The Asian community across the Western world faces just as many stereotypes and stigmas as one might expect any group to come across. The very mention of an Asian American gives rise to a vague image of an academically successful, musically prodigious, and ideal civic entity.

Why are stereotypes harmful?:

One can safely say that a lot of stereotypes are rooted, to some extent, in reality. However, to apply one instance to every other is akin to stripping someone of their individuality and reducing them to nothing but manufactured robots, formed from the same mold as others of their community.

Contrary to popular belief, “positive” stereotyping is no better than any other— racism is racism. This cultural image of Asians forming a “model minority” puts a great deal of pressure on members of this group to live up to the unrealistic standards expected of them by society. It forces them to give up their individual personalities and instead demands them to act polite, complacent, and like natural prodigies in various skills, even though they might be struggling.

As a result, many Asians often find their talents and hard work unrecognized and unrewarded; for example, Asian American students may be vessels for greater expectations in respect to academic achievements.

Dual Socio-Economic Profiling

Asians are one of the very few groups that face dual socio-economic profiling. On one hand, they are expected to be frugal convenience store owners, restaurateurs, or cab drivers with unsustainably large families; however, pop culture also chooses to display them as typically wealthy, snobbish, and elitist members of society.

The racist hypocrisy is evident here: two different profiles, obviously antonymous in nature, but both have simultaneously become stereotypes of the Asian community. It is very clear that no matter what Asians choose to do, the society’s view of them manages to trump their authentic identities, ambitions, and achievements.

"Asians Can’t Drive"

Certain physical features that distinguish persons of Asian ancestry are also subject to demeaning stereotypes. Although research shows that Asians are some of the safest drivers in terms of their ability to follow road traffic rules and avoid accidents, the stereotype deems Asians as terrible drivers most often due to their so-called slanted “chinky” eyes.

Additionally, further research by an Australian traffic study found that Asian-born drivers had about half the risk of an accident as the Australian-born participants. This stereotype reflects its perpetrators’ ignorance and unwillingness to educate themselves.

Asian Accents

Accents are nothing but the product of a community’s shared language affecting the way they form sounds; yet, it is almost globally accepted that while European or American accents are considered sophisticated and elegant. Meanwhile, any other accents, including indigenous Asian ones, are portrayed as crude or evidence of limited literacy.

The normalization of this idea allows others to believe that it is acceptable to poke fun at accents or grammatical errors. However, they fail to realise how self-conscious it can make the speaker feel, many times causing them to withdraw from the social spotlight and avoid drawing any attention to themselves because of their fear that their accent might subject them to ridicule and harm their self-worth.

“Smelly, Gross Food”

All such stereotypes gradually lead to one thing: gentrification, or the wilful loss of one’s cultural identity in order to better assimilate with a more acceptable local culture. This means that many Asian Americans often fully immerse themselves in Western culture to the point where they reject or know very little about their own cultures.

Second and third generation immigrants often have "a sense of loss of their own culture - their attire is western, their language is western, and food is almost the last of the cultural domain that they retain a vivid memory of,” Krishnendu Ray, a sociologist and professor of food studies at New York University, tells BBC.

“All Asians Look the Same”

Another commonly heard stereotype is that all Asians look the same, referring to the “typical Chinese profile.” This idea is greatly inaccurate considering the fact that Asia spans every climatic zone and has perhaps the most naturally diverse population of all the continents. In fact, Asian Americans account for more than 12.5 million within the United States and represent more than 30 different nationalities and ethnic groups. As a result, Asians vary in eye shapes, hair colors, hairstyles, body shapes, and skin tones.

“South Asia is Primitive”

Stereotypes of Asia range from societies seen as futuristic and highly developed like Japan as well as those inaccurately seen as primitive and underdeveloped such as India and South Asia in general. Yet, Asia is by no means a backward continent: in 2016, it accounted for 30% of the world’s total income. Still, people continue to retain their image of South Asians as poverty-stricken, hut-dwelling, and caste system believers, when in reality, some of their scientific achievements even surpass First World countries.

