I Am More Than a Stereotype

Sadly all of us are stereotyped in one way or another. I have had what some would call several stereotypes put on me. I'm a democrat, I like NASCAR and I live in the Missouri Ozarks. So I'm a triple threat, that being said I do my best not to stereotype people but it's hard to be able to do that. Maybe with more practice I can get better.

Law professor Kenji Yoshino wrote a book, COVERING, about prejudice and stereotypes, not only about Asians but about Gays. Yoshino is a Gay Japanese American. Excellent book.

so, do you know off hand when Jewish heritage month is? i doubt it too..what does that make you?....I agree with everything you said; but unreal expectations are unreal with the multitude of people in one country we should expect respect towards each other but ...do you know alan king or why there is Jewish hospitals? no but i d hope you want to learn ..so i d slow down on pulling the trigger on this...

Eugene, thank you for pointing out examples of racism against Asian Americans. I think it is one of the most overlooked types of racism in our country. I really appreciate your discussions of diversity, in general, on SojoBlog. I am an Episcopalian, and I am hugely committed to my church, but I find you and the issues you bring to our attention so compelling that you make me long for a church community that is more diverse. Keep being a role model for us. I want to work for the day when individual churches are examples of the diversity of Christ's body. Standing up for oneself, like you advocate in this post, is a great way to combat racism, but the best way is to actually know individuals from stereotyped groups. If I'm ever in Seattle, I plan to visit Quest!

Thanks for that, Pastor Eugene. It's well-written and insightful--and inspiring.

I worshipped at Quest when I first moved to Seattle, about three years ago. (Now we live elsewhere.) I didn't make a church home there, because in the two times I worshipped there, no one said a word to me. Not a "welcome," not a smile. It's water under the bridge now--but I thought I'd mention it anyway, since I really enjoy your posts on GP, and I liked your services and preaching, too.

so, do you know off hand when Jewish heritage month is? i doubt it too..what does that make you?....I agree with everything you said; but unreal expectations are unreal with the multitude of people in one country we should expect respect towards each other but ...do you know alan king or why there is Jewish hospitals? no but i d hope you want to learn ..so i d slow down on pulling the trigger on this...

How do stereotypes make any sense if there is absolutely no truth, at least from the past, in the characterization in some way? Would it make sense for an African-American character in a Wendy's commercial to have their hair in a mullet? No, because that makes no sense whatsoever, it lacks context of any sort. Don't get me wrong, stereotyping is often inaccurate when applied to a particular individual, but it is not entirely without foundation.

There does seem to be a fine line that is not always easy to recognize. Last week, Craig Ferguson was imitating people from India. I found myself feeling a bit uncomfortable. But then I thought, "plenty of people do Scottish accents" (Ferguson is from Scotland), so what is the difference?

Some of the stereotypes Eugene points out are more obvious than others. I'm not sure I would have ever thought a bowl cut was a stereotype of an Asian person, especially since I just don't see a lot of people of any cultural heritage wearing a bowl-cut. I thought it was a stereotypical cut for a nerd, which perhaps is saying Asians are stereotyped as nerds...but there was a nerdy white guy, too. So to me, that stereotype was aimed at nerds rather than Asian people, or white people for that matter.

For me a good rule of thumb is to avoid those racial references that are blatantly stereotypical, and if someone points something out that they find offensive, to apologize and be more sensitive about it in the future. And with that said, I do think it is important for Eugene to point out the stereotypes he and many Asians find offensive, especially when many non-Asians may not realize they are offensive.

Eugene,

Have you ever considered that the stereotypes that we have adopted of Asian-Americans can actually be an asset? Rightly or wrongly, we have come to expect that Asian-Americans are intellectually superior. When you are part of a culture in which others have high expectations of you, then sometimes those can be self-fulfilling prophecies. (See the article above on the mixed race adoption.)

I agree, Squeaky. I think a stereotype becomes dangerous and negative-and frustrating to those being stereotyped-when it invites us to define someone by his race and not by who he is as an individual. White people are the dominant racial group represented in media, and our portrayals tend to be more individuated. i.e, when a white person appears on TV in a mullet, we think "Haha, redneck," not "Haha, white person." There's virtually zero chance anyone thinks all white people are rednecks. (Besides, being a redneck can be kind of a badge of honor in some circles. Just as Levi Johnston.)

Anyway, because other races receive less representation, every image counts-and as it happens, many of those images count toward reinforcing a stereotype. And that ends up being culturally marginalizing, because it says, "Look how different all those Asian people are from everybody else." And I think if you look at a lot of Asian stereotypes, what makes them pernicious is that they reinforce this idea that Asian Americans are "foreigners." The language thing, the food thing, the karate thing, even the driving thing all, at their core, portray Asians as strangers, no matter how long they or their families have been in the States.

As for "self-fulfilling prophecies," YES: sometimes stereotypes create expectations, and that's why negative stereotypes are so bad. And if everyone expects you to be good at math, and you turn out not to be so naturally skilled in math and fail to meet those expectations, that's not good either.

How about, "I am a child of God," "I am made in the image and likeness of God," "I am your brother in Christ"?

There does seem to be a fine line that is not always easy to recognize. Last week, Craig Ferguson was imitating people from India. I found myself feeling a bit uncomfortable. But then I thought, "plenty of people do Scottish accents" (Ferguson is from Scotland), so what is the difference?

Some of the stereotypes Eugene points out are more obvious than others. I'm not sure I would have ever thought a bowl cut was a stereotype of an Asian person, especially since I just don't see a lot of people of any cultural heritage wearing a bowl-cut. I thought it was a stereotypical cut for a nerd, which perhaps is saying Asians are stereotyped as nerds...but there was a nerdy white guy, too. So to me, that stereotype was aimed at nerds rather than Asian people, or white people for that matter.

For me a good rule of thumb is to avoid those racial references that are blatantly stereotypical, and if someone points something out that they find offensive, to apologize and be more sensitive about it in the future. And with that said, I do think it is important for Eugene to point out the stereotypes he and many Asians find offensive, especially when many non-Asians may not realize they are offensive.

I've been watching PBS almost exclusively for some reason. I think you reminded me of one of the other reasons I do this, in addition to the imposed state of ADD. All the Commercials should be bunched together at the very end of a program so you can go and do something productive for 10min. between programs. Finally the FCC is going to require them to turn the volume down.

Some of my favorite comedians however are Asian Females. They are the only ones who know what is really funny and what we should be laughing about.

I find myself admiring people like Margaret Cho because she completely defies stereotype. Be warned she is completely irreverent and pulls no punches.

http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?id=1592743

If you can, cut to the last two sections where she is talking to students at the High School where she was dismissed as a youth. She does not spare the people who honor her for Margaret Cho day of the alienation they have caused her in her youth.

By the way PBS did a documentary recently about the difficulties of Asian American performers in the entertainment and film industry. It was eye opening.

It would be such a joy to see Asian American comedians on PBS speaking their minds and doing what they feel is true to themselves.