Hard-working. Determined. Self-made. Good at math. Until that last bit, one might’ve assumed this was a summary of the American dream. But wait, there’s more. Resourceful. Affluent. Highly educated. Tech-savvy. Obstacle-defying. Quiet. Driven. Keeps to themselves. Doesn’t “rock the boat.”
In combination, these attributes describe the model minority myth—a common characterization of Asian Americans since the 1960s. However, there are far deeper implications to the stereotype than surface-level platitudes, so much so that it seeps into the inner workings of faith and ministry. Still, how can those who serve Asian American teenagers find hope in the gospel and its application?
Model Minority Myth Origins
The model minority myth has been widely traced back to sociologist William Petersen, who wrote a January 1966 New York Times Magazine article titled Success Story, Japanese-American Style. It lauded Japanese Americans for overcoming discrimination, loss, and hardship. Petersen attributed this to their near-perfect, law-abiding citizenry, fervent dedication to education, and self-propelled striving, even as Executive Order 9066 forced Japanese Americans to be unjustly held at internment camps across parts of the Western and Southern U.S. during World War II.
By December 1966, the U.S. News & World Report released a similar magazine piece about Chinese Americans, Success Story of One Minority Group in U.S. It put them as exemplars of what minorities could accomplish through diligence and persistent self-sufficiency. They were rooted in familial and community ties, concentrated on academics, and refused government assistance. Yet it’s worth noting that U.S. lawmakers enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, barring Chinese persons from entering the country and becoming citizens for ten years. Immigration laws eventually relaxed with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which abolished national origins quotas and allowed for the rapid increase of Chinese persons in America’s major cities (i.e. Chinatowns).
The 1987 Time Magazine article, Education: The New Whiz Kids, revisited this myth. It outlined the saturation of Asian Americans in the country’s largest and most prestigious college and university STEM programs. It was through academic prowess, perfectionism, and excellence that an entire generation of high-performing individuals emerged among an increasingly diverse spread of Asian backgrounds compared to prior decades, which were mostly of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, and Koreans. At the same time, it’s Asian Americans themselves who have voiced concerns over the model minority myth and what it doesn’t communicate.
Stereotype Implications, Into a Gospel-Compelled Reality
At the outset, the model minority myth sounds “nice” for those who want to be received and accepted by the white status quo. Bear in mind, this isn’t to denounce whoever has wishes for such a position, nor is it meant to condemn whites in America. Instead, we must acknowledge that stereotypes are, by nature, oversimplified views of people groups based on limited—and often assumed—characteristics.
Still, the model minority stereotype pushes the false belief that if Asians don’t need help, then neither should other people groups. So, while Asians are cast in a favorable light, it implies that persons of black and Hispanic backgrounds are inferior. And by elevating one racial group, those not in that tier are labeled lazy and inadequate. Yet, such an assumption is simply false, especially considering the long-standing consequences of slavery and imperialism in U.S. history, which eventually brought on the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
But what about for Asians themselves? From the aforementioned Time Magazine article:
“…[it’s] a misleading stereotype that masks individuality and conceals real problems. Many immigrant families, especially the Indochinese refugees who arrived in the years following the fall of Saigon in 1975, remain mired in poverty. Their war-scarred children, struggling with a new language and culture, often drop out of school. Further, the majority of Asian-American students do not reach the starry heights of the celebrated few, and an alarming number are pushing themselves to the emotional brink in their quest for excellence. Many also detect signs of resentment among non-Asians, an updated ’yellow peril’ fear.”1
So then, how can we understand this in light of the gospel and minister to (and with) all Asian Americans?
Discovering Diversity
First, not all Asians and Asian Americans are the same. Different ethnic groups reflect a multitude of stories about coming to America and the hardships faced in doing so. While the umbrella of Asian American has historically comprised Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, and Koreans, plenty more groups can be included—such as Indian (South Asian), Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Mongolian, Indonesian. When we minimize these complex narratives, it casts a shadow over the historic difficulties of ethnic groups who immigrated to the U.S. earlier.
