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Shannon Gu

Instructor Belle Kim

ENGL 257

1 December 2018

Remodel:

Redefining the Model Minority

In its most well-known definition, the model minority characterizes Asians as being

diligent, intelligent, obedient, and high-achieving. It is a predominant image of the Asian

community, one that I am all too familiar with due to personal experiences. Starting from

elementary school and continuing throughout high school, my peers would attribute my

intelligence and skills to my race instead of my individual efforts. To them, my worth was based

on standards constructed by common stereotypes about Asians; if I accomplished something I was

proud of, such as doing well on a test, they would say, “Of course you did, you’re Asian;” if I did

not do as well, however, they would say, “How come you didn’t do better? Aren’t you Asian?”

My Asian peers were subjected to the same comments, leading to my main impression of Asians

as a model minority: we are supposedly more intelligent or hardworking than other minorities

simply due to being Asian. The model minority label was never self-imposed or taken with pride

by any Asians I knew and was often forced on us by non-Asians. While the model minority myth

has been present throughout my life, it has primarily been in the context of intelligence or

educational attainment, which is a narrow view that ignores the motives behind its existence in

American society. Through engaging certain texts, however—in particular, “Images of Asians in

Anglo-American Literature” by Elaine Kim, “Refugees Betrayed” by Lynn Fujiwara, and Bone by

Fae Myenne Ng—I have modified my definition of the model minority myth to include its
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inception, its intentions, and its effects on the Asian community in the United States. Kim describes

the evolution of the model minority myth and how it benefits white society; Fujiwara demonstrates

how the model minority myth disregards Asian issues; and Ng details how the model minority

myth causes disconnect from one’s Asian heritage. The model minority myth is a portrayal of

Asians as high-achieving and non-aggressive, which serves to forgive American society for its

mistreatment of minorities, hide injustices against Asians from public view, and pressure Asians

into assimilating into American society while rejecting their Asian identity.

Elaine Kim’s text “Images of Asians in Anglo-American Literature” tracks the

transformation of Asian caricatures through time in American literature, outlining how the model

minority myth came to be and continues to persist because it protects the image of American

society. Portrayals of Asians began with offensive depictions of them as brutes or villains, then as

unassimilable foreigners with poor English skills, and finally—and most recently—them as a

model minority. Kim opens the section about the model minority with the example of Charlie Chan,

a fictional Chinese detective in a series of popular novels and films. Chan was created by an

American novelist to counter the previous villainous portrayals of the Chinese, as well as to show

that “‘any minority group could be sympathetically portrayed on the screen with the right story

and approach’” (Kim 18). The aforementioned quote is self-congratulatory, as if the white creator

and film producers should be recognized for making their portrayals of the Chinese less overtly

offensive than in the past. In fact, the outward impression of Chan as a “symbol of the sagacity,

kindliness, and charm of the Chinese people” (Kim 18) masks the fact that he is used to put white

men in the forefront by being their “non-threatening, non-competitive, asexual ally” (Kim 18). In

other words, the purpose of Asians being considered as a model minority is not just to paint them

in a supposedly better light—it also imposes an expectation of them being submissive or docile to
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white Americans. By portraying Asians as “non-threatening,” the model minority myth dissuades

them from rising up against American society; by describing them as “non-competitive,” it

assumes that Asians will not come into power compared to white Americans. If being non-

threatening and non-competitive are what constitute a “model” or “good” minority, then, it follows

that other racial minorities are not considered as “good” within American society. The model

minority myth relieves American society of any responsibility regarding its treatment of other

minorities; it compares Asians to other minorities and places the blame for systemic racial

injustices or socioeconomic shortcomings onto the minorities themselves, insinuating that if they

were non-threatening or non-competitive like the model minority, they would be better off.

Ultimately, the model minority myth impacts all minorities, not just Asians as I had originally

assumed—it encourages all minorities to be silent about the injustices they face if they want to be

considered as “allies” to American society. While shifting to a model minority narrative for Asians

is touted as progress by white Americans, it is also a thinly veiled warning to not go against

American society and ideals.

