Model minority

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April 1984 cover of Newsweek featuring an article on the success of Asian American students

"Model minority" refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members stereotypically achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. This success is typically in income, education, and related factors such as low crime rate and high family stability.

Some sociologists have argued that the greater success of such groups over the majority group, often in the face of historical discrimination, indicates supposed institutional racism is not the root cause of socioeconomic disparity between ethnic groups.

While the term 'model minority' is rarely used outside the United States, and then usually only to refer to Asian Americans, the concept is also present in other areas of the developed world.

United States

History of the Model Minority Stereotype

"Model minority" was first used in the mid-1960s in the work of William Petersen, a social demographer. Petersen's work compared the success of Asian Americans to those of Jewish Americans, and described the two groups as both having been formerly marginalized but presently highly successful. Petersen contrasted "model minorities" with "problem minorities" [1]

The purpose of this stereotype was to provide a comparison of capitalist and socialist economies: as capitalism was equated with inequality, particularly in reference to poor African Americans, Asian Americans were chosen as an example of a minority group who could succeed by "merit" alone^[2]. Modelminority.com writes: "While superficially complimentary to Asian Americans, the real purpose and effect of this portrayal is to celebrate the status quo in race relations. First, by over-emphasizing Asian American success, it de-emphasizes the problems Asian Americans continue to face from racial discrimination in all areas of public and private life. Second, by misrepresenting Asian American success as proof that the US provides equal opportunities for those who conform and work hard, it excuses US society from careful scrutiny on issues of race in general, and on the persistence of racism against Asian Americans in particular."[3]

The term regularly provides justification for anti-anti-discriminatory practices (see affirmative action) and racialist comparisons between minority groups.

Note should be taken of the larger ethnic spectrum into which the stereotype of the model minority falls. Where Blacks have traditionally been stereotyped as violent and hyper-sexual, Asian Americans are too brainy; whites are supposed to represent an equal balance between Asian and Black; not too much brain, not too much brawn. This serves a larger project of elevating whites above their counterparts racially, a problematic position which highlights histories of oppression, racial tensions, and racism in general. Because race is a social construction and changes over time, the stereotype of the model minority presents a racism dressed up in nice clothes: though superficially the "model minority" myth seems complimentary, it is still typecasting based on physical appearance and leads to social phenomena such as the glass ceiling and stereotypes that all Asian Americans are good at math, engineering, and the sciences; this says nothing for a majority of Asian Americans who do not excel at these, who are expected to be smart simply because of the color of their skin, and for Asian Americans who are members of the lower and working classes. The myth of the model minority works against the interests of these groups; ultimately it acts as a discriminatory practice.

Ironically, it is likely that some Asian Americans inadvertantly contribute to this myth by being reluctant to publicize problems within Asian American communities. Other Asian Americans do not view it as a myth at all and in fact feel that "positive" stereotypes are reflective of good character traits, such as work ethic and academic excellence. Some critics believe that this stereotype has lead to a higher outmarriage rate among Asian American females; Frank Chin, for example, argues that because Asian American males have been stereotyped as brain with no brawn, they have become stereotyped as emasculated or effeminate and therefore less desirable than their masculine white counterparts.

Asian Americans

Constituting approximately 4% of the population, Asian Americans are spoken of as a 'model minority' group because the group has been more successful than other minority groups. In this context, the term Asian Americans is used primarily to describe those of East Asian descent, specifically the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. It is also used by many people to include people of South Asian or Southeast Asian descent. Other groups that are geographically considered Asian, such as West Asians or people of the Malay Archipelago, are usually not referred to as being model minority. In April 2005, the US Congress has passed a resolution honoring the contributions of Indian Americans and Indian Institutes of Technology graduates to "economic innovation and society generally."[4]

Asian American achievements

According to the United States 2000 Census, the median household income of Asian Americans is $55,521, higher than other racial groups, although per capita household income is slightly lower than that of European Americans. Many individuals, particularly those in the fields of medicine and technology, consider Indian Americans to be the epitome of the model minority. Indeed, according to the US Census Indian Americans have the highest median income of any ethnic group in the United States ($60,093). In addition, Merrill Lynch recently revealed that there are nearly 200,000 Indian American millionaires. And according to the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, there are close to 35,000 Indian American doctors. [5] However, 2003 data show that Asian Americans over 18 earn slightly higher per capita incomes, with a median of about $25,000. [6].

As of 2000, about 44 % of Asian Americans aged 25 or above had a bachelor's or higher , as compared to 24% of the whole population.[7] According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2003 report Crime in the United States, Asian Americans have the lowest total arrest rates [8], and high family stability. [9] Asian Americans have also achieved higher Math SAT [10] scores and IQ scores (in particular involving high visuospatial aptitude, and average verbal aptitude[11]) than other ethnic groups, even when more socioeconomically deprived [12] or in cases of transracial adoptions (Clark 1992, Frydman 1989), which can control for environmental and cultural differences in upbringing.

