The Model Minority Myth

And its invisible effects on the Asian Community

By Diana Zhang and Angelina Xu

Hello everyone! Welcome to our informative newsletter series: Malicious Myths! Today we are going to inform you about the educational and socioeconomic (social and economic) impacts the Model Minority Myth has on Asian Americans.

Q. First, what does the term "Model Minority" even mean?

A. The term “Model Minority” defines a minority demographic whose people are considered to accomplish a higher degree of success than other racial groups in its region.

Q: What is the stereotype created by the Model Minority Myth for Asian Americans?

A. According to the Model Minority Myth, Asian Americans appear as a perfect image of a racial group that works hard, is very intelligent, and has high salaries.

Q. What is its main impact on the Asian community?

A. The expression is shaping a stereotype, constantly used to mythologize Asians in America as the most studious, industrious, and accomplished minority group.

Introduction:

My friends and I often joke around about “being a good Asian child”. Whenever we receive a bad grade from a test, we would often say “my mom is going to disown me”, or “I’m not a good Asian child”. But where did the concept of being a “good Asian child” come from?

The infamous Model Minority Myth contributes greatly to this. As stated in the FAQ, the Model Minority Myth defines a minority race as being superior to other minorities for their accomplishments and social status. Lamentably, this crown often lands on the Asian communities, especially in the United States.

To further analyze the reasons behind this, we can consider the socioeconomic and educational impacts on Asian Americans caused by the Model Minority Myth. Let’s take a closer look at the powerful impacts!

Education:

The Model Minority Myth sets higher standards and disguises Asian Americans in harmful compliments such as “Good at math”, “A+ students”, “rich and smart”, “STEM-focused”.

Unfortunately, these harmful comments have institutionalized within school administration and teachers. In a study conducted by California University, Monterey Bay, the author’s survey shows ⅔ of teachers in local public school systems who did not receive multicultural education (Educating students with various cultural backgrounds).

This is extremely important. Without proper training, teachers can show prejudice inside the learning system such as subconsciously being affected by the Model Minority Myth, therefore creating copious amounts of pressure for Asian students.

Asian American students, therefore, are adapting to this stereotype inside the education system, and are usually compelled to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers or other high-income careers in their future. This significantly impacts Asian Americans’ mental health as they are under enormous amounts of pressure from their parents, and from society.

Since the myth forces Asian Americans to be studious, in research, Asian Americans were presented as the most educated racial group in America. According to the Pew Research Center, half of the Asian adults had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2014, compared to 29% of the total immigrant population and 30% of native-born.

Furthermore, since higher education often leads to a higher possibility of obtaining well-paid and socially respected jobs, we now turn the spotlight onto the socioeconomic aspects of the Model Minority Myth.

Asian predominance in High-Salary careers:

As an Asian American student living in Northern Virginia, I can see many of my Asian friends’

parents work in jobs in the management field, or the IT (Information Technology) field. Frankly, this is also applicable to all regions in America. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Asians, who only contribute 6% to the overall labor force, dominates 54% of higher salary jobs (Management, professional, and related occupations). This situation constructs Asian Americans as the highest-earning racial group in America with a $1095 weekly salary.

So how does that connect to the model minority myth?

This causes obvious separation between Asians and other ethnicities because of the large salary differences. Because of the myth, Asian Americans are socially obligated to be academically and economically successful, which directly leads to geographical and social barriers with other ethnicities, especially minorities. This prevents the Asian community from uniting with other minorities in the country to fight racism and face struggles together.

Because Asian Americans are compelled to fit into the Model Minority Myth stereotype,

there is a predominance of the Asian community in high salary jobs listed above. But under the seemingly social stability, there are still Asian Americans who are struggling at the bottom of the economy. According to the Pew Research Center, Asian Americans have the most income inequality within their racial group, compared to other ethnicities in America. This situation is more common in immigration states, such as California, or New York. The Model Minority Myth veils the Asian families who are struggling, in addition, putting pressure on those families by normalizing the Asian stereotype. This further damages those families and misleads governmental sources who can assist them.

Conclusion:

Although the Model Minority Myth seems socially beneficial to Asian Americans, it is still a malicious stereotype that diminishes the individuality inside the Asian community by only exhibiting one illustration of Asian Americans. Hence, to fight the notorious myth and stereotype, the media needs to stop portraying Asian Americans. Furthermore, as a member of the Asian community, we should cease to stereotype ourselves. It’s a necessity to recognize our differences, and be proud of them.

Citations:

Freepik. “Careers.” Freepik, Freepik Company, 2018, http://freepik.com. Accessed October 29 2020.

Asian Grading System, Webfail, 2014, http://en.webfail.com/66dece63b3. Accessed October 29 2020.

U.S. Bureau of Statistics. Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2018. U.S. Bureau of Statistics, Oct. 2019. U.S. Bureau of Statistics, www.bls.gov/opub/reports/race-and-ethnicity/2018/home.htm. Accessed 4 Oct. 2020.

Morales-Magbitang, Gustavo, "Impact of the Model Minority Myth for Asian American Students" (2019). Capstone Projects and Master's Theses. 568. https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/caps_thes_all/568

Kwong, Kenny. "Career Choice, Barriers, and Prospects of Asian American Social Workers." International Journal of Higher Education, vol. 7, no. 6, 23 Oct. 2018. Sciedu Press, doi:10.5430/ijhe.v7n6p1. Accessed 27 Sept. 2020