teased me. The students teased me not because I was late, but because my father was black. They were too young to understand. All of this time, they thought that I was white, because I had fare skin like them, therefore I had to be white. Growing up having a white mother and a black father was tough. To some people, being black and white is a contradiction in itself. People thought that I had to be one or the other, but not both. I thought that I was fine the way I was. But like myself, Shelby Steele was stuck in between two opposite forces of his double bind. He was black and middle class, both having significant roles in his life. "Race, he insisted, blurred class distinctions among blacks. If you were black, you were just black and that was that" (Steele 211).
The Asian American community in the contemporary period face a lot of race relation issues which all interconnect within each other. Asian Americans face the basis of “Model Minority” that purportedly whitens Asians leading to the belief that there are no issues such as racism and poverty within the Asian American community. With that, they face the issue that there is no racial discrimination against Asian Americans due to the racial barrier being contextualized within a “black or white” framework. Another problem they face is mainstream America’s lack of awareness to the diversity of the Asian population, which causes a lot of misperceptions and misdirected racial hatred towards certain ethnicities within the Asian race. This causes the Pan-Asian community to not be supportive, unwilling to support each other, in order to avoid racism by avoiding being associated with that ethnicity just because they look alike. This causes the Asian American community and the ethnic groups within to be invisible to the American community as they lack organization and unification to have their voices heard.
As it relates to your country of origin, how do you express your sense of pride? That is difficult to answer. I used to be proud of my national heritage and that of my immigrant predecessors. However, as I get older it seems that my pride is more reliant upon things like my sense of accomplishment. George Carlin said it is silly to be proud of something that you have no control over, I agree with him.
Furthermore, Asians who succeed based on their own hard work are wrote off as “just being Asian”, making their achievements invalid (Yook). So, while students of other races are praised for their success because people assume they did it based on their own merits, Asian American students are just expected to do well, because of their race. This sets up a double standard that can affect Asian students very
Wait. Be still. Don't go over the line. Don't let go. Wait for it. "BANG!" My reactions were precise as I sprung out of the blocks. The sun was beating down on my back as my feet clawed at the blistering, red turf. With every step I took, my toes sunk into the squishy, foul smelling surface, as my lungs grasped for air. Everything felt the way it should as I plunged toward my destination. I clutched the baton in my sweaty palms, promising myself not to let go. My long legs moved me as fast as I could go as I hugged the corner of the line like a little girl hugging her favorite teddy bear. The steps were just like I had practiced. As I came closer to my final steps, my stomach started twisting and my heart beat began to rise. The different colors of arrows started to pass under my feet, and I knew it was time.