See also race and intelligence

Asian American status in affirmative action

Because of their high degree of success as a group, Asian Americans do not generally benefit from affirmative action policies the way other minority groups do. In fact, some schools routinely choose lower-scoring applicants from other racial groups, even European American, over Asian American, in an attempt to promote racial diversity and to maintain some proportion to the society's racial demographics.[13] One of the highest gaps is at UC Berkeley where the gap between Asian American and African American is about 300 SAT points.

According to a 2005 Princeton University study, if affirmative action were eliminated in college admissions, nearly four out of every five spots lost by African Americans and Hispanic Americans would be given to an Asian American. Summary of Study PDF of study

Media coverage

Media coverage of the increasing success of Asian Americans as a group began in the 1960s, reporting high average test scores and marks in school, winning national spelling bees, and high levels of university attendance. One such example is the University of California system. For instance, at the prestigious University of California, Berkeley, Asians account for 41% of the undergraduate student body as of 2003, almost 4 times the proportion of Asian Americans in California (11%). At top high schools, Asian Americans constitute even larger proportions of the student body; over half at Stuyvesant High School, which practices race-blind admissions.

History of discrimination

The success of Asian Americans as a group has occurred despite severe discrimination in the previous century, such as, prior to the 1950s, being stereotyped as cheap, uneducated labourers. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many US citizens of European descent feared that the western part of the US would be overrun by the "Yellow Peril," prompting initiatives to reduce immigration from Asia, and WWII saw additional difficulties for Asian American citizens. In addition, numerous Asian Americans were recent immigrants or their offspring, since immigration laws had limited Asian immigration prior to the mid 1960's. In the mid 1900s, the Yellow Peril stereotype began to give way to recognition of the racial group's socioeconomic accomplishments.

In addition, the Indian American community has drawn appreciation because of their achievements despite discrimination, especially in the technology field, with Indian immigrants comprising a large amount of Silicon Valley's engineer population.

Possible Reasons for "Model Minority" Status

1. Self-selective immigration

One possible influence on the good performance of Asian Americans as a group is that they represent a small self-selected elite of Asians because the difficulty of emigrating filtered out many of those not possessing more resources, motivation, or ability.

For example, there are only 2 million Chinese Americans in the US, and worldwide the total amount of overseas Chinese is about 34 million, whereas the total worldwide Chinese population is almost 1.3 billion. Emigration to the US has always been strictly limited by factors such as the high cost of trans-Pacific transportation, language and cultural barriers, strong racial prejudice against Asians which did not wane until the early 1970s, historical state laws that once prohibited Chinese from working most jobs or owning land, and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which limited Chinese immigration to about 100 individuals per year from 1882 through 1943. Self-selection could be continuing even today, as the current quota of about 25,000 per year is still small compared to the millions of Chinese who would like to emigrate to the US.

Moreover, American immigration law holds preference for skilled workers and those with college degrees; as such, many Asian American immigrants are well-educated before coming to America and are often in a higher economic bracket. Tradtionally and statistically children who have higher-educated parents are more likely to attend college; therefore more emphasis is typically placed on education; this trend is noticeable among white and Black populations as well.

2. Genetic differences

Main article: Race and intelligence

Both the self-selecting immigration explanation and the explanation that the racial group simply worked hard for its success are challenged by the observation that the average IQ scores of the East Asian population living in the US and in Asia are similar, and both are higher than the average IQ scores of the White population living in Europe and the US. However, if the IQ test is seen as culturally, socio-economically, or racially biased, then it is quite obvious the middle-class standing of many Asian Americans and the emphasis on education that is common amongst all middle-class persons provides for this discrepancy. Moreover, the White and European average pool is much larger, and as there are a lower percentage of white Americans in the upper middle classes or with a higher education, the IQ average is pulled down for whites while the smaller and better-educated Asian American immigrant class stays relatively dominant. Additionally IQ scores for the African American population are lower than for the White population. Some scientists in related fields to this issue believe genetic biodiversity may play a role in the success of racial groups, though this is debated and difficult to isolate from factors such as socio-economic discrepancies, subcultural discrepancies, social discrimination, and internalization of stereotypes.

The scores obtained by various minorities on tests such as the IQ and SAT could be influenced by cultural and social differences. Also interesting to note is that whites who take natural sciences tests against Asian Americans often score lower regardless of academic history; similarly, a Black person often scores lower than a white person regardless of academic history. It has been argued that this is a clear indicator of the internalization of stereotypes and is called racial target theory.

