The Model Minority Myth Issue

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themodelminoritymyth MARCH 2020

With articles on...

The Impact of the Model Minority Myth The Power of Asian-Americans at the Polls Clean Beauty Products Featuring Interviews with...

Hang Nguyen Katie Quan Roshani Chokshi

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themodelminoritymyth EDITOR’S NOTE Dear Overachiever Magazine readers, Since the first issue of OM, dismantling the model minority myth has been a core value of mine. Trivial though it may seem on the surface - harmless, if not slightly offensive stereotypes about how Asians are good at math, or all have tiger moms - it is anything but. It has been used for decades to drive a wedge between minorities, and reward Asians for striving towards assimilation, allowing easier access to higher socioeconomic status. While a significant percentage of immigrants from India and regions of East Asia in particular have reached the highest socioeconomic strata, the vast majority of Asian immigrants, particularly Hmong and Lao immigrants, are living an experience altogether different from the rosy picture painted by the model minority myth. As complimentary as it is made out to be, praising our work ethic and intelligence, the model minority myth is dangerous to all of us. It diminishes the achievements and personalities of high-achieving Asians, erases the experiences of Asians in lower socioeconomic strata, and shuts down any discussion of anti-Asian sentiment, all while alienating us from other minorities.

As with all things, it starts with educating yourself. There are countless books and articles - but if you want to start with experiences, look no further than this issue. I want to thank all the writers who have shared their experiences with and opinions about the model minority myth, and who are doing their part to dismantle it. Always, thank you to the Overachiever Magazine team for making this issue come to life.

Yours, Rehana Paul Founder and Editor-in-Chief

A Brief History of the

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Written by Mariam Asim

M O D E L MINORITY M Y T H

Mariam Asim is a passionate activist and cat lover, navigating through life back in England after living abroad in Qatar for over eight years. Currently attending secondary school, Mariam loves learning new languages and the culture that comes with them. When she’s not juggling her endless pile of homework, she’s scuba diving with her twin sister or doing another fencing class. Mariam is always unapologetic of speaking her mind and continues to spread awareness of issues affecting today’s modern youth and beyond via her Instagram page!

INSTAGRAM: @lilasiiangirl If you’re an Asian, the Model Minority Myth has probably affected you one way or another, whether or not you have realised it. Maybe it was your high school teachers having larger, slightly unreachable standards for you due to the way you look, or maybe it was the implication that you must achieve higher than your white peers in order to be even half as successful. Whatever it was – it was not a compliment to you or your ability. Instead a damaging racial stereotype, not just to Asians, but to all people of colour in general.

So, how did the Model Minority Myth manage to come about?

Well, to answer your questions, let me take you way back to America in the 1880s, the era of the “yellow peril” of the so-called inferior Chinese immigrants to white America.

It was a time where there were mass lynchings of Asian Americans, including the brutal murder of Vincent Chin – a stark wakeup call to the world that anti-asian bias was more prominent than ever. However, this xenophobia and racism was taken further in 1882 when American congress passed a bill that banned Chinese immigration to the US, (all sounds rather too familiar regarding Trumps Muslim ban).

Despite all of this ongoing racism and sinophobia, much later in 1966 was the birth of arguably one of the most influential articles to be written on Asian-Americans. New York Times writer William Peterson published a piece titled “Success story, Japanese-American style”. It was this article that coined and popularised the term ‘model minority’.

In this article Peterson wrote that “The Japanese Americans are better than any other ethnic group in our society.

Including native born whites.” Despite how complimentary this may sound to the character of Japanese-Americans, there were severe consequences as many white Americans

believed that the Japanese would have an unfair advantage and thus be stealing jobs in the workplace that essentially- they were undeserving of. Initially this thinking was only applied to Japanese-Americans but rapidly spread to anybody looking remotely Asian. Why might you ask? Because in the eyes of white America, all East-Asians ‘look the same’, thus causing the model minority myth to expand to all Asians, simply because people were unable to tell the difference.

In today’s society, the model minority myth is problematic as it suggests that the US has always been a welcoming place for those of Asian descent. It masks the struggles and plight faced by many Asian-Americans, dismissing the fact that before they were seen as a perfect model minority, they were perpetual foreigners.

Moreover, many use the MMM as an example to downplay the clear racism in American societies. Indicating that other ethnic groups such as the Black community are exaggerating the amount of racism they have received in this new, illusive and ‘accepting’ society. In other wordsthe model minority myth aids the perpetration of antiblackness within America.

Essentially, not only does the model minority myth lead young Asians to believe that they are unable to break out of the stereotypical careers laid out for them in order to uphold their family’s honour, but it is also the fundamental indicator of serious mental health consequences due to the intense pressure that these young Asian Americans have to deal with. In the rich, multicultural society we live in today, peripheral beliefs such as the model minority stereotype should be the last thing that forces people of colour to contrast their success against one anotherinstead of striving for success and excelling together.

Artist | Audrey Naiva

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The Impact of the Model Minority Myth Written by Susan Vongphrachanh

Susan Vongphrachanh is a Laotian American who is passionate about fighting the patriarchy, saving the environment, and all things Asian American. She recently received her undergraduate degree in marketing and now works for the corporate world. In her free time, she enjoys working out, reading, and watching a ton of YouTube. One day, she hopes to have a platform where she can educate others about Asian American history and culture.

The model minority myth refers to a minority group who is perceived to be more successful than other minority groups. The myth mainly refers to Asian Americans. The term was coined in 1966 by William Petersen, a professor of sociology at the University of California Berkeley. Petersen wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine titled, “Success Story: Japanese American Style”. In the article, he highlighted how Japanese Americans managed to overcome discrimination through their hard work, cultural values, and even genetics. In other words, Japanese Americans were able to “succeed” through the Asian stereotypes.

However, many scholars claimed that Asian Americans “overcame discrimination” only when it was politically convenient. Before the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, white employers mainly hired Chinese workers because they were cheap labor and didn’t use up government infrastructure. In the late 1870s, the economy worsened and the demand for cheap labor was gone. White people needed jobs and felt threatened that Chinese people were “taking away their jobs” and using up resources. As a result, anti-Chinese sentiment grew, and the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed.

When World War II came around, the U.S. government was worried the Chinese Exclusion Act would create tension with China in their fight against imperial Japan. Japanese propaganda would bring up the Chinese Exclusion Act in hopes to weaken the United States and China alliance. It was then the Magnuson Act was passed in 1943 to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act. It allowed approximately 105 Chinese immigrants to come to the U.S. annually.

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Later in 1965, the National Immigration Act replaced the Magnuson Act which gave higher preference to immigrants with family who are U.S. citizens and those who had high skilled jobs such as doctors, lawyers, and scientists.

With that said, this proves why Asian Americans “overcame discrimination” only when it was politically convenient for America. Asians were initially welcomed in the country but when job demand dropped, they were excluded. When America was allies with China in the war, they started allowing Chinese immigration because they didn’t want to create tension with China. Lastly, the high preference for skilled workers provided an economic boost for America.

Another issue the model minority myth creates is the racial divide between Asians and Blacks. Petersen’s article followed the 1965 Moynihan Report which blamed black culture for their socio-economic struggle.

However, the report fails to mention the systemic racism white people have created against blacks. White people use the model minority myth as a “get out of jail free” card so they don’t have to take blame for systemic racism and to also maintain their positions of power.

“This proves why Asian Americans “overcame discrimination” only when it was politically convenient for America.”

Asians and Blacks have different experiences with racism. To say that racism can be solved by following the path of another “successful” minority is completely ignoring the struggles that minority group endures. This myth helped to perpetuate anti-blackness.

The model minority myth is extremely hurtful and dangerous. The myth erases the fact we have faced discrimination and blatantly ignores our history. It fails to acknowledge how diverse Asia is and ignores that Asians have the largest income gap in the U.S. Not only does it hurt our community, but it also hurts the black community and other minority groups.

We are not your model minority.

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Citrus Fruit from Asia

by Tiffany Low

My tangerine skin lay sprawled out on a marble counter, a body dissected and waiting to be consumed.

I cry too much for a girl who fitted her skin with the rind of tangerines left over from family dinners.

The paper-cuts never hurt much, Not when Americans made fun of my roots.

Not when I couldn’t peel a tangerine without staining yellow under my nails.

They always stung most when the citrus bled obediently from the fruit split open.

I had always loved the word “us,” As though the word itself was enough To congeal all our parts together.

Our love—leaking from the flesh of one body into another. Our roots—tangling with the American dream, limbs forgetting where they stemmed.

I placed my body into wanting palms, hungry for anything.

A beautiful, skinned girl.

No one knew how I should’ve tasted, or how to manage tough skin passed on from generations of survivors.

But you knew how I should taste.

You knew how to run your palm over my ribs and place your palm at the softness of my stomach.

Open me up with your fingertips, gently at first, then all at once.

Leave me gasping.

Artist: Srin Lahiri

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Interview w Hang Nguy by | charlotte drummond

Hang Nguyen (@hangtw) is a fashion and lifestyle blogger who loves smoothies, dressing up, and discovering hidden gems around the world. She explores ways to live more joyful via a multitude of facets, from fashion, home, and travel to everyday life experiences.

As a petite woman standing at just 5 ft tall, she inspires others like her by promoting body positivity and self-confidence. Overall, Hang’s mission is to take her global readers on a journey of embracing individuality, pushing boundaries, and living more vibrantly.

with yen

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by | charlotte drummond

How was the process of getting your blog started? What did you find fulfilling and what aspects were more challenging?

The process was super fun! I enjoyed the visual and design aspects of creating a blog. With tools like WordPress and SquareSpace, creating a website was fairly easy, and I was really into exploring color schemes, moving pixels, and every other detail for the website. While design and visuals were fun, I think the most challenging part for me was the actual content. I would often struggle with writing what I wanted to say or figuring out how can I serve others.

What inspired you to start your blog, “Hanging with Hangtw”?

I started my blog during college as a creative outlet.

At the time, I studied computer science, and it was a lot of math, code, and theory. It was really tough, so during my free time, I wanted to do something more visual, relaxing, and easygoing. I remembered how much I enjoyed building websites, so I decided to create a blog. It helped merge all of my interests from tech, fashion, and photography all in one.

Over the years, it has grown from being just a fashion blog to a lifestyle blog that also includes travel and more personal stories.

The photos, organization, and layout of your website are so aesthetically pleasing! How did you come up with the design and bring your vision to life?

Thanks so much! The design of my current website is actually made by Pipdig, so all credit goes to them. In general, I wanted my website to be really

clean, interesting, and focused on the imagery and content. While searching for templates online, I ran into Pipdig, and they had exactly what I was looking for. By using their template, it helped save a lot of time and allowed me to focus more on content.

On your blog, you write about everything from style trends to travel tips to personal self-reflection. How do you come up with your ideas for your pieces? Do you have a way of organizing those ideas?

I actually just share all of my real-life experiences! I’ve found that by just living life, there are so many things that I can share from fashion, travel, favorite products, and personal thoughts.

Because of this, I don’t have any real organizing methods; it kind of just aligns with my daily life and the seasons I go through.

You have an active presence and following on social media, especially on Instagram. What are your favorite parts of being involved in that world?

What can be frustrating?

I have a love and hate relationship with social media. I feel very blessed and grateful to have a platform that provides me with opportunities. And I’m very thankful to my followers who support me because without them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. I really enjoy it, but there are times that social media can get really dark.

Sometimes all of the materialism, comparison, and relationships I see online drain me. There are days where I absolutely refuse to log on because of the way it makes me feel. I struggle with trying to be strong, staying true

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to myself, making meaningful relationships, and posting fun content that people will enjoy.

What’s next for you? Any exciting new projects?

According to your About page, you graduated with a degree in Computer Science. There seems to be a big gap between those in STEM and those involved in the arts. What do you think of those boundaries and how do you personally go against those ideas?

I have a couple of things in mind, but with everything going on in the world right now, I want to pause for a moment.

It’s so easy to get caught up in work and “go, go, go!” that we can lose sight of the most important things. For me, the most important thing right now is people and the relationships that I have.

I think that’s a general misconception. If people box others in by their job titles or what they study, then there seems to be a gap. However, on the contrary, if we don’t identify people by their job titles, I think we’d find that a lot of people in STEM are actually creative too. They may work in STEM but do some type of art on the side like painting, photography, music, video, graphic design, and much more. In comparison, those involved in the arts could have some STEM background and knowledge too.

Just like me, I’m a person who studied computer science and worked a tech job but loved fashion, photography, and sharing things online.

What pieces of art involving Asian women/ artists have caught your eye lately?

Recently, I watched this show called “Next In Fashion” on Netflix, and there’s a super talented designer named Minju Kim. She really caught my eye because of how funny, kind, and talented she was. She made some insanely beautiful clothing collections, and it really inspired me to see how she expressed who she was through her designs. It made me want to up my fashion game.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Asian women today?

I think minorities have difficulties and struggles in getting the job level and positions that they want, especially minority women. It’s something that has been going on for a really long time. Recently, I’ve seen a lot of people speak up about these issues and trying to make changes. I’m really hopeful for the future of minority women.

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Issue F

K a t i e

“role models�

*find more pieces by Katie throughout the issue*

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Feat ure

Q u a n

“Workers Unite”

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The Model Minority Myth and the Erasure of Our Reality Marissa Guiang

Marissa Guiang resides in New York City, where she works in the financial services industry. As a freelance journalist on the side, she enjoys writing about business, race, and culture. Marissa graduated from Cornell University with a major in Hotel Administration and will be pursuing her Master’s in Journalism at Columbia University this Fall. In her spare time, Marissa enjoys running and is training for her fourth marathon as an active member of Adidas Runners NYC. INSTAGRAM: @theguiangster “What’s so bad about her thinking your dad is good at math? You’re overreacting,” my friend said while we ate our lunch in the cafeteria. We were in 7th grade.

We were talking about my math teacher, whose attention I was trying to get after class. This week’s math lessons were lost on me, and I didn’t know how to do the homework. “Let me just answer Kyle’s question first, then I’ll get to you,” my math teacher assured me. Kyle had actually approached her after I did, but I waited patiently on the side, anxious about whether or not I’d get my questions answered. Five minutes went by, and I knew my teacher would have to run off to her next class.

“I’m sorry Marissa, but I have to go.”

