The Model Minority Stereotype

My cohorts had a discussion about stereotypes a few weeks ago and its been on the back-burner of my mind since then.  The question was raised, is there such a thing as a positive stereotype?  Then someone brought up the stereotype of Asians being the "model minority."  It seems innocent enough, right?  Well, not really.  Its actually very wrong.

While studying race and history in my undergrad, I read some primary documents (newspaper articles from the 1960's) lauding the ability of Asians to conform to the norms of white society in the face of direct discrimination.  This was when the model minority term was coined.  There are two big problems with this stereotype.  One has to do with how it affects Asian-Americans, and the other has to do with how it affects other minorities.

First off, not all Asians are created equal.  Asians, like Europeans, all migrated to America for different reasons. Some came overseas for better opportunities, others came because they had no other choice.  There is a big difference in socio-economic status between SE Asians, like Hmong and Cambodians, and East and South Asians.  Putting all Asians into one social group strips individuals of their cultural differences (a problem with any stereotype). Furthermore, in schools it serves to further marginalize those Asian students who don't fit the model minority stereotype.  Since the stereotype praises Asians for being quiet and compliant minorities, it really serves to silence yet another group of people.

Secondly, the model minority stereotype was created to effectively blame African-Americans and Latino-Americans for their own inability to overcome prejudice and institutionalized racism.  The purpose of those 1960's newspaper articles was to undermine the civil rights movement.  The writers of those articles praised Asians at the expense of other minorities.  Consequently, the stereotype effectively serves to oppress minorities in general.

Luckily, this didn't work as the civil rights movement picked up speed and civil rights groups, such as Third World Liberation Front, brought minorities together to speak up for changes in policy, such as providing ethnic studies in universities.  If you're interested in learning more about the model minority stereotype, this blog provides a pretty good overview of it.