In her text “Refugees Betrayed,” Lynn Fujiwara focuses on the lives of Southeast Asian

refugees living in the United States, showing how the model minority myth does not acknowledge

the unique challenges faced by Asian ethnic groups and renders them invisible to the rest of society.

While the model minority myth points to Asians’ overall high level of socioeconomic success as

a justification for its own existence, it ignores the breakdown of socioeconomic status among

different ethnic groups. Southeast Asians—Vietnamese, Hmong, Laotians, and Cambodians—

have high levels of poverty and need for public assistance due to “structural and racial factors

leading to massive unemployment” (Fujiwara 61). The general public, however, began blaming

“this so-called dependency [on] a welfare system that purportedly created disincentives to work”
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instead (Fujiwara 61). The case of the Southeast Asian refugees does not fit the expectations set

by the model minority myth, which works against them. The refugees face major obstacles to

assimilation, among them language barriers and PTSD (Fujiwara 62); as a result, under the model

minority myth they are not considered as “‘good’ Asian[s] [who] can be assimilated into American

life” (Kim 18). As emphasized prior in Elaine Kim’s text, the model minority myth shifts the blame

of inequalities from structural and racial factors onto the minorities themselves. Since the

Southeast Asian refugees fall outside the expectations of a “good” Asian, especially with their

inability to assimilate, the blame of their poverty and unemployment falls onto them and the

structural and racial factors go unnoticed. Thus, not only does the model minority myth ignore the

primary causes of Southeast Asian refugees’ low socioeconomic status, it also ignores the fact that

the refugees suffer further due to the generalization of all Asians as being high-achieving and

socioeconomically successful. While I was aware that the expectation for all Asians to be well-off

was unrealistic, I was unaware how the model minority myth could worsen socioeconomic

inequalities within the Asian population. Another quality of the model minority myth Elaine Kim

points out is that it perceives minorities as being “ill-advised enough to protest against inequality”

(18); therefore, a truly “good” Asian “must never speak for himself” (Kim 19). As Fujiwara

describes, the Southeast Asian refugees protested the welfare cuts against them, whether through

organized demonstrations or testimonies (75). By raising their voices in protest, they also actively

protested the model minority myth, particularly the expectation that they should not speak for

themselves—they recognized that nothing would change if they did not protest. As a result, they

implicated the role of American society in constructing the model minority myth to silence and

even manipulate the Asian community. By assuming that all Asians are successful and therefore

have no problems, the model minority myth sweeps Asian issues under the rug; it does not
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recognize the diversity of challenges faced by different Asian ethnic groups and ignores the

responsibility of American society for exacerbating those challenges.

In the novel Bone by Fae Myenne Ng, Leila Leong finds herself trapped between her

Chinese heritage and American upbringing and is often unable to reconcile the two, symbolizing

the cognitive dissonance from the model minority myth’s pressure to assimilate. A primary

example of this is Leila’s job as a school counselor, where most of her students are Chinese

immigrants. When she meets with her students’ parents, she usually finds herself in a culture clash:

“They tell me, ‘That’s your job. In China, the teacher bears all responsibility.’ I use my This Isn’t

China defense. I remind them ‘We’re in America.’ But some parents take this to heart and raise

their voices. ‘We’re Chinese first, always’” (Ng 14). Both sides are adamantly one side or another:

the parents assert unhesitatingly that Leila’s Chinese heritage should be the most important

deciding factor, while Leila believes that their environment takes more precedence. She uses “This

isn’t China” and “We’re in America” as a “defense,” implying that she frequently must justify her

identity as an American and even feels attacked for it. As Elaine Kim states, “As a permanent

inferior, the ‘good’ Asian can be assimilated into American life. All that is required from him is

that he accept his assigned status cheerfully” (18). While Leila has accepted her American identity,

she does not do so “cheerfully”—accepting her American identity comes with conflicts, as shown