“Oh, okay, but just one quick — ” “I’m sure you’re fine for tomorrow’s homework, just ask your dad for help.”

I put my notebook in my backpack and walked out of the classroom feeling defeated. First off, my dad wasn’t in my life, and second, why did she assume my parents could help me with my math homework? Kyle was able to get the extra help he needed, but there was this perception that without help, I’d be okay. I ended up getting a C on the following week’s math test, and as I reflect on this moment 12 years later, I can’t help but blame it on the fact that my needs were ignored because of an assumption about my upbringing and my parents’ math abilities.

— Misguided by the model minority myth, society holds an inaccurate perception that Asian Americans have successfully assimilated while overcoming the challenges of discrimination and bias.

However, those barriers still exist in prevalence, especially in today’s political climate. In fact, those barriers never came down since 1966, when the “model minority” term was first widely published. For Asian Americans — past and present — the model minority label is just another stereotype with negative consequences.

Around the height of the 2016 American presidential election season, Michael Luo, an American-born editor at the New York Times, wrote an op-ed titled, “An Open Letter to the Woman Who Told My Family to Go Back to China” where he recounts an interaction he, his wife, and two young daughters experienced on the Upper East Side of New York City. Luo’s story is one that resonates far too well with Asian Americans, as the situation he describes is nearly identical to the ones that so many other people of Asian descent are forced to face. In Luo’s letter, he writes, “Maybe you don’t know this, but the insults you hurled at my family get to the heart of the Asian-American experience. It’s this persistent sense of otherness that a lot of us struggle with every day. That no matter what we do, how successful we are, what friends we make, we don’t belong. We’re foreign.”

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There’s also this generalization that Asian Americans are successful by means of diligent hard work: exactly how every immigrant community should strive to be like — what’s so bad about that, right? After all, isn’t it flattery? While seemingly complimentary in nature, the myth fails to recognize the reality in which immigrants and underrepresented groups must endure.

The myth makes the supposition that Asian communities are able to achieve the American Dream in a linear, logical fashion — all while keeping our heads down and being obedient citizens within the neighborhoods in which we reside. This is assumed to happen without hardships or tragedy, and also without any loud, heroic triumphs either. The belief is that the success of Asian Americans is achieved humbly and quietly, muted by the myth itself.

And this is exactly how a seemingly positive assumption about Asian American communities ends up doing damage — by muting the reality we live in.

While society continues to look at Asian American lives through rose-colored glasses, governments, businesses, academic institutions, and other organizations are unable (or perhaps, unwilling) to provide the support that Asian Americans need.

Research done by the Obama Administration for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders concludes that this is because over 1 in 3 AAPI’s in the United States are unable to communicate effectively with healthcare providers, and sufficient translation services are unavailable. According to the same study, approximately a quarter of Asian Americans do not see a doctor on an annual basis (the lowest reported figures among all racial groups), and on top of that, Asians are understudied and underfunded when it comes to health research. The model minority myth also buries the fact that Asian Americans are three-times less likely to seek professional mental health services (in comparison to White populations), even though there is no evidence that suggests that Asian Americans suffer from mental health issues any less than other races. This point on mental health is extremely important and is a separate, loaded topic on its own as it continues to be a seemingly invisible issue that Asian Americans face. These aforementioned obstacles — on top of the racism, bias, and discrimination — exist with very little acknowledgement from society, because the model minority myth tells everyone around us that everything is just fine.

“...no matter what we do, how successful we are, what friends we make, we don’t belong. We’re foreign. ”

For example, poverty is rarely associated with Asian American communities, but in reality, research shows that 12.5% of Asian Americans live below poverty levels — a figure that’s higher than the US national average. Yet, Asian populations are frequently left out of studies that analyze poverty dynamics in the United States, ultimately contributing to the overall invisibility and negligence of Asian Americans in poverty.

Another issue that’s overshadowed by the model minority myth is access to healthcare. While Asian countries report impressive life expectancy figures, high rates of limited English proficiency among Asian immigrants living in the US present obstacles when it comes to staying in good health, particularly for elderly individuals.

In addition to creating blatant misrepresentation of Asian American issues and needs, the model minority myth further homogenizes our race, resulting in underrepresentation of certain Asian populations, particularly those of Southeast Asian descent.

For instance, the model minority myth often highlights the educational successes of Asian Americans, pointing to various statistics: graduation rates, percentage of adults with college degrees, post-graduate degrees, and so on. The stressed importance on education is embedded within many Asian cultures, but what the statistics fail to capture is the struggle that parts of the Asian community face when it comes to receiving and paying for a good education.

The high school drop-out rate among some Southeast Asian American populations is unbeknownst to many (for reference, 40% of Hmong, 38% of Laotian, and 35% of

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Cambodian populations do not complete high school), but because of the model minority myth, it’s easy to simply gloss over these sub-sets of Asian Americans because the top-level numbers tell a different story. As if Asians weren’t already the subject of so many stereotypes and generalizations, the model minority myth adds yet another layer of inaccurate homogeneity that pushes the reality of Asian Americans’ struggles further below the surface, until no one can see them. It’s as if those challenges never existed in the first place.

— As a first-generation Filipino American female myself, I recognize the needs of my community and am acutely aware of the barriers that Asian Americans face. The model minority myth is not an easy myth to dispel. For decades, it’s been influencing society’s perception of what Asian Americans are (and are not). William Petersen, the sociologist and demographer credited for the coinage of the “model minority” term, has since created this dangerous illusion that Asian Americans don’t need help — and if they don’t need help, neither do Black communities, Latinx communities, or other communities of color. The adaptation and adoption of the model minority myth over the past five decades has not only made the Asian American reality invisible, it’s also reduced the empathy society has for other non-White races. There is no upside to the model minority myth if you’re a person of color.

“There is no upside to the model minority myth if you’re a person of color.

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The best way to combat erasure is to be as visible as possible via any method available. Vote in all elections and educate yourself on candidates running for local leadership positions. Make sure you’re counted in this year’s census, because census figures help shape government incentives and policies for the next ten years. Get involved with local Asian organizations, because no matter how Americanized you may consider yourself to be, you voluntarily make part of yourself invisible when you disassociate from your roots. During those difficult periods when you might struggle with your identity (and I get it, I’ve been there), remember that you can be both Asian and American, and nothing about your identity, your parents’ identity, or your ancestors’ identity should be erased, made invisible, or forgotten.

After all, myths are simply folklore — fiction, if you will. And we don’t have to hold ourselves to other people’s beliefs when they simply aren’t true.

Will History Itself?

Repeat

Written by

THE

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an aspiring writer who is awaiting the next leg of her educational jouney.

Sasha Nair

model minority myth is a concept that has been seen in books, newspapers and various media platforms, but how did it originate in the first place?

The ‘Yellow Peril’ was a term used as early as 1806 by Roger Debury to depict East Asians in a negative light, it was then popularized by Kaiser Wilheim II to justify and encourage European Colonialism of East Asian countries. The term held a racist connotation as it portrayed East Asians as inferior to those of Western descent. It was put to use in America in 1895 to invoke racist fears of the increasing numbers of Asian immigrants, to plant the idea that these immigrants who were willing to work for lower wages were a threat to the lives of the Americans. This worsened when cases of opium addiction began to rise in America, and the blame fell on East Asians who were supposedly responsible for the natives falling victim to the drug.

This continued for years until the Cold War when the United States of America started to worry about the ever-expanding sphere of Soviet influence on Asian countries, specifically China. They feared that the large number of Chinese immigrants in their country would grow unhappy with capitalism, as they were treated badly with that system, would turn to follow the ways of their motherland and in turn would start the spread of communism right in the land of the free. This prompted the government to start a propaganda campaign that would eventually perpetuate the model minority myth.

This campaign touted East Asian immigrant success stories with news magazines, such as U.S News and World Report, glorifying Asians as hardworking and law-abiding citizens.

“Visit “Chinatown U.S.A” and you find an important racial minority pulling itself up from hardship and discrimination to become a model of self-respect and achievement in today’s America.” – U.S News and World Report, December 26, 1966 This was a complete turnaround from how East Asians were depicted before the 1950s. This campaign eventually saw the implementation of immigration law in 1965 that favored educated Asian immigrants, which further pushed the idea of a model minority. This has continued till recently where East Asian immigrants are stereotyped as successful and a role model for other minorities.

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However, with the global Covid-19 epidemic, could we see a shift in the perception of East-Asian immigrants again?

Once again, East Asian immigrants are the target of racial attacks, blamed for another pandemic sweeping through the USA. These immigrants are now being torn down and perceived as a threat by the USA government and news agencies who once placed them on a high pedestal.

It is true that the virus originated from the Wuhan Province in China, but the constant reminders of it are not helping the situation.

“China is the Real Sick Man of Asia”, this was the title written by Walter Russel Mead on the Wallstreet Journal, February 3, 2020, with the subtitle; “Its financial markets may be more dangerous than its wildlife markets.”

The Wall Street Journal focuses on the economies and financial markets of the world, and yet still throws reminders to its readers that the virus started due to the unhygienic wildlife markets in the Wuhan province.

The constant jabs at China by American media outlets are perpetuating racist fears against those of East Asian descent, just like in the past with the Yellow Peril, where not only the Chinese were discriminated against, but all who bore a ‘resemblance’ to the race, suffered greatly.

The President of the United States, Donald J.Trump, has even called the virus the ‘Chinese’ Virus instead of the scientific name given to it, the Covid-19 virus. This is the exact same thing that was done during the time of the Yellow Peril where East Asians were singled out. By doing so, it shifts the blame entirely. When it was called the Wuhan Virus, it was associated with a place and blamed on those in charge for not handling the situation well, by now calling it the Chinese virus, the blame shifts to an entire race of people targeting every individual of that race. This has had detrimental effects on the lives of East Asians living in America, their lives have been turned upside down with some even too afraid to leave their own houses.

Could this be the beginning of the next ‘Yellow Peril’ era? Will the cycle of the model minority myth begin again once this pandemic blows over and there is a realization that East Asian immigrants are crucial to a country?

Only time will tell.

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“Balance”

Artist | Katie Quan

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Interview w Katie Qu by | kate anderson-song

Born and raised in San Francisco, Katie Quan (she/her) is a third-generation Chinese American. She is an illustrator, comic artist, essayist, and artivist.

As a descendent of a paper daughter, doctor, grocery store owner, and librarian, her life work centers around Asian American narratives, moments, and spaces. Her comic web series, GenerAsian, has been exhibited at SF Zinefest, Kearny Street Workshop, and Chinese Historical Society of America. Her collective, This Asian American Life, gives emerging artists creative resources and opportunities to thrive.

Katie currently teaches Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco.

with uan

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by | kate anderson-song

Introduce yourself!

Hi! I’m Katie Quan. I am a San Francisco native – born and raised. I grew up in a predominantly Chinese American community. Everyone was caring and supportive, but it was filled with strict rules, strict etiquette, and no room for straying. I learned how to be a “good girl” very quickly, but often found myself in trouble because staying in the lines wasn’t always something I resonated with. I went to Ithaca College in upstate New York and had a fantastic support system to navigate identity and cultural exploration. Upon graduation, I went to San Francisco State University for their Asian American Studies MA program. Long story short, I am currently teaching at City College of San Francisco in Asian American Studies and San Francisco State in Health & Social Sciences.

How did you first get into art?

I started at a young age. My parents enrolled me in traditional art classes at the age of five – so, every Saturday morning, I went to class to learn all about pastel, watercolor, acrylic, and oil.

In high school, I was introduced to the art of comics by my teacher, Mr. Whiton. As a bit of a misfit in school, I gravitated more and more into writing, visual arts, and the world of imagination. I had a group of wonderful teachers who taught me to not only embrace my own oddities, but enhance, make them bigger than life. And coming from a relatively conservative Chinese school where memorizing was the go to technique for learning, that was huge.

Tell

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how @ThisAsianAmLife began!

I’ve been doing comics since high school. In 2016, I made it my new year’s resolution to draw a comic every week and share them online. I loved NPR’s This American Life and never could understand why they didn’t have the alternate Asian version of it. Upon release, I was surprised at its reception.

It turned out that there were many people who understood the trials and tribulations of culture and heritage. My comics were really an opportunity to appreciate the humor and awkwardness of everyday life as an Asian American.

In 2020, with the help from my partner, we decided to expand @ThisAsianAmLife’s mission to supporting Asian American emerging artists to create self sustaining careers in art while giving back to their communities. Our goal is to really connect culture and heritage with the business of art and entrepreneurship.

We are currently in the process of just talking and connecting with emerging artists through all social media, referrals, and any way possible. If you would like to connect, definitely hit me up on IG or Facebook!

My comics have been renamed Generasian and can be found exclusively on our This Asian American Life Instagram.

What inspires your art?

I am third generation Chinese American so that means my grandparents were the ones who immigrated. My grandparents came here to the United States at different times – mainly in the middle of the 20th century. In most parts of the country, they weren’t welcomed. I began learning more about their story

when I was fifteen. For this reason, my comics and illustrations pertain to doing their story justice. My hope is to make history and social justice accessible and inviting for dialogue.

What’s your go-to coffee shop order?

Has to be a chai latte – or soy latte! To be honest, the foam milk is what makes the drink. I can drink the foam all day! The world needs more foam. Foam is happiness. Drink more happiness.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Always be kind to yourself and to others. Live life with a sense of humor. You know yourself best and sometimes, jumping first into a situation is the best way to not overthink. You got this.

We love that you focus on lifting up Asian American artists – anyone you are obsessed with right now that we should check out?

Who am I not obsessed with at this moment? In college, I absolutely looked up to Tak Toyoshima’s Secret Asian Man, GB Tran (Vietnamerica), and Thi Bui (The Best We Could Do). Francis Wong, acclaimed musician, is an icon – there’s only a handful of Francis Wongs in a generation and never take that for granted.

The next generasian (get it?) of Asian American artists are just as talented and have so much to say.

Angel Trazo (@weareinspiringbook) is one of my art role models – she’s doing amazing things with her children’s book, We Are Inspiring, about Asian American women who have made a difference.

EK (@ccsfcollective) is making a huge difference with her art and leadership in City College of San Francisco as they fight for students and for accessibility to diverse classes. Diana Li and Hanna Chen (@taiwanesenoodles) are also doing amazing things for the Asian American arts community.

