I'm up to "Rice Paddies and Math Tests" and I knew he wasn't going to involve Indians because when you think of Asian only Japan, Korea, or China really come up so I wasn't surprised. But what really irks me is how he says, "Go to any Western college campus and you'll find that Asian students have a reputation for being in the library after everyone else has left. Sometimes people of Asian background get offended when their culture is described this way, because they think that the stereotype is being used as a form of disparagement" (page 238-239). I love when non Asian people tell me that a stereotype that is used to mock and define Asians is not at all belittling because it's not like Asians are constantly told, "You should be good at math because you're Asian" or "You should become an Engineer or go into Business because you're Asian", oh no not "a disparagement" says the non Asian person. Sure you can say rice paddies and the number system is what makes Asians good at math, but what about the rest of Asia? What about the Asians who are wealthy and grew up in urban areas? Sure you can say those Chinese proverbs do encourage hard work but that's because their lives depended on those rice paddies, but that doesn't automatically make Asians good at math, it's because they learned various skills to help them survive. People think that Asians don't have learning disabilities, or are quick to laugh about family pressure like that meme about the Asian father disowning their child because he got a B on his test, that sure was hilarious :). I don't care if it's a positive stereotype, or that every stereotype has some truth to it because it doesn't apply to everyone in that group. You try being Asian and being told by your family you're a disgrace for being an artist. You try being Asian and being constantly told "you're smart" just for being Asian. You try being Asian and having to deal with intense family pressure of having to become successful for your parents because family is so big in your culture (as is in many cultures). You try being Asian and being mentally ill and having it brushed aside because people expect you to be a workaholic 24/7. Try, because I'm sure if you could, you would see that this stereotype is definitely a disparagement. I don't need Gladwell telling me why I'm supposed to be good at math, I can speak for myself and not be the stereotype he's so persistent to prove. This stereotype is almost dehumanizing and maybe I'm overreacting but I rather overreact then let people define me with this assumption.
If you don't believe me or support my point at all, you don't have to, but to go further on this I have a source that is a report done by The University of Texas at Austin that goes into more depth on why the Model Minority Stereotype (e.g Asians being good at math) does more harm than good:
http://cmhc.utexas.edu/modelminority.html
This message has been brought to you by your local Asian American. :)
I feel that stereotypes, in this case to those who pertain to Asians, always do more harm than good. People like to say "oh it's just positive stereotyping" but it just comes out mockingly. It is as though it offends them more that you think it's a bad thing. Just because someone is from one culture or area of the world doesn't mean they are equipped with all the stereotypes that are associated with it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! I think it really stops people from getting to know the person! Like I'd like someone to call me smart because I'm actually good at a subject, rather than it just being because I'm Asian.
DeleteI, as another Asian American, can attest to this. When Ms. Brannon first talked about Outliers and this particular chapter telling us that there is a logical explanation as to why "Asians are so good at math", I was very skeptical. However, after reading this chapter, its not as bad as I thought it would be. The points that Gladwell makes are true; East Asian culture, China specifically, was built around the laborious nature of harvesting rice and most Asian number systems are simplistic. He doesn't say that the inclination for success lies in genes, but rather the environmental and cultural upbringing that a person is raised in. I had a breath of relief until he said the quote that Tina just mentioned about Asian Americans thinking the stereotype is a form of 'disparagement". Of course we do! What else is there to do? Like Tina said, the pressure of that "positive stereotype" zeroes in on students throughout their entire schooling career. Many Asian students are mentally ill, driving themselves into work all the time and its dismissed because of that positive stereotype. In South Korea, students have the higher suicide rate. Obviously, being that that is an East Asian country, the culture is much more prominent. If we saw those numbers for Asian American students here, would attitudes change? Nobody would walk on eggshells around students. The same comments will be made and the same dismissals to mental health will go on because we are expected to go through out like we did when our ancestors had to plow the rice paddies :) Being the "not-so-smart" Asian, I've dealt with this. I used to be the overachieving student when a lot of things hit me at the wrong time, and I lost interest in school and my attitude from there on took on for the worse. When I asked for help, not much was given because of that stereotype and people thought I would eventually catch up despite missing so much school because I'm Asian. It sounds ridiculous now, it sounded ridiculous then, and it sounds ridiculous to every other Asian American facing this stereotype. However, its become a normal thing to say for other people and even some Asian Americans themselves because of internalized racism. So yes, Gladwell. Its just a little belittling.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience, I'm glad I'm not alone on this!
DeleteI totally agree with you Tina, people always say that stereotypes like these are good and show the positives of the culture, but it really does more harm than good. I'm not of Asian descent so I can't speak for you guys, but I just felt like Gladwell was generalizing when he shouldn't be because like you said, there are Asians and Asian Americans who do suffer from mental illnesses and that impairs their learning abilities, so before he writes about Asian, specifically East Asian culture, he should probably do more research and actually talk to actual Asian people :).
ReplyDeleteThank you for adding on!! I agree he did generalize a lot, he kept using the rice paddies and just talked about East Asia and it's like where is the rest of Asia? You can't just generalize Asia, it's so culturally diverse.
DeleteI totally agree with you Tina, people always say that stereotypes like these are good and show the positives of the culture, but it really does more harm than good. I'm not of Asian descent so I can't speak for you guys, but I just felt like Gladwell was generalizing when he shouldn't be because like you said, there are Asians and Asian Americans who do suffer from mental illnesses and that impairs their learning abilities, so before he writes about Asian, specifically East Asian culture, he should probably do more research and actually talk to actual Asian people :).
ReplyDelete