The model minority myth is a problematic stereotype that portrays Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) as a homogeneous group of high achievers. This myth has far reaching implications, including perpetuating harmful biases and erasing individual experiences.
In this post, we’ll break down some of the basics of the Model Minority Myth. Since May is also Mental Health Awareness month, we'll also point out the ways the Model Minority Myth can negatively impact mental health.
By challenging and dismantling this myth, we can foster a more inclusive society that recognizes the diversity and individual experiences within the AAPI community, rejects harmful stereotypes, dismantles racial hierarchies, and promotes solidarity.
What is the Model Minority Myth?
The Model Minority myth is an idea that characterizes all Asian Americans as hard-working, highly educated, law-abiding, and economically prosperous.
The model minority myth dismisses the unique struggles and discrimination faced by Asian Americans in several ways. This includes the suggestion that AAPI individuals have surpassed the systemic barriers to achieving success that other people of color encounter.
The Model Minority Myth oversimplifies and homogenizes the entire AAPI community into a monolith.
The myth dismisses the diversity of AAPI individuals and groups, including histories, backgrounds, cultures, and socioeconomic status. It also limits understandings of the continued impact of war and violence on families and communities, immigration status, language proficiency, and access to educational opportunities and healthcare. For example, this erasure can perpetuate misunderstandings and prevent targeted support for Southeast Asians, whose poverty rates and economic challenges are often overlooked.
It invalidates experiences of oppression.
The myth suggests that AAPI individuals have overcome individual and systemic racism, dismissing both the historical injustices they have faced and the the barriers they still may encounter in education, employment, and other areas.
Positioning AAPI individuals or groups as “high achieving” and “pleasant” or “caring is in their blood” ignores the discrimination they have faced and continue to face. It erases how the Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese internment, anti-miscegenation laws, or “No Filipinos Allowed” were written to legally exclude, marginalize, and invisibilize AAPI communities.
Ongoing immigration-related issues such as being undocumented or fears of deportation also heavily impact individuals and communities.
It contributes to racial hierarchies.
While being called “hard-working” or an “overachiever” sounds like a compliment, the myth behind these sentiments suggests that success is solely determined by hard work and implies that other marginalized groups could achieve similar outcomes if they followed the same path.
This hierarchical structure, with AAPI at the top, places BIPOC on a ladder, perpetuating anti-Blackness and hampers collective efforts toward liberation for all.
The myth perpetuates AAPI as forever foreigners, with a problematic paradox that AAPI individuals are both assimilated and alienated, contributing to a sense of otherness and identity struggles.
It also impacts mental health.
The myth of high achievers also complicates access to mental health support, particularly for anxiety and depression. This puts a toxic amount of pressure on AAPI individuals to achieve academic and professional success, or maintain a positive image, which can impact mental health by contributing to high levels of stress, perfectionism, and feelings of inadequacy. It can lead to the dismissal of mental health issues and a lack of access to appropriate mental health resources and support.
Mental Health Statistics:
AAPI adults have the lowest utilization rates of mental health services compared to other racial/ethnic groups (SAMHSA).
Social stigma, cultural norms, language barriers, and lack of awareness about mental health services can contribute to lower utilization rates among AAPI individuals (SAMHSA).
Suicide rates among AAPI adolescents and young adults are on the rise (CDC).
Asian American women have the highest suicide rate among women aged 15-24 (NAMI).
During Mental Health Awareness Month and beyond, let's support AAPI mental health by amplifying their voices, destigmatizing mental health discussions, and advocating for culturally competent mental health services. Together, we can create a more compassionate and understanding society that uplifts and supports everyone.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/19/524571669/model-minority-myth-again-used-as-a-racial-wedge-between-asians-and-blacks
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Shih, Kristy & Chang, Tzu-Fen & Chen, Szu-yu. (2019). Impacts of the Model Minority Myth on Asian American Individuals and Families: Social Justice and Critical Race Feminist Perspectives. Journal of Family Theory & Review. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/rf55zb55b
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https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/Asian-American-and-Pacific-Islander
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