Unraveling the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth

By Stacey J. Lee

Objectives  Understand what the “Model Minority Myth” refers to.

 Define hegemony and ethnographic research, & the Pygmalion effect  Understand The Cultural Explanation, Relative Functionalism, & Cultural Ecologists  Better understand Lee’s analysis and her explanation of “Academic Achievement Among Asian Americans“

Discussion Question: •Are good stereotypes good? •Are good stereotypes bad?

“Relative to stereotypes of other racial minorities, the model minority stereotype appears to be positive and flattering. Indeed, what could be wrong with being described as smart and hardworking? . . . Despite the privileges that I may at times enjoy from being cast as a model minority, history tells us that the label is dangerous. . . .” — Stacey Lee (1996), Unraveling the “Model Minority” Stereotype

Unraveling the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth What is ethnographic research?

Lee conducted semistructured interviews with 47 of the 356 Asian American students, a number of teachers, and several of the school's Black students. The book centers on the experiences of students from four Asian American identity groups: Korean-identified students; Asian identified students; Asian American identified students; and "New Wavers," a group Lee describes as personifying a culture of resistance to extant racial/ethnic identities. Accordingly, she notes that these four groups are categorized based on the students' levels of racial identity and pride, levels of acculturation, cultural orientations (values, beliefs, behaviors), and attitudes toward school and achievement.

Diversity of Asian American Asian American are very diverse: - Countries of origin & Ethnicities - Languages/dialects - Immigration History - Length/Generation of being in the United - Socioeconomic status - Religious

-

Acculturation

Origins of Asian American

-- 51% of Asian American are immigrants --The six largest groups, account for 89% of Asian American: – Chinese (2.7 million), – Filipinos (2.4 million), – Asian Indian (1.9 million) – Korean (1.23 million) – Vietnamese (1.22 million) – Japanese (1.15million)

Immigrant History

� 1880s – Chinese from Mainland China as railroad workers and ended by Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 till civil right movement in 1950s. Then, most immigrants were from Taiwan till 1970s. � Japanese immigrant to US to replace Chinese immigrants after 1882. Till1924 immigration act banned Japanese immigrant. 1942 the Executive Order 9066 sent Japanese to concentration camp after Japanese attacked Honolulu.

the Pygmalion effect

The

Pygmalion effect

,

Rosenthal effect

, or more commonly known as the

"teacher expectancy effect"

refers to situations in which students perform better than other students simply because they are expected to do so. The Pygmalion effect requires a student to internalize the expectations of their superiors. It is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy , and in this respect, students with poor expectations internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly. Within sociology, the effect is often cited with regards to education and social class .

Hegemony

The processes by which a dominant culture maintains its dominant position: for example, the use of institutions to formalize power; the employment of a bureaucracy to make power seem abstract (and, therefore, not attached to any one individual); the inculcation of the populace in the ideals of the hegomonic group through education, advertising, publication, etc.; the mobilization of a police force as well as military personnel to subdue opposition.

Discussion Question:

•

What is the Model Minority a myth?

Unraveling the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth  Countering Ogbu, Lee contends that his analysis (a) fails to explain why Asians do not perform as well in their respective countries of origin as they do in the United States; (b) fails to explain poor achievement among Asian Americans; and (c) treats voluntary minorities as a homogeneous group, thereby ignoring within-group differences among various Asians (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.).

Unraveling the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth     What is wrong with mainstream society’s characterization of Asian Americans as the “model minority”—smart, achievement-oriented, hardworking, respectful? Why should some Asian Americans object to the “model minority” stereotype? Why should some consider it dangerous? Does the “model minority” offer any potentially good outcomes? Is there any substance to the allegation by some Asian Americans that the “model minority” stereotype is a clever hegemonic ploy by the dominant mainstream society to create invidious comparisons between and among ethnic and racial minorities?

Discussion Question:

•

What are the positives of the “Model Minority” stereotype? Negatives?

Unraveling the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth  the first problem, --the stereotype homogenizes the Asian American population, masking the diversity within Asian American communities due to social class, religion, language, ethnicity, migratory status, length of residence, and education.

“Academic Achievement Among Asian Americans"  Chapter 3  The Cultural Explanation  Relative Functionalism  Cultural Ecologists ---identities ---perceptions of opportunities ---perceptions of school ---perceptions of achievement

****African Immigrants

“Academic Achievement Among Asian Americans"  Academic Achievement  Korean-Identified Students  Asian-Identified Students  Profiles of High Achievers  Profiles of Low Achievers

Discussion Question:

•Why should (or shouldn’t) Asian Americans and/or teachers fight the Model Minority stereotype?

Unraveling the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth  Lee concludes:  The model minority stereotype is dangerous because it tells Asian Americans and other minorities how to behave. The stereotype is dangerous because it is used against other minority groups to silence claims of inequality. It is dangerous because it silences the experiences of Asian Americans who can/do not achieve model minority success. And finally, the stereotype is dangerous because some Asian Americans may use the stereotype to judge their self worth. . . (p. 125)

Objectives  Understand what the “Model Minority Myth” refers to.

 Define hegemony and ethnographic research, & the Pygmalion effect  Understand The Cultural Explanation, Relative Functionalism, & Cultural Ecologists  Better understand Lee’s analysis and her explanation of “Academic Achievement Among Asian Americans“