If you ever get the chance, definitely check out the

25 artwork of Ahran Lee (@ahranmakes), Lillian Liu (@pencilandpost), Kristel Bugayong (@kristelbugayong), Lulu Tang (@luluspicedesign), Clarize Yale (@sourmouthsweetheart), Niki Waters (@kneesandkeysart), Addi Miyako (@ amiyakom), Kathy Chang (@aubluvion), Yellow Girls Poetry (@yellowgirlspoetry), Emily Lin (@emilylin.design), Caroline Truong (@carolinetruong_artist), and so many more! They are making a difference in their fields and breaking stereotypes, assumptions, and social standards all on their own. That’s a real hustle.

How can you show support to artists or art organizations?

I actually learned this answer through a number of artists! Artists always have illustrations and pictures to buy.

Commissions and projects are fantastic as well. Many freelance and are looking for opportunities to really dive into jobs.

Artists typically have their own stores and donations, of course, never hurt anyone.

For those who are financially limited, fear not! There’s a space for you too. Please share people’s art through social media or word of mouth. People love likes, but even more so, love comments and personal messages! The more engaged you are with the art, the more support you’re giving to the artists. Trust me, artists really hustle to make a living for themselves and that’s definitely not an easy gig.

In addition, make sure to support local artist groups who help bring resources and opportunities. You may not know they exist, but they are there and are hungry for new passion. In San Francisco, I’ve been involved with the Asian American Women Artists Association, A PLACE of Her Own, CAAMFest, and Kearny Street Workshop. They are all geared towards

26 Asian American artists as artists of color do face particular cultural and often financial barriers.

Showing your love in any way to them is always very special and very personal.

What is next for you? For This Asian American Life?

On a personal level, I’m currently still teaching, trying to keep my plants alive, and attempting to maintain a balance between self care and life. On the art side, I’m working to learn more about how to create a successful and prosperous art business.

I’ve spent the past few months connecting with artists and really building true friendships through art and heritage. This Asian American Life is my first real business endeavor and so I’m excited and jumping head first into everything. For my comics, I’m working to rebrand Generasian into a series of comics where each book can expand topics like boba and Korean dramas to Asian American historical moments. My current illustration project series is titled Secrets and Freedom, aimed to capture the stories and struggles of Asian American women.

I think being in academia, there’s a need to make these topics accessible and so that’s the ambition of Generasian that I hope to continue sharing with the world.

“Liberty”

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Artist | Katie Quan

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Clean Beauty Products Perfect For Spring Written by Chau Tang

Chau Tang is a Beauty Columnist for Overachiever Magazine. She graduated from Cleveland State in May 2019 with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and a minor in Marketing. She loves to read about beauty, news, and political issues. Other than writing, she enjoys reading, watching Netflix, boxing, hiking, and photography. She wants to write about beauty, news, arts and entertainment and political issues. She also enjoys listening to podcasts about various topics like politics and true crime. A couple of fun facts: She was born and raised in Cleveland, can speak English, Vietnamese and a bit of Mandarin Chinese. She’s an only child and is an avid video gamer.

Can you believe it’s already March? That means spring is almost here and so is more sunshine! When the flowers bloom in the spring, it’s a wonderful reminder that it’s possible to change inside and out – everyday is a new beginning. If you want to experiment with your outfits and skincare and makeup routine then you can do that too! It’s important to work toward your goals but it’s never a bad idea to take care of yourself while doing it!

Whenever I think of spring, I think of new beauty products and outfits! One cloudy Saturday, I remembered that if I wanted to continue wearing makeup, I would need a cleansing balm – and my Clinique cleansing balm is almost finished. I head to my nearest Sephora with the intention of purchasing just one item. One of the employees asked, “Are you finding everything okay? ”I responded with “yes.”

Then she noticed the cleansin g balm in my hand and said, “I know you have the Clinique cleansing balm in your hand but have you tried the Farmacy cleansing balm?”

“No, I have not.”

Then she said she liked the Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm even better because it wasn’t as oily. It was only a $4 difference so I said, “Okay, I’ll give it a try!” I walked around and noticed a lot of products and brands I haven’t seen before such as the brand Tower 28, which claims to be suitable for sensitive skin and Playa, which sells hair care products.

I decided to purchase the Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm, Tower 28 SuperDew, which is a shimmer-free highlight balm, Glow Recipe Watermelon Lip Pop, Playa Endless Summer Spray, and Tower 28 Save Our Skin Daily Rescue Facial Spray.

I had never tried any of these products before so I was excited to try them out! For reference, I have combination (simultaneously oily and dry) hair and sensitive skin.

All of these brands are Clean at Sephora.

According to the website, Clean at Sephora is formulated without a list of over 50 ingredients, including sulfates (SLS and SLES), parabens, phthalates, and more.

Wavy Beach Hair

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Ever since I first saw beachy, wavy hair, I have been obsessed with the look. My hair is usually straight or at least a little wavy at the end but I want to achieve that beach hair look. It’s a beautiful and effortless look, especially for spring and summer.

There have been many hair products that claim they could help you achieve that look. The Playa Endless Summer Spray is one of them. On Sephora’s website, it states this product is great for straight, wavy and curly hair. It’s a textured hair spray with an ingredient of sea salt that helps give you that perfect tousled look.

This product also states that it can help enhance your hair’s natural curl, boosts hair volume and shields hair from any environmental damage. On the website, it said most texture sprays use alcohol, which dries and damages your hair but this spray uses chia seed extract, which helps enhance your original texture without drying out your hair. The sea salt in this product is harvested in Southern California. This spray contains beta-carotene, which protects the hair and scalp from the sun and environmental damage. The product is described to have a scent with notes of black coconut, orange blossom, fresh sandalwood and pacific musk. This is cruelty-free and formulated without gluten.

The packaging is sleek, chic and is perfect. Especially for when you’re on the go. Since the packaging is white, I do fear it will get dirty really quickly. The brand name, Playa is in rose gold, which happens to be one of my favorite colors. On the right side, it says, “Natural California Beauty.” If you look on the back of the packaging, you can recycle the bottle at playabeauty.com. On Playa’s website, it states,“By helping our customers easily recycle their purchases, our hope is to aid in the prevention of virgin plastic production and prevent more plastic waste from ending up on our beaches.”

30 When I opened the cap to take a whiff of the scent just to see if I have to actually spray it in order for me to smell it or see if it’ll be strong enough to smell it through the nozzle without needing to spray it first. I can tell you that it’s strong enough to smell it through the nozzle. I can smell notes of coconut, orange blossom, sandalwood and musk. When I smell it, it takes me to an imaginative place of exploring a rainforest or a mountain while swaying my hair side to side while looking up at the sky. Oh, what a scene I’d love to be in. It’s a very pleasant smell.

This product instructs you to spray throughout damp or dry hair and apply it to the exposed areas of the scalp for natural sun protection. This spray is $24 and the size is 3.65 oz/108 ml.

I used this after I washed my hair while it was damp. I sprayed all over my hair and it smelled amazing. I wasn’t sure if it did anything too noticeable for my hair but it smelled great. I’ve seen people use textured spray on damp hair and put it into braids or buns then sleeping with their hair like that. I did blow dry my hair upside down and when I got back up, I saw my hair was voluminous. Perhaps it was the combination of blow drying my hair upside down and the spray. Instead of braids, I tied it in a ponytail and when I woke up, I could see more wavy strands and still made my hair look good.