by her interactions with the parents. In addition, her Chinese identity continues to prevent her from

complete assimilation, as she is constantly reminded of her heritage by her job, her family, and her

environment of Chinatown. Under the model minority myth, she cannot win regardless of what

she does: if she assimilates completely, she remains as a “permanent inferior” to white Americans,

but if she does not assimilate completely, she would be considered a “bad” Asian. This disrupts

the notion that the model minority myth is a more positive portrayal of Asians or that Asian
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Americans are considered to be true Americans at all. It lowers Asian Americans’ status not only

as Americans but also as Asians, as evidenced by Leila’s experiences. Leila recognizes, however,

that despite her challenges as a second-generation Chinese American, it is nothing compared to

what Mah and Leon went through as immigrants: “We’re the lucky generation. Mah and Leon

forced themselves to live through the humiliation in this country so that we could have it better.

We know so little of the old country. We repeat the names of grandfathers and uncles, but they

have always been strangers to us” (Ng 33). Mah and Leon’s experiences in America, followed by

Leila’s experiences in America, tie everything together by echoing the evolution of the model

minority myth. Mah and Leon suffered “humiliation” in the United States, which presumably

includes dealing with the predominant Asian stereotypes of the time, such as being “unassimilable

aliens” (Kim 9). As much as Leila tries to distance herself from her Chinese identity, she also feels

a sense of resignation about “know[ing] so little of the old country” and the cultural disconnect

between her generation and her parents’ generation. However, she also implies that the cultural

disconnect is necessary to “have it better” in America—that is, to be seen as a model minority

instead of as other humiliating caricatures. The idea that she is part of the “lucky generation”

suggests that the model minority myth, while problematic in its own ways, is still a step up from

previous portrayals. Bone complicates the model minority myth by showing that it pressures

Asians into fully assimilating into American society—which is ultimately an impossible task—but

despite its problems, it is also an improvement from prior societal perceptions of Asians.

The model minority myth’s depiction of Asians as high-achieving, intelligent, and docile

is a façade for its intentions and impacts: it protects the image of American society as supportive

of its minorities while simultaneously ignoring issues within the Asian community, pressuring

Asians to completely assimilate, and silencing Asian voices. “Images of Asians in Anglo-
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American Literature” by Elaine Kim shows how the model minority myth evolved from more

overtly offensive portrayals of Asians but retained its sinister intentions by implying that Asians

continue to be inferior. Kim’s text also suggests how the model minority myth pits Asians against

other minorities and how it aims to assimilate and silence Asians. “Refugees Betrayed” by Lynn

Fujiwara demonstrates how the model minority myth renders invisible the challenges faced by

different Asian ethnic groups and how it forgives American society of the structural and racial

factors that contribute to those challenges. Lastly, Bone by Fae Myenne Ng asserts that the

demands of the model minority myth to fully assimilate into American society is a losing battle,

but also concedes that the model minority myth is an improvement—albeit a flawed

improvement—from previous portrayals of Asians. My initial understanding of the model minority

myth only included its basic depiction of Asians, and while it never sat well with me to be labeled

as a model minority, I never understood why; these three texts have clarified how, despite its

outwardly positive characterizations, the model minority myth does not truly benefit Asians.

Redefining the model minority is crucial because in its current incarnation—the surface-level

positive portrayal—it is a convenient lie that American society uses to convince itself that it is

making social progress. The continued misrepresentation of Asians through the model minority

myth is emblematic of how American society cares more about its own reputation than the lives

of the Asian community. Exposing the intentions and the effects behind the model minority myth

will emphasize the need for more accurate representation for Asians and by Asians, and hopefully

be a starting point for confronting society’s misguided assumptions about minorities in general.
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Works Cited

Fujiwara, Lynn. Mothers without Citizenship: Asian Immigrant Families and the Consequences of

Welfare Reform. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.

Kim, Elaine H. Asian American Literature: An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social

Context. Temple University Press, 1982.

Ng, Fae Myenne. Bone. Hyperion, 1993.