The reality of the “Model Minority”
by Bisti Podar, Vernon Hills High School
“Wait, but you must be smart right?” … “Aren’t Asians supposed to be smart?” …“How did you even get that grade, aren’t you Indian?”
Hearing these questions wasn’t an uncommon experience growing up as a first-generation Indian girl. Asian stereotypes were toyed with often, and I participated in them too, giving no thought to the harmful consequences it had. Asians were played up to be the “smartest” race, which made no logical sense considering how diverse the continent of Asia is. But alas, the connection between Asians, specifically east and South Asians, and intelligence was already made. People in class would be happy when getting a grade higher than their Asian peer, or would turn to Asian students when they needed help with something in class. I often found myself paired with the people who needed help during group projects, by my own teachers, who had preconceived notions that I was “smart” enough to teach them the material. At only eleven years old.
All these small things that bugged me in my childhood started making sense as I grew into my adolescent years. Suddenly, I was hyper aware of the fact that people had an image of what Indians were like, how we acted, and how they used that to their advantage. It caused me to build up crazy, unrealistic expectations for myself as I held the model minority myth over my own head. It was enforced, almost a given, that Asians excel in what they do, and if they don’t, then they must not be “real” Asian. Or worse yet, they were a failure. Seeing other people do better than me caused my self esteem to plummet. That was when I first started to reflect on the goals I had for myself, and then later, the goals society had for me.
So why is all of this harmful? Why is it bad that people think Asians are inherently smart? We usually attribute intelligence as a positive trait, so what is all the fuss? To start, the “model minority” title in itself is problematic. The argument that “Asians have the highest median income” completely ignores the fact that alongside that, Asians also have the largest income gap compared to other racial groups. The whole idea behind the model minority myth generalizes Asians as being successful, when there are groups that fall under the umbrella term of being “Asian” who are clearly struggling. This includes refugees, such as southeast Asian immigrants, who had no choice but to flee their country, many times not leaving their country with the best education. It should also be taken into consideration that the model minority myth was created on the basis of having a diversion from the problems Black people face during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. This brings us to another flaw to this myth, the narrative that Black and Hispanic people are “doing something wrong,” which is pushed through examples of Asian success. Pitting immigrants against each other, all of various backgrounds who fight different levels of oppression, does significantly more harm than good. Using the model minority myth diverts attention from the oppressive systems of government and steers the responsibility for “Black failure” coupled with “Asian success” away from white America.
Simply put, Asians, unlike Black people, did not have to endure over two hundred years of slavery and oppression in the Americas. Asian people are still people of color, and do experience oppression and racism similarly to other POC, but in the argument debating the model minority, Asians have more things directly contributing to their success. Most Asian people immigrate to the Americas already educated. This, already, gives them an advantage. Putting the cloak of “hard work” atop of Asian Americans to explain why Black people are not doing as good as them is unfair and unjust. Not only are Black people working hard, they are doing it on top of oppressive systems and racism they face on a daily basis, in the workplace and elsewhere. If success was a race, then Asians were given a head start. The ideology that Asian Americans are the shining immigrants, put on a pedestal for other racial groups to follow, has been relevant since the end of World War II. And since the end of World War II, racism continued to be minimized in the role it plays in the success of minorities.
Another huge flaw in the take of the model minority is that it raises the idea that Asians cannot be oppressed due to the high amounts of money they are said to be making. Asians are often put with white people as the definition and structure of white supremacy grows. In one instance, a Washington school district grouped Asian students’ scores with their white peers to be compared. One can argue this was done so the scores of the white students would not fall behind the scores of students of color. This proves that the goal of the model minority myth was never to uplift Asian Americans, it was made to tear other ethnicities down. It was created only to divide, whether it be internally within the Asian American community, or externally with other ethnicities.