3. Cultural differences

Cultural factors are thought to be part of the reason why Asian Americans are successful in the United States. East Asian societies themselves, in general, will often place enormous resources and emphasis on education. For example, the Chinese culture places great value on work ethic and the pursuit of knowledge. This cultural value is associated with Confucianism. In traditional Chinese social stratification, scholars were ranked at the top — well above businessmen and landowners. This Confucianistic view of knowledge is evident in the modern lifestyle of many Asian American families, where parents will push their children to study very hard and achieve high marks. Similar cultural tendencies and values are found in South and Southeast Asian families, whose children similarly face extra pressure by parents to succeed in school and to achieve high-ranked jobs.

Also, many Asian Americans believe greatly that work ethic and education trumps natural-born intelligence on the road to success. Many Asian Americans will say that a not-so intelligent person who works diligently in his or her studies will surpass one who is naturally gifted with high intelligence but is lazy or unwilling to work hard.

Effects of "Model Minority" stereotyping

Asian Americans being the most economically successful racial group in the US can create a stereotype as a side effect. Asian Americans may also be commonly stereotyped by the general public as being studious, affluent, and non-violent. In some cases this may have the effect of those with learning disabilities being given less attention than they need. As well, the connotations of being a "model minority" mean that in school, Asians students are labelled with the unpopular "nerd" image. Many Asians resent the label of "model minority" and see it as another attempt to stereotype a minority group.

Asian Americans as a group have a very low crime rate, but a side effect of their success may be a downplaying of the presence of Asian criminal behavior and gangs in several cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver as well as in the state of Hawai'i. Occasionally however, news of Asian American criminals receives widespread media coverage, such as the infamous Han Twins Murder Conspiracy in 1996.

The labelling of Asian Americans as "the model minority," rather than as a model minority, has led to tensions between them and other minority groups.

"Model minority" could be a euphemism for the definitive yuppie culture among young adult Asian Americans — particularly for those employed in typical white-collar occupations e.g. medical, law, and computer science.

Cultural references

• The film Better Luck Tomorrow plays on the model minority stereotype by depicting a group of East Asian American teenagers who use their academic achievements to cover up criminal activities they are involved with.
• In Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold is faced with the stereotype of the intelligent, academically successful and "nerdy" East Asian male. Kumar, of South Asian descent and whose father and brother are both medical doctors, denies himself the prospect of going to medical school in defiance of the "Indian doctor" stereotype despite his considerable intellect and knowledge.

Other / European American US groups

Jewish Americans are in some interpretations considered a model minority. Mormons have also been identified as exhibiting model minority characteristics.^[14] Furthermore, in some US cities where European Americans do not make up the largest ethnic group such as Atlanta or Detroit, the European American population in general can somewhat be regarded as a model minority considering their vastly lower crime rates and higher personal incomes and educational attainment.

Other Countries

In the United Kingdom, the Jewish, Chinese, and British Indian populations are often considered to be model minorities. Particularly, the economic and academic achievements of Indians is often compared to under-achievement by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the UK.

In some areas of Australia such as Sydney and Melbourne, East Asians, South Asians and Jews are considered a model minority. This is often illustrated by the representation of these groups in selective schools compared to population proportion.

Negatively viewed success

In certain countries, minority groups successful in economic and other measures have attracted the reverse sort of attention. In Indonesia and Malaysia, for instance, ethnic Chinese, a group which historically have achieved prominence in business and economics, have been the target of violence and measures aimed at reducing their share of the economy. In Malaysia, ethnic Chinese constitute 27% of the population yet control 40-50% of the wealth. [15]. In Indonesia, according to official figures the ethnic Chinese constitute only 3-4% of the population, yet according to some (controversial) studies control as much as three quarters of the wealth [16].

In post-Atatürk Turkey, the Greek, Jewish and Armenian minorities, who had oriented to commerce during the Ottoman Empire, were persecuted with special taxes and even violence. Similarly, the Germans of Yugoslavia were expelled in part because of their perceived (primarily agricultural) success, which had its roots in the complex set of inheritance and land-owning laws meant to maintain family plots and thus their position as stable tax-payers as much as in cultural traits.

The government of post-independence Uganda persecuted the Indian minority who were disproportionately prosperous businessmen and traders. They were expelled from the country by the government of Idi Amin in the 1970s, which also outlawed Judaism and severely persecuted the Abayudaya Jewish community (resulting in an 83% reduction in the size of that community).

See also

• Affirmative action
• Race and intelligence
• Race and crime

External links

• Asian-Nation: The Model Minority Image, by C.N. Le, Ph.D.
• Are Asian-Americans a model minority?, criticism by Steve Kangas

References

• ^ Espiritu, Yen Le (1996). Asian American Women and Men: Labor, Laws, and Love.
• Clark, E. A., & Hanisee, J. (1982). Intellectual and adaptive performance of Asian children in adoptive American settings. Developmental Psychology, 18, 595-599.
• Frydman, M., & Lynn, R. (1989). The intelligence of Korean children adopted in Belgium. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 1323-1325.
• ^ Chen, C.H., Yorgason, E. (1999). Those amazing Mormons: The media’s construction of Latter-day Saints as a model minority. Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought.