Growing up Asian American, I am learning about my Korean heritage while trying to navigate my American identity.

Othering of Asian Americans through Stereotypes and How Asian Americans React to Being Othered

By: Nia Y.

Introduction

For my visual essay, I will focus on how Asian Americans are othered in society. I will explore what being othered looks like in terms of stereotypes, the cultural/media production of stereotypes, and how second generation Asian Americans have reacted to the othering. The class concepts of Asian hate rooted in the US empire¹ and the social trauma formed from stereotyping Asians² will be most relevant to my essay. The former will serve as context to how othering of Asian Americans began while the latter will be tied to the reactions from being othered. For class concepts, I will be referencing the in class readings titled “Anti-Asian Violence in America Is Rooted in US Empire”³ and “We’re Just as Good and Even Better than You”.⁴My other sources will emphasize that the reactions to othering include internalized racism and distancing oneself from their heritage culture purposely.⁵

Photo by Lachlan Milne of David in the car³

What Does it Mean to Be Othered as An Asian American?

To be othered means to be seen as outsiders to the dominant culture and drawing a divide between the two groups.⁶ Being othered as an Asian American manifests itself as being seen as an unassimilated foreigner and having racial stereotypes constantly being assumed about oneself.⁷ In the reading, “We’re Just as Good and Even Better than You”, the author talks about how these stereotypes include seeing Asians as socially inept, hard workers but too submissive to be leaders, and emotionally unavailable.⁸ The stereotypes formed are a direct result of orientalism where the belief that Western culture is superior to “Oriental” cultures.⁹ Most media portrayal of Asians is through orientalism and framing Western tradition as the norm and Asian cultures as “exotic but inferior” and a threat to Western culture.¹⁰ Starting from the 20th century to now, the perpetual foreign status is associated with the stereotypes that Asians are “nerdy” and “inept with American culture”.¹¹ Stereotypes about exaggerated academic success dismissed Asian accomplishments as a trait of “being an Asian”.¹² Their culture is viewed through what is portrayed in mainstream media, where the “token” socially awkward Asian character is used as comedic relief.¹³ As a result, this causes Asian Americans to be viewed as unassimilated foreigners and the limited representation of Asians in the media perpetuates stereotypes.¹⁴

Although it should be acknowledged that Western media is slowly giving Asians more opportunities outside of the racial caricature-like roles,¹⁵ a lot of media today still continue to portray Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners.¹⁶ For example, Li notes that when media outlets have reported on the Coronavirus, they chose to use images of Chinatown or of Asian people wearing masks even when the story has nothing to do with either of those topics.¹⁷ Even in the May 2020 CDC journal, the journal chose to use a Chinese textile art for the cover of a journal titled “Emerging Infectious Diseases” which harmfully associates Chinese people with the virus.¹⁸ Politicians and the media labeling the virus the “Chinese virus”¹⁹ or the “Kung Flu”²⁰ and the racist reactions towards Asian Americans demonstrates that Asians are still othered as a group. They are associated with being “at fault” for the virus because of their “unAmericanness” and “perpetual foreigner” status.²¹

May 2020 CDC Journal titled “Emerging Infectious Diseases” uses Chinese textile art for the cover⁴

Due to the racist rhetoric surrounding the Corona virus and its origins, hate crimes towards Asian Americans have increased.²² From the New York Times digital interactive titled “How It Feels to Be Asian in Today’s America” ,²³ a collection of audio and written testimonies from Asians living in America talk about how the rise of anti-Asian racism has affected them during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many shared feelings of isolation and fear as they felt or were targeted in public for being Asian and no one stood up for them. There were some who talked about the harassment they endured from their peers growing up because they were Asian and deemed foreign to everyone else.²⁴ This media object shows the emotional trauma that comes with being othered and not accepted as American despite growing up in America. The effects of being othered as an Asian American will be further explored in a later section of this essay.

These excerpts were taken from the New York Times digit exhibit on Asian American experiences during Covid-19.⁵

How Asian Americans Came to Be Othered in Society

As mentioned by the class reading by Christine Ahn et.al, racism towards Asian Americans “is rooted in the US empire” and still affects Asian Americans today.²⁵ Othering of Asian Americans was a tactic of unifying the nation against a common “threat”.²⁶ The Japanese internment camps and the Vietnam War are examples of how the US has “belittled and dehumanized Asians to help justify endless wars and the expansion of US militarism”.²⁷ Yao Li and Harvey L. Nicholson, Jr.’s research revealed that as a result of scapegoating during the periods of US national crisis such as World War II and the economic difficulties in the 80’s, the anger and frustration felt emerged as racist attacks towards Asian Americans.²⁸ They were viewed as foreign enemies and questioned for their loyalty to the United States because of their ethnic association with other Asian countries despite being an American citizen.²⁹