“I want to achieve that beach hair look. It’s a beautiful and effortless look, especially for spring and summer.”

My hair also looked shiny and moisturized, I liked how it looks, even if it didn’t make my hair wavy look like the effortless beachy hair I had imagined. A lot of people had said in the reviews that they’ve put their hair in a bun in order to achieve the look so I need to practice on putting my hair into a bun.

Even though tying my hair into a ponytail didn’t work, braiding my hair while it was damp did. All I did was dry my hair with a towel, sprayed and scrunched my hair, then put it into braids and waited a couple of hours! I am not good with braids but I did my best anyways!

That definitely worked and my hair now looks like I’m beach ready! My hair feels soft, has volume and is wavy! This is a great spray to purchase.

Face Mist

We all need to have a great face mist, it keeps our skin hydrated. I chose the Tower 28 face mist because it’s best for all skin types, including sensitive skin. On Sephora’s website, it said this product is great for daily usage and it features hypochlorous acid, which is a natural compound already found in the body’s internal defense system. This acid is found in your white blood cells and helps defend your body from any bacteria that could be harmful to you. If you have uneven texture, acne, blemishes, redness and dull skin, this product is suitable for you.

It also states this is a lightweight liquid and is alcohol-free, fragrance-free, oil-free and hypoallergenic. It’s vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free and you can recycle the packaging. This costs $12 for the travel size and has 1 oz/30 ml. I wanted to try out the spray to see how well it works. You can use this spray in the morning and at night.

I sprayed four times on my face and it felt so hydrating. When you press on

31 the nozzle once, it’ll spray two times in a row. My face felt like I was walking in a rainforest. It is that hydrating. There’s no particular scent when I sprayed it on my face. I did mist my arm to see if there was a scent but it just smelled like fresh, clean water.

I was on five hours of sleep and I woke up really tired. After using this, my mind was alert and I am ready for the day. My face did feel soft after spraying. It is a great product. I will note that the cap can make it hard to open and close. When you try to open the cap, it’ll feel like you’re yanking on a chain. It is that tough. It does show that it’s secure so when you put it in your bag, you won’t have the fear of it spraying your other items.

Lip Pop

This product said it’s a “three-in-onescrub that smooths, hydrates, and tints lips in a universal pop of pink.” This is great for normal, oily, combination and dry skin. It’s even better to use this if you have dry, dull, and uneven texture. Some of the ingredients are mouth-watering such as watermelon extract, which helps with hydration, gives the needed vitamins and helps soothe. There is coconut in here as well. The coconut flower sugar helps hydrate and provides the exfoliation to remove the dead skin, the coconut oil helps prevent dryness and flakiness. This product is vegan and cruelty-free. This product sounds like it’s “your lips but better” type of deal so I am excited to try it! The price is $22 and is 0.1 oz/3.1 g.

Face sprays are hydrating and so is the Watermelon Glow Lip Pop from Glow Recipe...

The packaging is really cute and feminine.

The bottom portion is a light pink. You can see through the spiral on the inner portion of the product to see the lip pop. The lip pop does have a slight watermelon scent and it’s not too overpowering. When you twist the product, you can see there are dots that represent seeds in a watermelon.

There are two suggestions on how you can use this. You can use this as an everyday treatment so you can take this with you wherever you go and reapply as needed for that smoothing effect and a pop of color. It also states you can apply three coats to build up the color.

You can also use this as a primer before you use any lip products.

32 I like to keep things natural so I would rather use this on its own. With one swipe, it’s moisturizing like a lip balm and has a nice shine. You can smell the scent even after you put it on your lips. I used three swipes to see the full effect and is a much more pink color. It truly is like your natural lips but better. I found that the more I used the lip pop, the more it had a rough texture like a sugar scrub. Even though I’m not a fan of the texture, It is very hydrating.

Highlighter

If you want natural, glowing cheeks, use a highlighter! Highlighters come in different colors so you can go crazy with a green or keep it simple with a clear but still glowy highlighter. I purchased the Tower 28 SuperDew Shimmer-Free Highlight Balm. The main reason I bought this was because it has no shimmer and I wanted to see how dewy it’d make my skin look!

People with normal, dry, combination and oily skin can use this. You can also use this if you have dry, dull and uneven texture.

This is a lightweight cream formula and has ingredients such as aloe vera extract to hydrate and soothe skin and green tea extract to help calm your skin. This is vegan-free, cruelty-free and gluten-free. This is supposed to help keep your skin look dewy while keeping your skin look healthy.

The cost is $18 and is 0.158 oz/4.5 g.

My makeup look was natural. I had foundation, bronzer, blush, setting powder, lip pop and highlighter. The consistency of the highlighter was like vaseline, which I thought was interesting. You could see the shine of the highlighter and it truly is shimmer-free.

Makeup Remover If you’re going to wear makeup, you need a good makeup remover. Personally, I enjoy using a cleansing balm. It’s long lasting and more efficient when removing makeup.

I used the Clinique cleansing balm and it was fantastic although it was very oily. I didn’t mind because I wanted the makeup off and fast. I was told by a Sephora employee that the Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm was better, had a nicer scent and is less oily When she said less oily, I was sold. I was tired of the oily feeling and this did smell nice. The scent is not overpowering, it’s just a hint of a clean mint fragrance. It is a beautiful light green color which makes it look like matcha. Since the packaging is white, it has an expensive appearance to it. It has three different fonts that are still readable and a cute flower to the left side.

This product is said to be a makeup remover and a cleanser so it can melt your makeup so it makes it easier to take off and it is supposed to leave your skin feeling hydrated and smooth. This is suitable for dry, combination, normal and oily skin. This is a cream formula.

Some of the ingredients are sunflower and ginger root oils that help melt makeup without drying your skin, turmeric and moringa extract that fights the effects of pollution, removes impurities and has sunscreen residue, and contains papaya enzymes which exfoliate the pores. This does come with a little spoon so you don’t have to stick your fingers in the jar to help make it more sanitary.

I really love this cleanser. It was less oily, smelled nice and made me feel relaxed and took off all of my makeup. I would purchase this again over the Clinique cleansing balm. It is that good and made my skin very supple and soft.

Those are the new products I’ve purchased from Sephora and it did not disappoint. These are a must-try, especially for spring and summer.

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“199”

Artist | Katie Quan

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F E M A L E

Michele Wen

E

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G A Z E

Jacquelyn Nguyen

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The Black Sheep Shines Written by Suparna Havelia

Suparna Havelia is a 23 year old Civil Engineer from New Delhi, India. She loves to write erotic and dark romance fiction when no one’s watching. Her hobbies include and are not limited to: reading, writing, working towards women empowerment and female sensuality, patting dogs and drooling over Daniel Day Lewis’ brilliance onscreen. She wishes to head workshops on safe sex, female health issues and on ways to combat stigma surrounding menstrual health, vaginal hygiene and body insecurities.

INSTAGRAM: @haveliasuparna

Trigger Warning: suicide ‘The black sheep of the family’ is a famous English idiom which describes a member of ill-repute or identity damage within a family or community. It very cannily describes me. I am an abnormality compared to the academic brilliance that my parents and brother are.

