The Asian-American Stereotypes

The Asian-American Stereotypes

In “Techno-Orientalism: Japan Panic,” David Morley and Kevin Robins write

that the Japanese are imagined as “people mutating into machines…they represent

a kind of cybernetic mode of being for the future.” Choose any two of the following

texts and explain how they promote or contradict the stereotype of Asian Americans

as “unfeeling aliens…cyborgs and replicants.”

• “Only Goodness”
• “Mono No Aware”
• “The Paper Menagerie”
• “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”

Asian-Americans are increasingly on the verge of breaking cultural boundaries in and out of their native countries. The Asian culture is deeply embedded into the lives of many people of the Asian community even though the majority of them move to other nations. Many Asians move from their nations to other countries for various regions, such as in the search for education, for an employment opportunity, and some move in order to experience a change in their lifestyle. Despite the period with which Asian communities have stayed in interaction with other cultures, the influence that their cultures have on their lifestyle is too strong that they cannot be watered down. The Asian culture, particularly for the Japan people, is believed to be very strict and less human, therefore transforming people into ‘machines.’ The strict nature of the culture has been seen to have effects on subsequent generations who do not understand the origin of the culture. The harsh culture has also been seen to cause a drift in the relationship between children and their parents in different stages of the child’s life.

The influence of ancient Asian cultures is still felt to this day among the Asian-American communities. Children raised by Asian-American parents have been raised by parents who have deeply engraved the culture in their lives. Many Chinese parents are believed to raise ‘stereotypically successful children’ (Chua) because of their strict nature and their focus on success in academic achievements. Many Chinese children who grow up in different countries, especially in the United States, do not experience that many children their age, in the same region, are exposed to. Amy Chua gives a glimpse of how it is for Asian-American children growing up with parents who are focused on their academic successes and not their social or co-curricular growth. She points out how Asian-American children were not allowed to take part in activities such as, “attending a sleepover, having a play date, be in a school play, complain about not being in a school play,” (Chua). This is because the majority of Asian parents associated social gatherings and involvement in co-curricular activities among children a waste of time and a threat to their academics. Instead, every child’s time should be well invested in their academics. Academic success is considered the highest form of achievement among children in the Asian-American community.

The success of the children in academics is seen as a success in parenting skills among Asian-American parents. “In a study done among 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrants, Chinese mothers argue that stressing academic success among children is good as it reflects on successful parenting” (Chua). The Asian culture believes that any child can succeed academically; they need to be shown how to and pushed to pursue success. Asian parents argue that the success of any student is the responsibility of their parents, pushing the idea that parents should be highly involved in the academic performance of their children. Chinese immigrant parents also argue that the academic failure of any student should not be put on the, but the blame turned to the parents as it is their responsibility to ensure the success of their students. Successful parenting in the Asian culture is only reflected in the academic success of their students, which leads to the common stereotype among Asian students and their accomplishments in academics, specifically subjects that are considered hard such as mathematics. This success is a reflection of successful parenting skills.

The Asian culture is brutally blunt and does not beat around the bush on matters that need to be addressed. Western parents are known for their light communication with their children and the nature in which they beat around the bush when discussing matters of importance and urgency with their children. This is different in the immigrant families as Asian parents are very straight forward with their children when pointing out their mistakes and areas that need improvement. For instance, “Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, “Hey fatty – lose some weight” (Chua), whereas Western parents find this statement very offensive. Despite the efforts by Western parents to speak in a manner that is considered friendly, the majority of their children are still exposed to the negative effects of the vice they are no warned about. Most of the Western children do not take seriously warnings that are gently delivered to them by their parents and still suffer the eventual consequences. Using the example of weight, Western children “still end up in therapy because of their eating disorder and the negative self-image” (Chua). This is also experienced in their academic achievements and pursuit of success. Asian-American parents demand academic success from their children, who end up held in high esteem among the society because of their intellectual capacity and success in any academic field. Their Western counterparts, on the other hand, are made to view learning as fun and take offense when they are forced to seek academic success. The idea that Asian American parents have in regards to their children differs in the sense where they feel like they know what is best for their children to succeed and that the child does not know what they need. This backs up their actions for forcing success among their children, a trait that is not seen in many Western families. Chinese parents also understand that the child’s progress is theirs, and they are not indebted to the parents, which is not an equal belief among Western parents.