Historically, in the instances when there was Asian American inclusion in government policy, it was only used as propaganda to get specific Asian groups support on politicalagendas.³⁰ For example, the model minority narrative used Asian American immigrants as an example of a “success story” without government aid to diminish other marginalized groups’ protests (Black communities especially) to the constant structural and institutionalized racism they were facing (Ng, 2007).³¹ While putting on the illusion of being inclusive of Asian Americans, Asian Americans are still not granted the same societal status white people are given. In fact, the “inclusiveness” causes tensions with other marginalized communities.³² This places Asian Americans as the “other group” who are never seen as Americans first like white people are nor can they be sympathized with among other marginalized communities due to their closer association with “Whiteness”.³³

Reactions to Othering from 2nd Generation Asian Americans

When Asian American children first feel othered as a racial group, many feel the need to assimilate.³⁴ Compared to children of other ethnic groups who may face more harassment from authority figures, Asian Americans are more likely to be “victim[s] of racially/ethnically motivated discriminatory treatment by their peers in and out of school” due to their perpetual foreigner status.³⁵ The othering by their peers leads many Asian American children to internalize the racist stereotypes subconsciously and start to feel inferior as the white Americanized identity is idealized. They notice the white hemogenic family and their traits are viewed as the norm in society while their own heritage culture is deemed as “unassimilated behavior”.³⁶ In order to assimilate and to stop feeling othered, they reject their culture and turn to what is called “defensive othering” by Michael Schwalbe.³⁷ They choose to distance themselves from their heritage culture and coethnic peers to gain acceptance from their non-Asian peers and to prove that their identity is beyond being a stereotypical Asian.³⁸

Youtube video titled “Let’s Get Real About Growing Up Asian American” by Jasmine Le⁶. Le talks about her experience going to a predominantly white school and the internalize racism she dealt with growing up.

In my media object titled, “Let’s Get Real About Growing Up Asian American” ³⁹ by Jasmine Le, Youtuber Le talks about her experience with rejecting her culture and going through internalized racism. Growing up, she refused to speak Vietnamese and hated celebrating Vietnamese holidays because she did not want to get bullied by her peers. In trying to gain “white acceptance”, she purposely acted the opposite of Asian stereotypes, would not indulge in asian media such as anime, and laughed off racist jokes. In her video, she explains that her younger self thought being Asian was “wrong” and something to be ashamed of because of the othering she felt as an Asian American.⁴⁰

TedTalk by Canwen Xu titled “I am not your Asian Stereotypes” .⁷ Wu talks about how growing up, she made a conscious effort to act outside of the Asian stereotypes so she could fit in with her peers.

Similarly, in the TedTalk presented by Canwen Xu, she discusses how she pretended to be bad at math to avoid the stereotype that Asians are good at math. She recalls that she “degraded [her] own race” to better conform with her peers until “white became [her] norm too”.⁴¹ In both these anecdotes, it is evident that being othered results in attempts in disassociating oneself from their heritage culture. Their reactions show that when Asian Americans are othered through stereotypes, they feel like they have to prove themselves as individuals outside of those stereotypes.⁴² By the end of both their testimonies, they realize that their actions were based on wanting to be a part of the “in-crowd” where perceived “whiteness” was believed to limit the othering that they felt as Asian Americans. ⁴³ , ⁴⁴

According to Karen Pyke and Tran Dang, Asian American youth fall in a “bicultural middle…where individuals can claim an ethnic or an Americanized identity as the situation requires in order to avoid stigma and criticism”.⁴⁵ Among second generation Asian immigrant children, the term “FOB”, meaning fresh off the boat, is commonly used to categorize other Asian peers and distance themselves from those who are less “Americanized”.⁴⁶ They treat the term FOB as an derogatory term used to describe unassimilated Asians especially with different accents, clothing styles, or the use of other languages to communicate with each other. The term “whitewashed” refers to Asian Americans who refuse to speak their ethnic language and refuse to engage with their ethnic culture openly. ⁴⁷ Asians who are called this are usually more “Americanized” in that they are more familiar and accepting with Western culture and do not identify with their heritage culture as much.⁴⁸

In another example, the show Never Have I Ever⁴⁹ features an Indian American girl named Devi who has a hard time embracing her Indian culture and often feels embarrassed by it. When she is celebrating Ganesh Puja at her high school, she is constantly worried about being seen in her traditional clothing by her peers. She feels embarrassed to see Bollywood dancing happening outside her school. For her, she finds it burdensome to have to follow these traditions that seem out of the norm compared to her non-Indian peers who do not have the same practices.⁵⁰