They went to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Roorkee) – a cluster of premiere technical institutes in the country. I, on the other hand, breezed through most of my school years and a good part of my engineering student life as an inexcusable degenerate. One is only considered to be a true engineer if one goes to any of these universities, which are spread across the country, east to west and north to south.

To get into such a distinguished university, one has to prepare all of one’s life to crack the ultimate entrance exam, which may or may not compel an ordinary, average student of science to give up on their dream entirely. It requires one to attend strenuous classes through most of one’s high school life – a life of partying,

37 getting drunk, doing drugs and having lots of unprotected sex – and causes one to reconsider one’s life choices, at least a million times while one prepares for the biggest exam of one’s life. Larger than life, imaginably and funnily so. In lieu of making light of the situation, we must mull over the headlines of some of the most prominent and esteemed newspapers of India.

“27 students in IITs committed suicide in 5 yrs, IIT Madras tops the list”-Business Insider, 2019.

“IITs see 50 student suicides in the past 5 years; 14 deaths in IIT Guwahati” – Business Today, 2019 ‘Sorry I turned out to be a waste’: IIT Hyderabad student commits suicide, leaves haunting note’ – India Today, 2019 Terrifying. Haunting. Dark. Cynical. These are the words which spring to mind as we read these headlines and wonder to ourselves, “Is it really worth it?” Is it worth losing our minds and sanity over attaining education for the sake of achieving a brand tag attributed to our names?

To get into such a distinguished university, one has to prepare all of one’s life to crack the ultimate entrance exam, which may or may not compel an ordinary, average student of science to give up on their dream entirely. It requires one to attend strenuous classes through most of one’s high school life – a life of partying, getting drunk, doing drugs and having lots of unprotected sex – and causes one to reconsider one’s life choices, at least a million times while one prepares for the biggest exam of one’s life.

Larger than life, imaginably and funnily so.

In lieu of making light of the situation, we must mull over the headlines of some of

the most prominent and esteemed newspapers of India.

The idea is manifested within the system of a precocious 11-year old child by their parents from the moment they learn that their aptitude lies in Science or Medicine. You’re disparaged upon failing to score A+ in your Physics/Mathematics.

You’re made to submit to your parents’ unfounded demands by agreeing to take up a field of study, which pertains to their matters of interest. Anything apart from it is met with laughter and flack.

They use mild reinforcements such as a reward-based system, which decides what you get next birthday: that savvy blue dress you liked at Zara or a stern session, expressing disappointment in your lack of refined workmanship and dedication for the art of mugging up a thousand formulae in one night.

In an era that allows you to invent and revamp the show lying ahead of you, you’re expected to stick to the traditionally renowned professions for the sake of your parents and society. And to survive

“Is it really worth it?” Is it worth losing our minds and sanity over attaining education for the sake of achieving a brand tag attributed to our names?”

38 in such a claustrophobic society, one must comply. But I refused to give in. I decided to chalk my own path out.I went to a local private university to pursue civil engineering. When compared to the magnanimous IIT Roorkee, my university was a meek excuse for an educational institute.

However, I carved a sizable niche out for myself by availing the opportunities at hand and scaled my progress in this field of study while countering the plenty challenges that lay in my path. As a daughter of two IIT graduates, I was expected to go to one as well.

“In an era that allows you to invent and revamp the show lying ahead of you, you’re expected to stick to the traditionally renowned professions for the sake of your parents and society.”

My high school teachers would often denigrate me by using my parents’ brilliance as an example. My brother, the Einstein of my family, went to Stanford and earned two degrees in the field of Science. While no one in my family makes me feel as if I’m a model minority, my stomach churns ‘anxiety’ juices when I have to present my average performance cards to my parents at home. They congratulate me, regardless. I am blessed with the finest pair of oldies, who are above and beyond life’s fallacious game of show. They snicker at the thought of forcing one’s child through gruesome and tenacious years of hard work, something they may not even be cut out to sign up for!

We, as a society, must dispel any and all form of brain conditioning, which could force an Indian teenager into thinking that any field apart from Medicine and Science is bogus and baseless. Going through life as an average engineer is not exactly easy, but that is the very concept we must do away with. This flaw in our system must be mended. We need to incite the Sachin Tendulkars, Adeles and Roger Federers within ourselves to break out and change the scene, once and for all. It is time for the black sheep to claim its space and shine.

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M o d e l M i n o r i t y M y t h: It’s Not Great to Be a Deemed as an Intelligent Asian Written by Vivian Tan

Vivian Tan is a 16 year old student who is passionate about helping others succeed. She loves to dedicate her time volunteering because it brings like minded people together to create change. Vivian is also the YOUth of BC and a 3x TEDx speaker. In the future, she wishes to have a pomeranian as a pet and wants to help others share their ideas through communication in a TEDx speech. Whenever she has free time, she likes to relax by listening to music and reading nonfiction books, especially ones on personal growth.

INSTAGRAM: @vivianxyzt LINKEDIN: @vivianxyzt

40 Stereotypes, through generalizing a group of people as possessing an undesirable trait (e.g. stupidity, arrogance) are harmful, but what about positive stereotypes? It shouldn’t hurt to tell someone that they’re outstanding and intelligent, should it?

However, there are always exceptions to that, which includes the Model Minority Myth, something that has been prevalent in society even today, and also what I experienced. Even though there is some questioning about the harm of the model minority myth, the positive connotation can still become negative.

But what is it exactly?

It’s where Asians are deemed geniuses, and superbly intelligent. There are also various stereotypes within this too, such as having Tiger Moms that force children to work harder and be “the best”, while others maintain prestigious positions, but not positions in leadership, in industries such as medicine, law and accounting.

This portrays Asians as law-abiding, smart people who are innately talented and have achieved success because of those factors.

This sounds amazing doesn’t it? Well, that’s not exactly right.

It erases diversity within of Asian cultures, it erases differences among others, and ignores racism.

Even though I am fully Chinese and I am regularly academically successful in high school, I felt like this label of being intelligent was stuck to me. Even though I felt the academic satisfaction of being at the top, having everyone respect me and I loved working hard to be the best I could be, I didn’t want to only be identified as being a top student. I felt distant from everyone I knew because others only knew me for what I had accomplished and not for who I am. I felt excluded from most people. This made me believe that I had to be the smartest person in the class because without the label of being intelligent, my label held no value and no one would remember me for anything.

“ I felt distant from everyone I knew because others only knew me for what I had accomplished and not for who I am.”

41 Because of this, I felt mentally exhausted after working relentlessly to become the person that others perceived me as, but at the price of losing who I really was. In the end, nothing changed for the better. Instead, my grades actually started to slip, and because I failed to reach an expected level of achievement, it was perceived as due to a lack of effort at my part. I didn’t receive any help or support like what other teachers gave to other students, and they left me alone. On top of that, I still felt the social exclusion from others.

This made me question what would become of me if I didn’t have the label of being a model minority student, but instead work hard towards what I want to do. It made me question myself about who I actually was.

This positive stereotype of the Model Minority Myth is more likely to persist and less likely to be perceived as offensive than negative stereotypes. Perceived individuals who endorsed these positive stereotypes compared to negative stereotypes as less prejudiced and more likable and their words were less likely to be skeptical.

