Asian American Model Minority Summary

Recently, the Asian American community is in an outrage because of the Asian joke that Chris Rock made at the Oscars ceremony. His joke about Asian has provoked a strong adverse reaction from the community as he practically discriminated against with stereotype. Asian Americans are being portrayed as the “model minority” in the United States. Louis Wirth, “a scholar from the highly influential "Chicago School" of sociology, defines ‘minority’ as a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination" (Parikh 161). In the article “How Chris …show more content…
According to Crystal Parikh, the label of “model minority” is implied to “commend Asian Americans, by attributing such success to cultural values (e.g., family values or work ethic) and ‘natural’ talents that characterize this group” (163). However, the term “model minority” appears to be an offensive term to Asian Americans, as it is not necessarily applied to all. This term is applied to Asian Americans generally, but all Asian American groups are not taken into account. Many Asian American groups, such as Vietnamese, Filipinos, and Cambodians, may not enjoy the educational, occupational, and financial opportunities that other groups, such as Koreans and Chinese, enjoy. In reality, different Asian ethnic groups have their own cultural practice and different economic status. Currently, Asian Americans who enjoy the advantages are portrayed as the “model minority.” Underneath the image of “model minority,” there are some Asian Americans who still live on the minimum wage and “continue to struggle culturally and economically” (Parikh