Ronald Takaki’s essay, “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority”, discusses the supposed construct of Asian Americans being the “model minority”. He stated statistics and studies to back up the idea but also used those strategies on discussing how it is not always the case. Despite the stereotype of Asian Americans attending the best universities and having exceptional business skills, there is still that notable percentage who are not doing so well. After reading Takaki’s essay, several questions, even coming from him, are left unanswered. He fails to specify on who they are supposed to be models for. For other minorities? And if so, what certain traits do Asian Americans possess for them to be deemed worthy as exemplars of minority standards.…
Most readers out there could relate to Hsiang’s situation as an American who gets treated like a foreigner. In the beginning of Hsiang’s article, in her sociology class, the teacher asked the students to volunteer their own experiences with racism or ethnic harassment (p.306). She imagined that the battle would be between white vs. minority, but to her surprise, most of the students told of being discriminated against were by members of their own race. Hsiang also stated, “People act disappointed that I can’t speak Japanese fluently,” a student of Mexican and Japanese ancestry in my sociology class complained this morning. “I don’t see anyone giving me credit for speaking fluent Gaelic” (p.307). This quote is from someone with mixed background and can appeal to people of mixed backgrounds who feel pressured to stick with their culture to keep up with people’s expectations. This quote also direct towards other people who do not have identity issues, explaining how it feels to be misidentified. Hsiang brought the attention by saying, “Asian Americans grow up experiencing enough difficulties living in a predominantly white country with the face of a foreigner” (p.307). Hsiang’s saying tells us that she is appealing to her audience that is not of mixed background, people that have never had identity…
The “model minority” stereotype has many negative influences on Asian Americans. There are increasingly high expectations to younger generations to succeed in their academics in order to achieve their career goals. In the cases where members of the emerging generation fail to succeed, they are not only ridiculed by their families, but also by a society which has come to expect only great things from them. Another pitfall coming from the “model minority” stereotype is the incorrect assumption that Asian Americans are held in this high standard that there is no longer any prejudice or discrimination against their ethnic group. The stereotype was created with the intent to make an example out of what society saw as an exemplary minority group;…
Filipinos- During World War II, Philippines was taken by Japanese Army. Filipinos in America worried about their home land, Philippines. They wanted to join U.S, Armed Force to get back Philippines to fight for the liberation of their home land. According to page 359, chapter 10, "On February 19, 1942, Secretary of War Henry Stimson announced the organization of the First Filipino Infantry Regiment: this new unit is formed in recognition of the intense loyalty and patriotism of those Filipinos who are now residing in the United State." Filipinos were allowed to join U.S Armed Force by U.S Government. Because of this new policy, Filipinos who were members of…
We struggle to adapt to the culture of America. We find the need to identify with our roots in Asian religion, thought and practices. Sometimes we are looked at oddly due to our customs or our beliefs; we truly wish to take care our own. We will always lend a hand, but that same hand has also been bitten by those we've helped. It is our cultural way to be quiet and reserved, keep our business private and not share our problems. Our way of life is unique to the American culture, much of it remains a mystery but with time we've shed much light into our own culture and traditions.…
When people think of Asian-Americans, typically people automatically think of just Chinese people or Japanese people. The Asian-American community is made up of not only the Chinese and Japanese, but also Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, and Korean. The term Asian American was used informally by activists in the 1960s who sought an alternative to the term Oriental, arguing that the latter was derogatory and colonialist. Usually when people say Oriental, they are referring to a food, not a person.…
Final Exam - Review Sheet 250 points *10 points for your name and TA’s name…
There have been many racial controversial issues concerning Asian Americans in the media such as the “model minority” stereotype. I am here to argue that the American entertainment media does reinforce the model minority stereotype of Asian Americans.…
The actions of the Asian-American kids are also described using many adjectives. For example, when the girl Linda speaks, she speaks with an “exaggerated” and “high rise” pitch, showing how these girls talk.…
Thought among Asian Americans there are seemingly similar cultural traits, such as strong family tie, collectivism, emphasizing on education attainment, preserving traditions. However, Asian subgroups are not homogeneous because they come from countries with distinct cultural and linguistic patterns, and their immigration to the U.S. has been shaped by many dissimilar cultural realities that do not apply to Asian-Americans as a whole. In addition, each Asian subgroup is very in culture, tradition, and religion identity, have different socioeconomic characteristics as well they face new challenges and LEP barriers as they try to improve…
Asian Americans represent a diverse range of over twenty-nine unique people groups and cultures. Asian philosophy is group-centered rather than individual-centered as Western culture is. While this philosophy is not necessarily wrong, it presents different perspectives and problems of which Western-trained counselors should be aware. A individual’s identity is highly tied into identifying with the culture and customs they from which they come, deviating from culture and tradition such as seeing a mental health professional, is shamed by society. Mental disorders are categorized as “…insanity, a source of shame, or a lack of self-discipline…” (Erwin, Huang & Lin 2002 pp. 623). In most families, strong interpersonal bonds decrease the likelihood and severity of mental illness. However, in Asian American families, due to the tight family cohesion, immigrants and children of immigrants were less likely to seek mental health treatment out of their family’s fear for shame (Ta, Holck, & Gee 2010). Asian American clients are hype aware of maintaining face, especially in society and with authority figures, and showing emotions is seen as improper.…
Nowadays there are a lot of Asians are trying to move to America. Asian American society is becoming one of the biggest societies in the world. People have started thinking that if they really should become an Asian American. Asian American is the group that have “yellow” skins who lives in the “white” society; Asian American is the group which may facing the problem that the life change from a communism country to a capitalism country; and Asian American is the group that lives in the country which their cultural and history are different than their traditional cultural and history. What it looks like or feels like to be an Asian with “yellow” skin lives…
This theory aligns perfectly with Dev’s experiences in the episode Indians on TV. This article goes on to talk about the impact that this representation has on Asian Americans, and non-Asian Americans.…
When the people of Asian came to American for reasons such as a better life for their families, more income, and a better education they stood out because of their focus, hardworking efforts and high respect for their elders. One of the biggest stereotypes toward the Asian race is the success they have in an educational environment by achieving high test scores, academic awards and punctual about turning in all work assignments. Education for Asian children is a major reason why most immigrants come to American because in American it is easier to better education and a greater chance to succeed in life. Many adults in American was taken by surprise when they realize how respectful Asian children and adolescents had toward them. For many Asian…
In conclusion, when framing the Asian American experience to be a unified yet diverse experience, the emphasis should be placed on increasing education to stress the diversity of immigrant experiences. Through the past treatment and current beliefs a majority of Americans hold, it is clear that all types of Asian Americans are considered to be the same and treated according to this mentality. Whether it is the naturalization act or the model minority myth, Asians are thought of as one group with little in-group variation. What needs to be done now is to increase the flexibility of the definition of Asian American to acknowledge the existence of distinct sub-categories such as Chinese-American, Vietnamese-American and Filipino-American and to…