The model minority myth says Asians are doing well today and it is due to the “work” towards racial justice. Asians have abided by the law to benefit them, and due to that, they are successful. According to the model minority myth, other ethnic and racial groups could only succeed if they work harder, have stronger family bonds and get over their histories of oppression. However, this sounds like racism and discrimination towards people of colour are downplayed and denied.

So instead of working towards being a model student, I wanted to work hard towards what I wanted to do, and branch out to build and form new relationships. Once that happens, then I constantly remind myself that we as an ethnic and racial group can still be collective while having our own differences.

“Perceived individuals who endorsed these positive stereotypes compared to negative stereotypes as less prejudiced and more likable and their words were less likely to be skeptical.”

You don’t need to be perceived as a model minority student. No matter how much you fit into that stereotype, the model minority myth is ultimately useless if you don’t feel like yourself while chasing it. Start exploring who you are and what you want to be. This can be done through constant reflection and small, but consistent goals to change yourself. Remember that only you can decide who you want to be, and with that you can break through the myth.

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Interview w Roshani_Chok by | charlotte drummond

Roshani Chokshi is the author of commercial and critically acclaimed books for middle grade and young adult readers that draws on world mythology and folklore. Her work has been nominated for the Locus and Nebula awards, and has frequently appeared on Best of The Year lists from Barnes and Noble, Forbes, Buzzfeed and more. Her New York Times bestselling series includes The Star-Touched Queen duology, The Gilded Wolves, and Aru Shah and The End of Time, which was recently optioned for film by Paramount Pictures.

with kshi

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MMM

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model

minority

myth

by | charlotte drummond

What first made you want to write?

Holly Black. I’ve been a huge fan of her work for years.

Who are your biggest inspirations, both in writing and in everything?

My family. So much of what I write is drawn from the tales I heard growing up and the fierce, complex women who make up my life.

You’ve written lots of fantastic novels with fleshed out, inspiring Asian female main characters like Aru and Gauri. What parts of your main characters do you see in yourself, whether it was a conscious decision or something you realized later on?

Thank you! For each of my female characters, I try to give them one aspect of myself and then watch as that character trait transforms them into a wholly different individual due to their circumstances/ backgrounds/worries. Aru is most like the version of myself when I was in middle school. I had an unfortunate reputation as a liar, a big imagination, and a sullen wish to be so much more than what I was.

What do you find the most fulfilling about writing?

The end of a book! Nothing like realizing I’ve brought a tale as far as I can take it, and feeling the immense satisfaction of that.

What do you find the most challenging about writing?

I’m extremely fortunate to have a wide audience for my work, but the downside of that is the nagging doubt that I might be letting down my readers with my next project.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

A Crown of Wishes. Writing second books require an unhinging of your very soul. It’s the book that taught me I could produce a story I was fiercely proud of in an amount of time that I was sure would be the end of my career.

What pieces of art involving Asian women have caught your eye lately?

I’m a big fan of Kinuko Y. Craft’s work, and recently purchased my first piece from her!

What’s next for you? Any exciting new projects?

I’m working on my first, adult nonfantasy project, and it’s been hugely rewarding. This summer, I’ve got my first audio novella releasing from Audible called AGAIN UPON A TIME. I can’t wait to share it with you!

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Artist | Audrey Naiva

ThePower of Asian-Americans at the 46

Written by Ashley Chen

Polls

VOTE!

Ashley Chen is the political columnist for Overachiever Magazine. She’s an undergraduate student from New York majoring in Political Science. Her activism is centered upon voter education and civic engagement. Her other areas of interest would include educational equity, reproductive rights, gentrification, climate change and the list goes on. In her free time, she loves to watch films and create collages.

INSTAGRAM: @ash.leyyyy

The 2020 United States presidential election is around the corner and there seems to be a sense of urgency in the air this time around. This feeling is amplified when we turn on the news to hear discriminatory policies being proposed or a xenophobic tweet from the President of the United States.

This past January, the Trump administration announced they were expanding the Muslim Ban, which would include countries like Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania (1). Furthermore, his recent reference of COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” is another indication of his hateful rhetoric. Unfortunately, it creates spaces where this type of behavior is acceptable and normalized. However, we can express our grievances towards this administration by engaging ourselves in our democracy.

Before the general presidential election in November, it is essential that we participate in our upcoming primaries and caucuses that will decide the Democratic nominee. To say that our democratic process is simple is an overstatement, as there are deep flaws within the system. One component of this flawed institution is the lack of an automatic voter registration system when one turns eighteen years old. Therefore, it is vital that we register to vote in order to participate in the progressive change that is only made possible when we head to the polls. Registering to vote is the first step in being a civically engaged citizen, and I encourage you to take that step because your decisions will influence the course of American history. Given that this is a platform that is meant to be utilized as a resource, here is a link to register to vote: https://vote.gov Overachiever Magazine works tirelessly to amplify and give spaces for the Asian community – mobilizing the Asian-American community to participate in our democratic process is at the top of our agenda. During the 2016 election, Asian-American voter turnout was only about 49%, which is relatively low in comparison to other groups (2). The notion that Asian-Americans don’t believe in voting or that we are simply too busy to vote are statements used to disguise the systemic issues within our democracy. It is in fact the lack of outreach within these communities that leads to low voter turnout. Without accurate information about candidates, polling stations and sometimes ballot questions, people will be further discouraged from going to the polls. The statistics are staggering when it comes to this issue. 74 percent of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and 71 percent of Asian Americans across the U.S. reported that they were not contacted about the election in 2016 (3). Our democracy was not created for people of color which is evident till this day. The inaccessibility of voter information and resources is a testament to the disregard for minority communities, specifically the Asian community with regards to the political landscape. However, we must find other ways to inform the Asian-American community about the importance of representation. When we demonstrate our power, we become visible to politicians who have disregarded us for far too long. The legitimacy and power of politicians comes from us and we must exercise our power to make sure that they are responsive to the issues that directly impact our communities.

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In order to increase voter-turnout among the Asian-American community, here are some tips to foster civic engagement within your communities: Organize voter registration drives at your local community center, parks or other public forums. The most important part of organizing is finding ways to engage with members of your community and facilitate conversations about the issues. When we allow for conversation, we are able to collectively understand the need for action.

There is a lot of misinformation and miscommunication within politics. If you are able to provide accurate and relevant information about the candidates, share that information with people.

Inform people about the policies of each candidate. Be a resource for your peers and community members.

Education is the most important asset that we have and when we are armed with education going into these voting booths, we are able to start a revolution within those spaces.

On election day, carpool your neighbors and friends to your polling station. Most people are discouraged to vote because of the inconvenience of the polling location. The system itself is already difficult, but you can make it less daunting by removing that barrier. In addition, Lyft is offering free and/or discounted rides to the polling stations on election day. There are no excuses to not head to the polls.

We often forget that voting in this country is a right, not a privilege. We deserve to express our grievances and issues with the policies being proposed. We have the right to demand for reformation within institutions. Therefore, when we head to the polls, we are planting seeds for a major political revolution. So here’s to the political revolution and I hope to see the Asian-American community being dominating forces in the upcoming elections. See you at the polls!

VOTE!

Footnote: https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/ http://aapidata.com/blog/voting-gains-gaps/ https://naasurvey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/NAAS2016-Oct5-report.pdf

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