My parents grew up in China. I was born in China. They both had high expectations of me. I had high expectations of myself. My parents took the time and effort to further my education beyond what my school provided me. Since elementary school, I was told that I was smart from my classmates and teachers. At that time, being Asian was never a big deal. I began to realize that Asians were treated differently in intermediate school. Some of my classmates tried to trick me into doing their homework by asking for help when they actually just wanted the answers. They would get frustrated at me when I tried to help them by explaining the question, but I guess my method of helping is different from theirs. This issue grew when I moved schools in the summer going into 7th grade. My classmates immediately identified me as smart when they did not even know me. I was known as the shy, quiet, smart girl. They would always expect me to finish first on all tests. Some would tell me proudly, “I finished before you”; as if they accomplished a difficult achievement. They assumed that since I was Asian, I should finish tests first because I am smart and should know the material. My classmates would be shocked at me when I did not get 100%. I never told them my score, but my teachers sometimes felt that the whole class should know my score. Thus, my teachers would announce it to the class and the classes after mine. My classmates would then tell me after class or whisper to me during class, “I got a higher score than you and you’re supposed to be the smart one.” People make mistakes. I’m a human. Sometimes, people forget that I’m a human. To most of my classmates, I was a robot or a calculator. Because of that, people tried to use me and pretended to be my friend because they wanted me to do their homework like when somebody’s parent brings him or her fast food, everybody pretends to be his or her friend to get some fries. Apparently, since I was Asian, I was something inhuman. Something better than a human. That is a lie.
Many people, like my previous classmates, see others who have black hair, brown eyes, and yellowish brown skin color as smart Asians. Asian, according to most Americans and the Oxford dictionary, is a word commonly used to refer to East Asians which consists of North and South Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese. Often times, Americans associate “smart” with “Asian”. Many Americans assume that East Asians are more successful than other racial minority groups in the United States. Success, in this essay, is measured by academics, occupation, relations, and economics. Racial minorities include African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Hawaiians.
This stereotype emerged after the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965. Before, immigration policies had restricted most immigration from Asia, but the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 lifted these restrictions and allowed select immigrants from Asia. However, the immigrants had to be immediate family of those whom were living in the United States or had a certain education background. Thus, most immigrants from Asia were “highly-educated professionals...and scientists” (University of Washington, 173). Soon thereafter, East Asians were being portrayed as one of the most successful minority groups.
Statistics have shown that the East Asian population in America has higher successes in education. By using statistics from the United States Census Bureau and using Microsoft Excel for calculations, on average as of 2012, about 91.2% of Asian students receive a high school diploma or higher and about 58% of those students also receive a bachelor’s degree or higher. 83.2% of African American students, another minority, receive a high school diploma, but far fewer of them, only about 18.7%, pursue a bachelor’s degree or higher. Hispanics or Latinos have even lower statistics of about 64% of students receive a high school diploma or higher and only about 13.8% receive a bachelor’s degree or higher. Only 78.8% of Native Americans and 85.4% of Hawaiians receive a high school diploma or higher, and 13.5% of Native Americans and 14.8% of Hawaiians have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
According to the United States Census Bureau, on average as of 2012, 57% of East Asians has as a management, business, science, or arts occupation which is significantly higher than African Americans, 28.1%, Native Americans, 26.1%, and Hawaiians, 23.2%. However, although Asians have better occupations than other racial minorities, Hawaiians have a slightly higher employment rate, 57.2%, than Asians’ 56.5% employment rate. Furthermore, according to the United States Census Bureau as of 2012, Asians have around half the poverty rate, 13%, for all persons, except for Hawaiian’s 21.3%, than African American’s 28.1%, and Native American’s 29.1%. Asians also have a lower percentage of divorce, 5.4%, compared to African Americans, 12.2%, Native Americans, 13.3%, and Hawaiians, 8.1%. Thus, Asians have better relationships.
Some people have assumed that Asian women around the age range from fifteen through twenty-four have the highest suicide rates compared to other racial groups, but that is false according to the Center of Disease Control. Suicide is not even on the top ten causes of death for all ages of women as of 2011. Another inference some people believe is that most Asians are attending community colleges which is why most of the public perceives Asians as highly successful. However, according to the American Association of Community Colleges, only 814 Asian students, enrolled in community colleges. Since there are about 2,276,737 Asians enrolled in college as of 2012 based on the information provided by the United States Census Bureau, only about 0.06% of Asians are enrolled in community college. Additionally, the graph shown on the New York Time’s article, “Statistics Indicate an Ivy League Asian Quota”, shows that most Asian students ages eighteen to twenty-one attend elite schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and others.
The stereotype may sound positive, but it has negative effects on all minorities, even the targeted minority. East Asians are suffering racial bullying and discrimination because of this stereotype. In fact, according to the US Justice and Education departments, Asian-Americans were the most bullied race in 2011 compared to their Caucasian, Hispanic, and African American counterparts. Moreover, this stereotype gives East Asians, “the burden of living up to higher standards and expectations from the mainstream society...masking inequity, ethnocentrism, and discrimination” (Lui and Rollock, 452).
I never took what my classmates told me about Asians seriously. I probably was bullied, but I did not know I was bullied because I ignored what most of my classmates said about me. In high school, these remarks would probably have increased, but since I did not attend high school, I was able to avoid these remarks. Now, I am surrounded by supportive classmates who do not judge me because of my race. However, there are many Asian children who have not been as fortunate as me. The stereotype has influenced minorities and continues to do so negatively. Children are being bullied because of this stereotype. Even though the stereotype is correct, it does not benefit many people.