“Asian Women are ‘China Dolls’”

Of course, the Asian society is not without its demerits— it still lags behind most Western countries in terms of gender equality and awareness about such topics. Nevertheless, that does not indicate that Asian women are submissive, sexualized “kittens” born and bred to please men. Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani women’s education activist, is a chief example of an Asian woman’s great capabilities. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and is recognised as a hero around the world.

“Asians are athletically inferior”

The model minority myth and film media has encouraged and ingrained in the minds of many that Asians are school nerds and socially awkward geeks. The stereotype considers Asians physically weak and unable to endure the intensive labor found in sports. Thus, it becomes difficult to believe that Asians are and have been athletically gifted.

This inaccurate stereotype has led to harsh discrimation against Asians during professional sport team recruitment processes, historically resulting in a field of skill that is highly unrepresentative of Asians.

In 1947, Wataru Misaka, a Japanese American, was the first non-white athlete to play in the NBA. Additionally, weightlifter Tommy Kono set a total of 26 world records and 7 Olympic records, making him the most accomplished US male weightlifter to this day.

“Asian Women are ‘China Dolls’”

Of course, the Asian society is not without its demerits— it still lags behind most Western countries in terms of gender equality and awareness about such topics. Nevertheless, that does not indicate that Asian women are submissive, sexualized “kittens” born and bred to please men. Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani women’s education activist, is a chief example of an Asian woman’s great capabilities. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and is recognised as a hero around the world.

Conclusion

Nobody deserves to be reduced to a stereotype. Whether people from a community adhere to one’s preconceived notions or not, nothing justifies the forcing of one’s broad ideas of their identity onto an entire population of people. Breaking stereotypes enables us to wake up and accurately interact with the reality we all live in: an ethnically diverse world of people.

To educate others, we must accept ourselves first: our differences are not detrimental to our identity— but they are, in fact, the very elements that make us special and unique. We should try to learn about and appreciate our own cultures for what they are, without omitting or altering any parts of it to suit another’s preconceptions, instead of shying away from them.

Most importantly, we must remember that even though our environment and community shapes our growth, we are all individuals with unique flaws, perks, and quirks. Thus, it is never right to judge one person based on a group’s image.

Sources:

• “Bad Drivers? No, Just Bad Stereotypes.” Association for Psychological Science - APS, 10 Dec. 2014, www.psychologicalscience.org/news/motr/bad-drivers-no-just-bad-stereotypes.html.
• Cheung, Helier. “Cultural Appropriation: Why Is Food Such a Sensitive Subject?” BBC News, BBC, 13 Apr. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47892747.
• “Countering Stereotypes about Asian Americans.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/monitor/2019/12/countering-stereotypes.
• Deepak Nayya Emeritus Professor of Economics. “How Asia Transformed from the Poorest Continent in the World into a Global Economic Powerhouse.” The Conversation, 18 Feb. 2020,theconversation.com/how-asia-transformed-from-the-poorest-continent-in-the-world-into-a-global-economic-powerhouse-123729.
• “Understanding Our Perceptions of Asian Americans.” Asia Society, asiasociety.org/education/understanding-our-perceptions-asian-americans#:~:text=Asian Americans number more than,Burmese, Malay, and Filipinos from.
• Victoria Chan August 9, 2018. “We Need to Talk About the 'Crazy Rich Asians' Stereotype.” FLARE, 24 Aug. 2018, www.flare.com/tv-movies/crazy-rich-asians-racism-vancouver/.
• Vishwanath, Sharada. “Mocking Accents Spreads Unjust, Offensive Stereotypes.” THE ALGONQUIN HARBINGER, arhsharbinger.com/18714/opinion/mocking-accents-spreads-unjust-offensive-stereotypes/.
• “What Is the Model Minority Myth?” Teaching Tolerance, www.tolerance.org/magazine/what-is-the-model-minority-myth.
• NBC