Model Minorities: Crushed by Society's Expectations

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It was in my fourth period, Biology, when it finally happened: our Genetics tests were out. My teacher’s booming voice rang throughout the classroom, and I heard the chattering commence, as my teacher passed our tests around. He placed my test on my desk and moved on: a bold red 82 stared into my eyes. Kids all around me immediately shook their heads and whispered, saying things like: “Oh my gosh, he got an 82.” or “He’s supposed to be smart, how’d he get an 82?”. It hit me like a brick wall, and I felt my glasses slip down to my nose. The comments around me revolved around an imaginary image of a perfect straight-A student who embodied the model minority myth to a tee.

The model minority myth is rooted in stereotypes. It paints a rosy picture that portrays Asian Americans having unlimited academic, economic, and cultural success. To visualize, let’s take a standard Asian-American household. The myth and society portray the children as “academic geniuses” and “musical prodigies.” It describes mothers as overbearing “Tiger-Moms” who actively push their children to take the most challenging classes, and reign over the household with an iron fist. It portrays fathers as smart citizens who hold prestigious titles in the STEM workforce, such as math or science. This myth also romanticizes Asian-Americans as docile, loyal, and law-abiding citizens who achieve an incredible amount of success by a fantasy of hard work and the “pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps” immigrant mentality.

The model minority myth, in contrast to today’s thinking, started as a very harsh stereotype that often excluded Asian-Americans in both the workforce and ways of life. When Chinese immigrants first came to the US, they took up labor opportunities during the California Gold Rush to construct the Transcontinental Railroad. White working-class laborers feared losing their jobs to the Chinese immigrants. They sent their complaints and worries to the government. After much deliberation, the American government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited all Chinese laborers from coming to the US. The term “yellow perils” was created in response, which portrayed the Chinese as threatening, exotic, and a menace. This nickname caused mass racism and discrimination against the Chinese-American population. After WW2, however, things quickly began to change. Before the Cold War started, the US began to fear that the Chinese Exclusion Act would hurt China and Japan’s relationship. Warren G. Magnuson, a US Representative, and Senator, then created the Magnuson Act. This act allowed a few select immigrants from China to enter the US. Thus, the law would be the catalyst for the creation of a new narrative. This narrative, now known as the model minority, portrayed Asians as a group who successfully integrated into the American society despite all the hardships this group has faced. This, thus, would mark the beginning of the model minority stereotype, which persists today.

Stay tuned for more blog posts about this subject, as we will be delving into how it harmfully affects the Asian-American community, the students and adults that belong in it, and ways to stop the myth from spreading deeper into American society.