These three media objects all refer to different Asian American communities where there are differences between class, ethnicity, and stereotyping. Despite this, it can be acknowledged that in all these cases, othering can cause Asian Americans to want to hide their Asian culture because they do not want to be different from what is considered mainstream society.⁵¹

Furthermore, in some cases, the differences in the level of assimilation can also cause othering within the family.⁵² In the film Minari,⁵³ David is an Korean American boy who has fully assimilated into Western culture. His family is one of the Asian families in the town and the only Asian people to attend an all white church. To David, he does not notice any differences between him and the other white kids. Back at home, David’s grandmother who just migrated from Korea is what is foreign to him. He claims that she “smells like Korea” and that she isn’t like a “real grandma” who “bakes”, “doesn’t swear”, and “doesn’t wear mens underwear”. Because he is already assimilated into American culture and has expectations of what a “normal” grandmother is like, he others his grandmother. He rejects her culture because it is not the dominant culture he is familiar with.⁵⁴

Clip from Minari when David tells Soonja she’s not a real grandma.⁹

Clip from the episode titled "... felt super Indian" on Never Have I Ever ⁸

How Change Can Be Made

In another scene in Minari,⁵⁵ when the family goes to an all white church, the other white kids notice the difference immediately and ask David and Anne racist questions unintentionally. The kids from the church are not asking from malicious or racist intent. Instead, due to the lack of diversity in the town, they do not know any better on how to interact respectfully with people of different ethnicities. This shows how the lack of accurate representation of cultures can cause racial assumptions.⁵⁶

The cycle of perpetuated stereotypes, othering, and internalized racism can be stopped by continually experiencing successful cultural exchanges and acknowledging that different ethnic groups are not threats to each other.⁵⁷ Instead, solidarity between groups should be promoted and the sharing and acceptance of cultural differences should be nurtured.⁵⁸ Through study of their own culture and exposure to Asian pride, many have come to embrace their dual identity as Asian Americans later on in their lives.⁵⁹ For example, in Minari, David comes to enjoy the Korean culture that his grandmother shows him and accepts his grandma. The development in their relationship is shown when he picks up on the Korean game Go-Stop from his grandma and shares it with his white friend from church.⁶⁰

Photo by Lachlan Milne of David and his grandma, Soonja, in the field. ¹⁰

Notes

  1. Ahn, Christine, T. K. P. (2021, April 1). Anti-Asian Violence in America is Rooted in US Empire. The Nation. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.thenation.com/article/world/anti-asian-violence-empire/

  2. Arnaldo, C. R. (2021). “We’re Just as Good and Even Better than You”: Asian American Female Flag Footballers and the Racial Politics of Competition. Journal of Asian American Studies, 24(1), 115–144. https://doi.org/10.1353/jaas.2021.0014

  3. Ahn, “Anti-Asian Violence.”

  4.  Arnaldo, “We’re Just as Good.”

  5. Li, Y., & Nicholson, H. L. (2021). When “Model Minorities” Become “Yellow Peril”—Othering and The Racialization of Asian Americans in the Covid‐19 Pandemic. Sociology Compass, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12849

  6. Cherry, K. (2020, December 13). How Othering Contributes to Discrimination and Prejudice. Verywell Mind. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-othering-5084425

    Medically reviewed by Akeem Marsh, MD

  7. Li, “When “Model Minorities”.”

  8. Arnaldo, “We’re Just as Good.”

  9. Li, “When “Model Minorities”.”

  10. Ibid.

  11. Ng, J. C., Lee, S. S., & Pak, Y. K. (2007). Chapter 4 Contesting the Model Minority and Perpetual Foreigner Stereotypes: A Critical Review of Literature on Asian Americans in Education. Review of Research in Education, 31(1), 95–130. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X07300046095

  12. Ibid.

  13. Ibid.

  14. Ibid.

  15. Lee, J. C., & Kye, S. (2016). Racialized assimilation of Asian Americans. Annual Review of Sociology, 42(1), 253–273. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-081715-074310

  16. Li, “When “Model Minorities”.”

  17. Ibid.

  18. Breedlove, B. (2020, May). Auspicious Symbols of Rank and Status - Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal - CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/ac-2605_article

  19. Rogers, K., Jakes, L., & Swanson, A. (2020, March 18). Trump Defends using 'Chinese Virus' Label, Ignoring Growing Criticism. The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/politics/china-virus.html

  20. Lee, B. Y. (2020, June 25). Trump Once Again Calls Covid-19 Coronavirus the 'Kung Flu'. Forbes. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/06/24/trump-once-again-calls-covid-19-coronavirus-the-kung-flu/?sh=24e9f06c1f59

