The Model Minority Myth: Effect on Asian American Mental Health
Anyone who has turned on the news or scrolled through social media in the last few years can attest to the fact that the entire American socio-political landscape has been recently upturned. Many have gone so far as to hail it as a reawakening of racial understanding akin to that of the Civil Rights Era. For the first time in such significance since perhaps the 1950s, widespread genuine discussions of systemic racial inequality have been taking place. With this emergence of movements such as Stop Asian Hate and Black Lives Matter, people seem more cognisant than ever of the ethnic privileges and oppressions within American society. However, an aspect of this inequality that is often missed is the understanding that these discriminatory social systems have a significant effect on the mental health of minority groups. Specifically, The Model Minority Myth, the false lie created in order to deny African Americans the equality they were justly demanding, continues to pervade our society today and place an incredible burden on Asian mental health. 
The Model Minority Myth is the prevalent idea that Asian Americans are living the “American Dream.” Asians have to be perfect. In every standard and facet of their lives, they are supposed to outmatch and outperform their white counterparts. Even worse is that they do this for less recognition as the least likely group within the US to be promoted to management (Gee and Peck). Unwillingly enrolled into a lifelong competition to prove their use within American society, Asians are expected- by society and oftentimes even by themselves- to be naturally excelling, hardworking, obedient, and never in need of any help. It appears to fall on the shoulders of each and every Asian child and adult to prove their worth to American society by overworking themselves to meet seemingly unachievable standards. This idea exists on an incredibly far-reaching scale with 99.4% of high school participants reporting they had experienced the Model Minority stereotype at least once (Thompson and Kiang).
This stereotype can be seen permeating almost every aspect of American Mass culture from tv shows to movies and books. If there even are any represented, the asian character within a narrative is often there to exist as a comedic relief for audiences to laugh at the “school obsessed loner.” A great example of this trope and an indication of just how young this socialization begins is the character Ravi from the Disney Channel show “Jessie” who speaks in a heavy accent, has a pet lizard from India, and says things like “hello good family, who’s ready to get their learn on” (O’Connell, Are You Cooler Than a 5th Grader?). He is far from the only Asian Model Minority trope. In fact, an NBC study between 2010 and 2019 found that nearly half of the asian roles portrayed were “punchline” characters (Venkatraman). Most of the Asian characters within these narratives, if there are any at all, are hollow caricatures of the Model Minority Myth rather than real three dimensional people, which then leaves the sizable audiences of these media pieces with the same impression.
Understanding the origins of a racial stereotype can almost always help with deciphering the intents and effects of it. Although the Model Minority Myth, as all racial stereotypes, has an incredibly complex origin that is difficult to completely trace, there are undeniably several notable events within American history that serve as explanations for the existence of these generalizations. This group first began migrating to the US in large numbers in the 1850s, with the 1860 census then reporting over 34,000 Chinese people living in California (Gregory). The economically revolutionary events during that period that most were uprooting their lives to migrate for were the Gold Rush and construction of the Trans Continental Railroad. After the US acquisition of the California territory, it was discovered that the land had a wealth of gold, and people came from all over in 1848 to mine day and night in hopes of winning the gold lottery. A few years later, in 1863, the start of a massive undertaking to build a railroad connecting all over the contiguous United States brought migrants eager to fill the large quotas of labor that were needed. Expecting a chance at a better life and economic stability, migrants were instead met with racial discrimination born from the rampant xenophobia and orientalism of the time. Two examples of this discrimination in the several subsequent decades of US history are the Chinese Exclusion Act, an 1882 law restricting immigration of people of Chinese descent into America, and Japanese Internment, where 120,000 Japanese people- majority american citizens- were funneled into concentration camps during World War II (National Park Service). The 1960’s, however, marked an incredibly significant turning point in the American perception of Asians as a group. Sociologist William Peterson published a paper in the New York Times titled Success Story, Japanese-American Style, which portrayed Japanese people as one of the superior groups living in the US (Reynoso). Around this same time, as civil rights movements continued and many African Americans fought for equality in the face of segregation, corporate backed media continued to push Peterson’s model minority ideas. This created a duality where, despite vastly different circumstances and histories, Asian and African Americans were pitted against each other. By painting Asians as a model minority group of self-sufficient, successful individuals, the media perpetuated a flawed notion that Black people in America were struggling due to their “lazy” character rather than due to decades of income inequality and systemic prejudice. This unfortunately then also achieved the intended purpose of damaging solidarity between these two racial minority groups. 