The Asian culture, however, does not pass down to children who are not born of full Asian descent because of the influence of the American culture. The lack of a strict Asian background and parents lowers the chance of a mixed-race child to grow with the disciplines and the teachings of the Asian culture. Very often, they feel discriminated against for being different and would not like to continue the association with their Asian background. Jack, who was born of an American father and a Chinese mother, gives the highlights of his concerns in the short story, ‘The Paper Menagerie.’ As he grew up, Jack’s Chinese mother, made him origami animals which he played with but once he interacted with his American friends in the neighborhood and at school, he grew to detest the toys as they were not popular in American culture (Liu). The uniqueness in the nature of Asian cultural toys was not easily absorbed into American society, making children from both races feel awkward and different for playing with them. The stereotypical comments from the constant interaction with other American families play a role in children choosing to disassociate themselves from their Asian descent. Whenever Jack and his family visited their American neighbors, his Western father always made a disclaimer concerning his mother’s deficiency in the English language. Hence there was limited communication between the family visited and his mother. The assumption that Jack, who had more Chinese features than he did American, did not understand English was also quite large (Liu). Very often, whenever he went with his family, he was always asked his name, which was not considered to as very Chinese-like as they questioned his fluency in the English language. The constant exposure to stereotypes among Asian people made many children distance themselves from their Asian culture and the values of the word.

The lack of ignorance in the history of the Asian culture causes many children who are not born in pure families to distance themselves from their Asian descent. The Asian culture bares with it some major historical lessons which many immigrant parents hold dear. Passing down the lessons from the history of the Asian culture is always a desire of many immigrant parents, and they do this by teaching their children the Chinese language or by incorporating certain aspects of the culture in their daily lives. Jack’s mother did this by creating origami animals, a skill she had learned from her home village before moving to America (Liu). The passing down pf the Chinese language is also an important aspect of teaching future generations their native language even as they interact with the new regions they are exposed to. Jack’s mother strived to teach Jack Chinese when he was younger, and she also incorporated this in the making of the origami toys for him (Liu). Her attempt to pass down the culture was noble, although not very successful.

Due to the external influence that many mixed children experience from the environment where they live and grow up, many tend to grow distinct from their native culture. Despite the efforts that their parents put in, the overwhelming cultural influence of the different regions get to them, and they are unable to stand out. This was the case of Jack and his mother, despite the effort that his Chinese mother put into teaching him the language and passing down the culture, he was influenced by the influential American culture around him which eventually made him distant with his mother (Liu). The stereotypes concerning Asians are, however, not to be considered as facts. Asian children only succeed in different areas, especially academics, because of the presence of a strong Asian background and not just the mere presence of Asian descent. The efforts of Asian parents is what builds success among Asian-American children and not just the presence of cultural origin.

Asian American authors often articulate narratives that “reveal a sense of relief in their

Failure to comply with normative expectations of being Asian” (Ty). Choose any one or

two of the following texts, then analyze the ways that they 1) define and 2) defy these

“normative expectations” of Asian/American life.

• “A Contract Overseas”
• “No-Name Woman”
• Cambodian Rock Band
• “Only Goodness”
• Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

Many Asian American authors have adopted the nature of bringing up the narrative that shows a sense of relief in their failure to comply with normative expectations of being Asian. Many have shown the courage to speak of what is considered taboo topics or topics that many may have the fear of addressing publicly. The courage to discuss such topics has opened up the eyes of many people who have been viewing the Asian people from a stereotypical point of view. By publicly addressing these stereotypes, it is also easy to break down the walls that have been put in place about the Asian-Americans and the knowledge of their culture. It is a bold move to take and a step in the right direction for the Asian community who live in America as they can address matters that are dear to them without the fear of being offensive or that they will offend their Western friends with their openness. Many of these books that have been published to speak of the issues concerning the Asian immigrant community have successfully been absorbed in the Asian-American community and the Western community at large.