  21. Li, “When “Model Minorities”.”

  22. The New York Times. (2021, September 25). How It Feels to be Asian in Today's America. The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/25/us/asian-americans.html

  23. Ibid.

  24. Ibid.

  25. Ahn, “Anti-Asian Violence.”

  26. Ibid.

  27. Li, “When “Model Minorities”.”

  28. Ibid.

  29. Ibid.

  30. Lee, “Racialized assimilation of Asian Americans.”

  31. Ng, “Chapter 4 Contesting.”

  32. Ibid.

  33. Li, “When “Model Minorities”.”

  34. Schwalbe, M., Godwin, S., Holden, D., Schrock, D., Thompson, S., & Wolkomir, M. (2000). Generic Processes in the Reproduction of Inequality: An Interactionist Analysis. Social Forces, 79(2), 419. https://doi.org/10.2307/2675505

  35.  Benner, A. (2017). The Toll of Racial/Ethnic Discrimination on Adolescents' Adjustment. Child Development Perspectives, 11(4), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12241

  36. Schwalbe, “Generic Processes.”

  37. Ibid.

  38. Ibid.

  39. Jasmine Le. (2020, May 9). Let's Get Real About Growing Up Asian American (The Ugly Truth) | Jasmine Le. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i26fLgC4898&t=315s&ab_channel=jasminele.

  40. Ibid.

  41. Tedx Talks. (2016, Apr. 29). TEDxHampshireCollege - Canwen Xu - I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pUtz75lNaw&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

  42. Arnaldo, “We’re Just as Good.”

  43. Le, Let’s Get.

  44. Tedx Talks, I am Not.

  45. Pyke, K., & Dang, T. (2003). “FOB” and “Whitewashed”: Identity and Internalized Racism Among Second Generation Asian Americans. Qualitative Sociology, 26(2), 147–170.

  46. Han, A., & Hsu, J. (2010). Asian American X: An Intersection of Twenty-First Century Asian American Voices. University of Michigan Press.

  47. Ibid.

  48. Ibid.

  49. Mindy Kaling, Never Have I Ever, performed by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (2020;  Los Angeles: Netflix, 2020), Netflix.

  50. Ibid.

  51. Pyke, ““FOB” and “Whitewashed”.”

  52. Ngo, B. (2008). Beyond “Culture Clash” Understandings of Immigrant Experiences. Theory Into Practice, 47(1), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840701764656

  53. Minari directed by Lee Issac Chung accessed through https://digitalcampus-swankmp-net.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/vu374190/play/7478190435199d96

  54. Ngo, “Beyond “Culture Clash” Understandings.”

  55. Minari.

  56. Benner, A. (2017). The Toll of Racial/Ethnic Discrimination on Adolescents' Adjustment. Child Development Perspectives, 11(4), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12241

  57. Li, “When “Model Minorities”.”

  58. Okazaki, S., & Abelmann, N. (2018). Korean American Families in Immigrant America: How Teens and Parents Navigate Race. New York University Press.

  59. Okazaki, “Korean American Families.”

  60. Minari.


Media Credits in Order of Appearance

  1. Minari directed by Lee Issac Chung accessed through https://digitalcampus-swankmp-net.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/vu374190/play/7478190435199d96

  2. Photo by Lachlan Milne via https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/minari/minari-matters-of-the-heart/ and edited by Francesca Ducker

  3. Photo by Lachlan Milne via https://film-grab.com/2021/07/02/minari/#bwg2914/178177

  4. Artist Unknown via https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/ac-2605_article

  5. Art by Ruru Kuo, Adriana Ramic, Deanna Donegan, Alice Fang, Rebecca Halleck and Antonio de Luca via https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/25/us/asian-americans.html

  6. Jasmine Le. (2020, May 9). Let's Get Real About Growing Up Asian American (The Ugly Truth) | Jasmine Le. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i26fLgC4898&t=315s&ab_channel=jasminele.

  7. Tedx Talks. (2016, Apr. 29). TEDxHampshireCollege - Canwen Xu - I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pUtz75lNaw&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

  8. Netflix India. (2020, May 12). Types Of Indian Aunties | Never Have I Ever | Netflix India. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmLCfFZiCAc&t=11s

  9. Vudu. (2021, Feb. 26). Minari Exclusive Movie Clip - You're Not A Real Grandma (2021) | FandangoNOW Extras. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrOmYhjfvlY&ab_channel=Vudu

  10. Photo by Lachlan Milne via https://film-grab.com/2021/07/02/minari/#bwg2914/178203