The Model Minority - Rithu’s Take
The term “model minority” has popped up frequently over the last couple of months. At first, I wasn’t even quite sure what that meant and wasn’t even sure that it applied to me.
“A model minority is a minority demographic (whether based on ethnicity, race or religion) whose members are perceived as achieving a higher degree of socioeconomic success than the population average, thus serving as a reference group to outgroups”
Most times this success is measured by educational, professional, and societal achievements. As a South Asian immigrant, I cannot tell you the number of times I was expected to excel above and beyond my peers in every aspect of my existence. I was a walking example of the model minority myth. These expectations were a default.
In high school, it was getting into the best universities possible. In university, it was making sure I got a post-secondary degree. Now as a working adult, it’s time to make sure that I’m married and settling down.
I sincerely believed that if I worked hard enough and met those expectations that I could overcome and accomplish anything.
I think about the times I would jokingly say, “I want the power and influence of a mediocre white man” to my friends, but the fact of the matter is, that I do not and will not have that privilege my entire life.
But moments like the horrific Atlanta shootings that happened earlier this year, put things into perspective.
Racism directed towards the Asian community DOES not fall under the model minority all of the time. Violence and discrimination is just as paramount as it was demonstrated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In How White People Can Help Dismantle The Model Minority Myth, Jeff Raikes states the harms behind the myth.
“The myth harms in two ways. The first is the creation of an Asian
(American) monolith, to which any number of stereotypes can be attributed. The myth fails to recognize the rich differences within the Asian (American) diaspora based on language, cultural heritage, national origin, and religion, among other attributes.
The second is to undergird an argument that structural racism simply doesn’t exist. That fallacy goes something like this, ‘If Asian (American) can be successful in America, then Black people should be able to do the same.’ Following this line of thinking, some people can then lay the blame for racial inequities at the feet of Black people in particular, as well as Indigenous and other communities of colour.”
In my youth, I have definitely been guilty of both of these harms. But what I have learned is that this myth is perpetuated only further divides the Asian community from the remaining outgroups of POCs. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows on this side, and the model minority only helps further the damage of white supremacy.
Resources
How White People Can Help Dismantle the Model Minority Myth
“Model Minority” Myth Again Used As a Racial Wedge Between Asians and Blacks
The ‘model minority’ myth hurts Asian Americans - and even leads to violence
I wanted to do things perfectly: How the model minority myth affects me and other Asian people