Foundationally, it ignores the truth of Scripture that everyone has been made purposefully, fearfully, and wonderfully in God’s image (Ps. 139:14). At the same time, even where differences in background and experiences occur, believers can be blessed to receive and extend gratitude and grace where our greatest commonality is trusting Christ for hope and eternal life beyond this world (John 3:16).
Shifting From Acheivement to Rest
Second, the pressures to achieve and “make it” are unrealistic enough to paralyze young persons towards overwhelming distress that inhibits daily living. Whether felt externally or internally, it breeds unhealthy comparisons. It establishes, promotes, and perpetuates unrealistic expectations of performance, perfectionism, and piety; a striving that never ceases. It can produce byproducts like mental health struggles (anxiety, depression, suicide) and fractured relationships. It can also breed constant discontent and dissatisfaction.
Faith and spirituality become exhaustingly performative. It causes students and ministers alike to wonder: When will I ever be good enough? How can Jesus accept and love someone like me if I can’t measure up to everyone else? This mentality breeds the belief that you can define a person by what they produce; that they don’t have value unless they do something that those in and outside of the church community can recognize and celebrate.
Similarly, the model minority myth can cause students and congregants alike to subconsciously adhere to standards of church involvement that are far more cultural than biblical. The gospel, though, is rest. In The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School: Asian American Edition, Rooted Ministry’s founder Cameron Cole writes, “The gospel means Jesus carries the burden of your life. The gospel means you’ll never have to prove yourself again. You are loved apart from your performance.” The gospel releases believers from an achievement-forward faith based on works for God, to a faith that abides in and with Christ.
Reconciling With Others
Third, Asian Americans might never be fully accepted because of looking like a “forever foreigner.” In spite of perceived success, there’s a sad irony where two drastically different views of Asian Americans exist simultaneously. On one hand, they’re commended for their accolades, sense of family and community, and upward mobility attained without government help. On the other hand, they’re a source of anguish and bitterness under the view of “yellow peril” and for not looking like an American (i.e., white).
Conversely, those who minister to and among Asian Americans can remind students and congregants how the greatest acceptance comes from Christ’s knowing and loving them. As we have been received and welcomed by Jesus, we too can do the same for those around us (Rom. 15:7).
With that, Asian Americans have a unique role of being reconcilers. They appear non-American, are far ahead academically, are described as good citizens, and are in a unique position of being between people groups. They are not fully absorbed into mainstream American society. Then again, they’re able to empathize with other ethnic and racial experiences. What a transformative reality we could witness and partake in if people groups begin to truly understand one another and be in community together peaceably—that is a picture of heaven (Rev. 7:9).
True Acceptance
I confess: I used to believe the model minority was a good thing because I wanted to be affirmed by and seen as equals with my predominantly white peers. I thought, “If I did everything my non-Asian classmates did, but better, maybe I would finally be accepted.” What that revealed is how I believed my value was rooted in what I could do and being recognized for it. Being a child of the living God who created me with intention barely crossed my mind.
To depart from the model minority stereotype, we must recognize people as they are. Asian Americans and other people groups alike cannot be reduced to a statistic or data point. They must be honored as individuals and families, each with their own set of circumstances, struggles, brokenness, and stories of how God has met them. To dignify any people group above others is to devalue and dehumanize persons who have all been made in God’s image and submit to a social hierarchy which God never established in his Word.
To follow a better narrative, we must uproot the lies we’ve often believed about ourselves and our communities. Rather than defaulting to generalizations or fatalism, we must return to faithful fellowship for the sake of reflecting and believing the gospel in all wholeness, for all people.
For more conversations about relevant and contextual ministry topics, check out The Rooted Asian American Youth Ministry Roundtable podcast which aims to advance gospel-centered youth ministry with those serving in Asian American youth ministry contexts and students.
- Brand, David. “Education: The New Whiz Kids.” Time, August 30, 1987. https://time.com/archive/6710164/education-the-new-whiz-kids/.
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