ABC and CBA
From The Peopling of NYC
Different Lives
ABC stands for “American-born Chinese” and is a person born in the United States by Chinese parents. Most American-born Chinese are born from immigrant parents who came to America after the US Immigration Act of 1965 relaxed limits on East Asian immigration. American-born Chinese tend to be more educated as a group than the general population due to their parents usually coming from academic or professional backgrounds. This does not mean that all ABCs fit into the stereotype of the model minority, however, as it does not include those Chinese who had come before the Chinese Exclusion Act. (1)
As a group, ABCs generally assimilate into American society at the same pace as earlier immigrant groups. They may be able to speak the Chinese dialect with their parents, but do not know how to read or write in Chinese and tend to have English as their primary language. The parents sometimes send their children to Chinese school to ensure that they retain the Chinese culture and language, but the success of these attempts depends greatly on their geographic location. In areas with dense Chinese populations, such as the coastal regions of the United States, ABCs tend to retain their culture and language due to both the ethnic enclaves in the areas themselves as well as newly arriving immigrants giving them a closer connection to their Chinese heritage. In areas closer to the center of America, meanwhile, American-born Chinese tend to assimilate into American culture more readily due to the lack of large Asian communities. (1)
For the most part, however, ABCs are drifting further and further from their heritage as they assimilate into American culture away from the support systems set up by their ancestors. In the past, these support systems used to provide for the hiring of its own members into jobs owned by other member and the pooling of money to help newer immigrants start their own businesses. Today, however, fewer Chinese participate in these organizations due to the lack of interest among the younger generations. (2)
The portrayal of ABCs in the media has, for the most part, not been very good. Prior to Bruce Lee’s rise to fame, ABCs were generally seen as obedient and hard-working servants. Although Bruce Lee’s movies showed that Asians were not as powerless as people had believed, a new stereotype of all Chinese men knowing some form of martial arts was born. (1)
Chinese-born Americans, or CBAs, are those born in China that came to America primarily in pursuit of economic opportunity. Also called FOBs, or “fresh off the boat”, Chinese-born Americans have found varying degrees of social and economic success. Within twelve years of working, most CBAs do as well or better than ABCs despite the advantages given to ABCs by their parents. Because of this, CBAs tend to have low opinions of ABCs. They see ABCs as who do not understand and appreciate the sacrifices made by their parents to provide for their success. (3)
Sources
- American-born Chinese: Information from Answers.com
- Chinese generation gap
- What FOBs thing of American-born Asians
- American Born Chinese@Everything2.com
