According to a statistic by the Pew Research Center, “57% of Asian adults see discrimination against Asians living in the U.S as a major problem. And 63% say too little attention is paid to race and racial issues concerning Asian Americans” (Ruiz and Im). Although there has been progress in recent years, Asian discrimination and indirect racism continue to be a significant issue in society. Racism disguised as silly trends crop up year after year, reinforcing negative stereotypes of many Asian Americans. Overall, Asian and Asian Americans are consistently stereotyped across the internet, ranging from seemingly harmless “model minority” stereotypes to overall erasing Asian representation, and degrading the Asian community as a whole.
The “Model Minority” stereotype refers to a minority group defined by factors like race or ethnicity, stereotyped to be better at certain things than other races. Some examples include the notion that Asians are extremely smart or academically achieving, especially in STEM-related fields, seen in many popular TV shows, such as “Fresh Off The Boat”. Although being a model minority might seem like a harmless generalization, even positive, it still has negative impacts. Comparing “model minorities” to other races and cultural backgrounds creates unnecessary conflict, and is an unfair way to classify people through race or ethnicity. South Asians also fall victim to the numerous “model minority” stereotypes by being portrayed as always the smartest, especially when it comes to subjects like math.
Asian communities are also subject to stereotypes that portray them in a negative light or ignore their validity as Asians. Many videos about “abg culture” and Asian Americans in California have also been trending. What was previously a funny joke on the internet turned into an embarrassing stereotype for the Asian community in California, with videos escalating and becoming extremely humiliating. South Asian stereotypes also portray them in a negative light, making it seem as if South Asians are smelly, very ugly, or “fobs” (fresh off the boat). For example, the jokes of “I would never date an Indian” trending during 2023 have been resurfacing, creating a reputation of South Asians being not good enough to date. Such stereotypes can cause people to hate how they look or even wish they were of another race, resulting in poor mental health and internalized racism within people of the South Asian community. South Asians are erased from the conversation surrounding Asians, possibly as a result of casual racism or colorism. Although South Asians are a huge part of Asia’s population, whenever people refer to Asians in the media, people of darker skin tones are rarely included. Despite all the diversity in India in terms of skin tones, hair types, and face shapes, people are still able to find a way to generalize and create stereotypes for South Asians, a community with around 2 billion people. The prevalence of these stereotypes results in the invalidation of many members of the Asian community.
Some may argue the media has come a long way since “Fresh Off the Boat”, and that jokes made at the expense of Asian Americans are not meant to be taken seriously. Although shows and movies such as “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, “Never Have I Ever”, and “Kims Convenience” have made strides in representation, there is still a long way to go. For example. The hit TV show “Jessie” had a diverse cast with multiple members from different backgrounds, such as an Indian-American character named Ravi. A show that could have utilized its cast and promoted different cultural backgrounds instead decides to put its characters into common racial stereotypes. Specifically,Ravi is depicted as very academically achieving, having a pet lizard labeled as an exotic animal from India, and even going as far as to making a whole dance number appropriatidng the culture of South Asia during an episode of the show. Even positive reactions to these displays are a subtle form of racism and inherently problematic. Asian culture is a way of life; labeling it “exotic” is a form of exploitation.
The media has come a long way in equality and representation for Asians in the media, but there is still much more that needs to be done. Model minority stereotypes and casual racism are still a concern for many Asians, and we must be mindful of what kind of narratives we express.