Racial Stereotypes Cultural Biases in America Against Individuals of Asian Extraction

Attention Getter

Personalize issue even for non-Asians

Racial Stereotypes

What they are in general

Why and how they exist culturally

Anti-Asian Stereotypes

Long-standing nature

Asians not seen as true Americans

Trading Cards

Advertising of past

Advertising today of anti-Asian nature

Negative Asian Stereotypes

What they are Why bad

Positive Asian Stereotypes

What they are Why no 'good' stereotype, good or bad

Violence Against Asians

Radio talk show host

Chinese delivery person

Call for Tolerance

Speech Text

Cultural Biases in America Against Individuals of Asian Extraction

Look around you. How many faces of color do you see? Or, perhaps you yourself are considered or consider yourself a person of color. We would like to think that we are all the same under the skin, so to speak. Yet our culture tells us differently. In the phrases of James Chan, the Chinese cultural historian, the media reflects the culture and serves the culture, but is also embedded in the biases of culture, and thus reinforces its worst aspects in all of our minds.

Unfortunately there are many stereotypes against individuals whom are deemed to be different, Asian-Americans as well as African-Americans and other historically discriminated...

Because Asians specifically are often thought to be relatively recent immigrants to America, it is common to think of discrimination against Asians as relatively new as well. However, sad to say, this is not the case. The construction of the 'exotic Asian' is an old one -- older, in fact, than television or electronic print on the Internet. Even trade cards, a kind of commercial business calling card popular in the 19th century, frequently made use of Asian stereotypes.
Think Asians aren't really that discriminated against? Think of some of the images of these cards from the hundred years ago past -- Opium smoker. Dog eater. Even if you find such stereotypes to be abhorrent, they are still present and available within our cultural context, and the trading cards of old show how long-standing a grip such images have, in our cultural, if not personal imagination.

Think that the ideas I have just listed are too harsh? What about "we'd be happy to do your laundry" or "pig-tailed coolies" or even "we obey." All of these trading-card images play into so-called positive or humorous stereotypes of industries Asians are or were supposed to dominate. They also highlight the supposed obedience inherent to Asians as a group, as embodiments of negative and characteristic 'groupthink.' Even the idea of the 'rat' analogous to Asians, as discussed in the title of Chan's article "Rough on Rats," shows how Asians have long been construed as collectivist rather than individualistic or creative in their identity -- unlike 'real' Americans, the implication is,…