Note from Professor Rosenblum:
This article was brought to our attention by Tom Schactman, who will be discussing the subject of immigrant businesses at our April 23 class. Please take a look and weigh in re: what you think of the author’s argument. Do you agree? Disagree? And why. Even a short post will be helpful.
By Jennifer Lee
I think the author makes a compelling point when she says “young people[Asians] who don’t “make it” are made to feel like failures and under-achievers, often leading them to isolate themselves from their ethnic communities and reject their ethnic identities.” This is very true because it is as if society has defined a criteria and pushes all Asians forcefully into it. As a result, the “black sheep” who are unable to fit into this criteria have no choice but to reject their identity. This poses a major problem to such kids as it becomes as if they have been stripped off their identity due to no fault on their part.
I agree with the author that there is stereotyping of Asian Americans aspiring to all be in degree and certification heavy professions. However, I disagree that more Asians are “needed” in the arts. I don’t think that people should be forced or felt as if they are being forced into a certain role to remove a bias. A path into either the sciences or the arts should at least be accepted by society, even if Asian cultural and familial values still have trouble doing so. Holding a group up to an expectation isn’t right even when it’s done to remove another expectation. This is more so true when the author suggests that there is already a true variety and balance of ways outside the sciences that Asians have found success. If comprehensive data supports that statement, that’s great. Stereotypes don’t die easily, and again it isn’t fair to force new expectations to kill the old ones.
This article is really powerful and brings to light so many issues that are sometimes “shoved under the rug.” Firstly, the idea of success is so often equated with money that it has become entrenched in Americans brains that they’re success is measured by how many cars they have in their driveway or the clothes they wear. It’s sad, because I think this perpetual desire for money has often driven people away from pursuing their passions in life, as they feel they won’t earn enough money, and therefore not be considered successful. Additionally, this article raises the question of stereotypes. They are everywhere, and I think everyone has been guilty of stereotyping at some point. But the real problem is, can we break these stereotypes?
I completely agree with the author’s point of view in this article. As a child, I went to school in Thailand, an East Asian country. I was only in preschool, yet there was an intense focus on education and a necessity to earn the top rank in class. I was drilled to study and practice math problems 24/7. The best accomplishment is when a student earns a certificate for their academic success, which I earned. When we moved to America, my parents kept the same conservative mentality on education. I think the Asian immigrants are drilled to work hard and study because they were conditioned at a young age to do well. Also, Asian parents believe the real money is made in professional careers, since liberal arts careers aren’t always successful. I disagree with this mentality because a person, no matter their ethnicity, should become what they’re passionate about, not what their parents want. Actors and painters can make a lot of money too; it’s not all about the sciences.
You bring up a good point about its being more about the money than the discrimination. There certainly is discrimination (and not just toward Asians, but toward anyone non-Caucasian or just “different”), but I think it’s more of a financial issue. This financial issue additionally doesn’t just affect Asians, but also other minorities and immigrants who believe money and education comprise the ladder of success. I know many people in our generation who agree that liberal arts careers are iffy, and most people who enter such careers have their parents or something else to fall back on–and they’re not all Asian. However, I think this idea certainly is highlighted among Asians because STEM careers are in an easier “language” to understand than English, combined with the traditional emphasis on education that was embedded in their native countries.
As an Asian-American raised at home with an emphasis on education but raised at school with an emphasis on dreams, I can agree on trying to remove the stereotype of Asians all being successful and highly educated. As Daniel stated as well, this can lead to false assumptions for others when meeting Asian Americans, and more importantly can affect the self-esteem of those who might not have done so well. However, I can understand the reason why Asian Americans, or certain immigrant groups in general, emphasize education and success so much: financial stability. When immigrating and moving to a new world, it makes sense to desire for one’s children to be financially stable. I therefore don’t think Asian Americans should be encouraged to go into the arts, nor should they be discouraged. And I don’t think Asian Americans should raise their kids with the mentality that high-status professions are the only path to economic stability. Instead I believe a practical approach to careers in the family should come first. Children should not be pidgeonholed into being doctors, but they shouldn’t ignore their parents’ economic and educational contributions either.
While I do not necessarily agree that more Asians are needed in the arts, I do believe that Chinese parents should adopt a wider vision of what it means to be successful. I believe that the only true measure of one’s success is their happiness; if a person would enjoy life more as a poor artist than a wealthy, prestigious doctor, then they should pursue that aim. No one should ever be “made to feel like failures” because they have a different plan for their life than their parents do. While I would encourage people to pursue their passions, at least in their non-professional life, I do not necessarily believe that more Asians are needed in the arts because the familial obligations that compel them to be “successful” may very well be more important to them than their artistic pursuits.
I agree with this article and think it brings up some interesting points. There definitely is a strong stereotype that Asian-Americans are in more professional jobs like medicine, law or engineering, but like many of my classmates said, I do not believe that they should feel pushed to pursue the arts or more professional jobs. While I can see why financial stability is very important to immigrant parents, certain jobs are not going to appeal to everyone, nor will everyone be happy in those jobs, just because they are making more money. Additionally, I thought it was very interesting how a great portion of the need to pursue professional jobs, comes from the fear of discrimination in the workplace. As one Chinese woman recalled from her mother’s advice, “In math, there’s always a right answer; one plus one always equals two. It’s not that way in the arts.” This is sad because it shows how far we still have to come with stereotypes and discrimination, especially if some Asian Americans feel the need to go after certain jobs, just because they will be safe from prejudice.
I agree with the article’s observation regarding the ever increasing numbers of Asians in professional jobs such as law, medicine and engineering, I disagree with the author’s push for Asians to enter the arts. The author of the article is right, though, when she says that Asian parents need to adopt a better, or rather wider, definition of success. The article also brings up a really good point when it discusses the “cultural division” and feelings of “failure” that can arise in the mind of young people subjected to such a narrow definition of success. As a child of Southeast Asian immigrants, I have experienced just how crushing such a definition of success is. Growing up, especially in high school, I slowly came to define myself not by my own characteristics, but rather by my exam scores and school ranking. This fixation with exam scores and grades soon swallowed the entirety of who I was, ultimately influencing my feelings of self-worth. Looking forward, I feel like our generation will place importance on both the arts and professional jobs.