Publicly addressing taboo topics or topics that many cannot openly talk about. In the majority of the Asian community, there are specific topics that are considered taboo issues that cannot be discussed in public or to anyone in the open. One of these topics is the topic of mental health and the issue surrounding suicide. Whoever shares such stories with another, is always keen to keep to maintain the stories on the low and to ensure that no one gets to hear that they shared the story. “You must not tell anyone what I am about to tell you” (Yee). These were the words that were shared by Kingston’s mother before she started to address one of the taboo topics in the Asian culture. Kingston’s mother was addressing the issue of suicide by sharing the story of Kingston’s aunt, her father’s sister, who had committed suicide back at their home town (Yee). The story was compassionate and, therefore, was never talked about. The issue of suicide was considered a taboo topic as it was never associated with mental health but was connected with religious influence. This allowed cases of mental health to go unresolved with the assumption that they were possessed or that they were continually seeking attention.

The dangers that continue taking part in the modern-day society should create an open space to address many of these issues. Kingston also addresses the issue of rape, which is also a taboo topic in Asian culture. “The other man was not, after all, much different from her husband. They both gave orders, which she followed. If you tell your family, I will beat you, and I will kill you. No one talked about sex” (Yee). Cases of violence among women and rape cases were not openly addressed as they were said to be intimate taboo topics. The silence that surrounded such issues gave room for those involved in such acts to take courage and continue in their acts. Cases of rape and violence among women of the Asian community had become very prevalent, causing many women to fall victim to such inhumane acts. The failure of the community in addressing these issues gave room for the Asian women to continue suffering in silence since it was a taboo topic. Asian-Americans authors have decided to take the challenge and publicly address these concerns, which in the long run, will bring attention to these matters. The more attention is drawn to such pressing issues will lead to more involvement from members of the society at large and the government.

The use of music and the incorporation of different forms of writing has also made it easier to communicate some of the concerns and shed light on those who are suffering because of the silence. The issues of injustice and the suffering under the hands of the government have also been a sensitive topic which man does not talk about for fear of the state laws. Asian nations, like Japan, are guided by a monarchy system of governance, which means that the ruling family has power over the nation (Chua and Chua). The monarch system of management can be very inhuman, especially when one speaks against them, especially in public places. In order to combat any negativity that is said about them, the majority of the monarchy leaders limit freedom of speech and expression in their countries so that no one can say anything negative and influence any form of negativity. Monarchy states also get away with oppressing the people in the way of tax raise and extrajudicial killings, which are never covered by the media because of the fear they have towards those in government.

The ills that take place in a failed system of governance are always hidden from the public unless they are unable to contain. During the Khmer Rouge Regime, many Asian people lost their lives in the hands of the government (Chua and Chua), although this was never publicly addressed. Even after years of the murderous period being over, it is unfortunate that not many Asian authors had the courage to openly discuss the ills that the government had done to the people during these times. The number of people who lost their lives during this period also increased, leading families unable to take care of themselves. The government, at the time, also made freedom of speech in the media a luxury that many could not afford to trade their lives for a story. Modern-day authors have taken the challenge and are now addressing cases of injustice in governance and the suffering the families left behind are going through. This is a bold move that the authors have taken.

The majority of the stereotypes among Asian-American communities are always one-sided. They are guided by primary and common knowledge and not detailed feedback from research. The truth that the Asian communities are slowly turning into machines is entirely dependent on the Asian culture by which many children are brought up. The strict nature of the culture transforms students to book worms, and later in life are considered ‘working machines.’ This does not always apply to every Asian child, as many of those born in mixed families do not get to experience the same. Asian communities should also be given the freedom to address some of what society considers taboo topics. The notion that these topics should not be addressed in the open is a traditional one that should be discarded. As the world keeps progressing, issues around mental health and rape need to be discussed openly as a learning point for all.
Works Cited

Chua, Amy. “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html (2011): n. pag. Web. 10 Dec. 2019.

Liu, Ken. The Paper Menagerie. 1st ed. 2011. Print.

YEE, LAUREN. CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND. [S.l.]: THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS, 2018. Print.

Chua, Soon-Leng, and Margaret Poh Choo Chua. Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior. Lincoln, Neb.: Cliffs Notes, 1998. Print.