Asian American

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…

stare at me surprisingly like when I was in Indonesia, just because I am a foreigner. However, my thought and anticipation were broken into shivers. Many people stared at me whenever I stride down the street and even whistle. Even though, Asian Americans take…

“Asian Pacific American Heritage Month,” I received a flyer while walking through the hallway. Coming from a country in Asia, this phrase grabbed my attention. When I looked through it, I found out that Center for Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, an organization at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), was celebrating April as a month dedicated for Asian Pacific Americans. The flyer had a list of film screening and discussion events.This was a perfect chance for me as I was looking…

I do not live the typical Asian American life. I reside in a state of limbo, somewhere between being full American and full Asian. My well-off, Wisconsin bred parents are not what people expect when they see me from the outside. From the exterior, it’s easy to assume that my parents (or at least one of them) are Asian. However, from the inside, I am actually an adopted child to white parents. My assimilation process happened in the blink of an eye. I was adopted at 2 ½ speaking Cantonese,…

The term “Asian” was originally used to define and label everyone that was not white, and by definition, the term generalizes people of vastly different backgrounds, histories, languages, and religions all into one incorrect misappropriately defined category. The term Asian itself is referred to as a race, yet a race is associated with biology. If people are of the same race, the may share the same ancestry or have similar physical characteristics, whereas the term ethnicity is used to refer to…

Introduction to America for East Asians and The Curious Americans Many immigrants from east Asia grew up in an environment with a strong sense of culture pride. Their traditions dates back thousands of years. When they move to the western world, these people often find themselves facing an entirely different culture. While it is important for them to maintain their traditions, it is also crucial for them to adapt to the new environment. People are most likely find two types of Asians in…

and more opportunities to rebuild their lives; many Asian immigrants migrated to the United States leaving everything behind as they set their sight towards whatever benefits may await them in America. However, the thought of finding peace and happiness would soon perish with the coming of WWII. During this period, Asian Americans were pushed to the side and seen as enemies. Racism as a whole would contribute to the fall of succeeding the American Dream, war efforts in order to show loyalty to…

As an Asian immigrant growing up in the United States I found it hard to live up to the standards that the American society imposes on the Asian American community. The notion of a “model minority” has been thrown around our culture since the day it was coined in 1966 sparking a prejudice that colored the Asian American people in a specific light—one that can be argued to be bad and, at the same time, good for the community. (Linshi) We were seen as this group of people that were successful…

stereotypes with Asian Americans. However, these stereotypes do not define what an Asian American is. For example, when most people look at me, they are surprised because stereotypically, Asians have small eyes and small noses. However, I do not have those features but I am still considered Asian. My definition of an Asian American is someone who has parents that came from Asia and immigrated to America. To identify as an Asian American, they must be of Asian descent and have been exposed to…

I’m Filipino and I’m Asian. I’m part of the 5% residing in the US. Most of my family and friends are either immigrants or first-generation Asian Americans. When I first migrated to the US, I lived in Southern California where communities are predominantly Asian. Hollywood, the home of the entertainment industry, is located in Southern California. But where are the Asian Americans in television? We don’t often see them as a lead of a TV show, nor as a part of the main cast. Not only are they…