Although the Model Minority Myth stereotypes may very well seem nothing more than flattering, they pose significant harm to the Asian American community. Asian youth specifically note facing significant academic pressures due to the stereotypes of them as straight A students prioritizing school over all else. An exhibit about the Model Minority myth done at the USC Asian Pacific Museum details the anonymous personal accounts several Asian students had in school settings. One student explains how these stereotypes affected her choices in high school by explaining that “In high school I did the stereotypical “Asian” things I thought I was supposed to do–play violin in orchestra, take as many AP classes as possible even at the expense of my mental health, and replace friends with columns of A’s on my report card” (USC Pacific Asia Museum). Another notes how these types of choices can have an effect on Asian youth, noting that “ It [The Model Minority Myth] definitely took a huge toll on my mental health in high school. My peers expected me to always be on top of things because I fit the mold of the perfect Asian American student.” Lastly, one student illustrates how these stereotypes and the stress they put on Asian youth can have broad impacts. They note how “The model minority myth is much more harmful than just one snide comment from a high schooler. It means Asian American students are more likely to commit suicide and less likely to seek mental health treatment.” The assertion that this student makes can also undeniably be backed with research. For example, the Center for Disease Control 2018 report shows that the primary cause of death for Asian youth aged 15-19 is suicide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This was true for no other racial group studied. The American Psychological Association also accounts that Asian American college students had higher rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts when compared to white counterparts (Hijioka and Wong). Suicidality is not the only concern; however, with alarming rates of mental illness also prevalent amongst the Asian community. Findings from the National Latino and Asian American Study found that 17.3% of Asian Americans will be diagnosed with a psychiatric condition at some point in their lifetime (Nishi). These rates of mental illness are made even more concerning when considering the statistical trend of increasing rates of mental illness that recent years have shown. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration studies show the rise of serious mental illness from 2.9 percent (47,000) to 5.6 percent (136,000) in AAPI people ages 18-25 between 2008 and 2018 (Ooki). These concerning trends can be tied back to the Model Minority Myth by understanding the amount of pressure they place on Asian youth, who feel they have to live up to these near impossible standards. Asian youth are made to feel as if they have to change every aspect of themselves and work to the point of burnout to measure up to the impossibly high expectations the world rests on their shoulders. The effects of this burden at a young age can be incredibly psychologically damaging and leads to this alarming data trend of suicidality and mental illness amongst Asians. 
Due to social stigma dating dating back decades, Asians are also far less likely to seek necessary professional help when faced with mental illness or suicidal inclinations. Stigma, a negative social attitude surrounding a topic or idea, has long been the cause of a lack of discussion or addressing of mental health issues in the Asian community. The exact causes of this are incredibly multifaceted with potential reasons including negative perception of disability, focus on ability to care for one’s community, fear of damaging family reputation, perpetual taboo around the subject, lack of education and resources, religious beliefs, and most notably the Model Minority Myth (Huizen). Effects of this stigma are clear with Asian Americans finding difficulty discussing mental health concerns with even family members, let alone professionals. In a tedx talk, Timothy Xu shares his experience of attempting to inform his well-meaning parents about his psychological struggles. He expresses that “While they both loved and cared for me, the Asian cultural mindset they were raised in was one in which mental health did not exist” (Xu.) The macro-level repercussions of this are also evident with Stanford medicine reports that Asian Americans are among the least likely to seek mental health care. One study in particular found that less than 9% sought any type of mental health services over one year compared with 18% of the general U.S. population (Stanford Medicine). Even when treatment is sought for the symptoms of mental illness, a study in the National Library of Medicine showed that Asian patients are likely to express psychological distress as physical complaints rather than recognizing and reporting them accurately (Kramer et al.).
The Model Minority Myth stereotype relies on characterization of Asian Americans as a whole, and this false assertion assumes them to be a relatively homogenous group. Asians are far from a monolith with vastly different ethnicities such as Japanese, Cambodian, Pakistani, and so many others falling under the umbrella term. Each of these groups also have vastly different historical experiences within the US. The US Census Bureau 2019 survey shows that people identifying themselves as Indian, Chinese, or Filipino make up the largest share of Asians in America. Even so, perceiving these groups as the only Asians completely fails to account the lived experiences of groups such as Laotian, Burmese, and Nepalese who have smaller population numbers in the US. For example, the same US census study found that compared to Indian Americans with the highest median household income amongst Asian Americans earning $127,000 a year, the lowest median household income earning Asian American group, Burmese Americans, earn $46,000 a year (U.S. Census Bureau). Failure to note the vast disparities within these groups under the “Asian” umbrella completely discounts the experiences of Asian groups in the US who have been historically affected more significantly by income inequality. 
Any income disparities between Asians and other minority groups can be attributed to vastly different histories in the United States rather than any particular hard working attitude or intellect. As mentioned earlier within the paper, the Model Minority Myth arose during the Civil Right Era in order to refuse granting African Americans the rights they were rightfully demanding. The idea was to ask Black Americans the condescending and frankly ridiculous question of: If Asian Americans can succeed as a racial minority in the United States, why can you not? To suggest that one group’s ability to prosper over another is due to some inherently hard working personal character is not only wholly racist white supremacist rhetoric, but also simply untrue. Any discrepancies in average income or education levels that do exist between these two groups can be explained with even a base level understanding of immigration history in the US. Black Americans were brought to the United States under slavery. This system that prevented the accumulation of any wealth continued for over 200 years. After that, Black Americans were still prevented from generating wealth due to black codes that funneled black men into prison systems for petty crimes such as “loitering” and “vagrancy” so white business owners would continue profiting off of the exploitation of their labor. WEB DuBois, prominent African American activist in the 1800s, put it best when he said “slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery” (Du Bois, 3). In comparison, Asian Americans, although they undeniably faced severe discrimination based on their race, were not prevented from accumulating wealth in the same way as they were able to hold jobs, as little pay as they were, for much of US history since their migration. To compare these two groups entirely discounts the considerable historical context from centuries of slavery, segregation, redlining, lynching, and more faced by Black Americans. 
Even aside from historical context, there is also very little evidence supporting this idea of “Asian exceptionalism”. The assumption that people typically operate under when falling into the Model Minority Myth is that Asian Americans, when compared to other racial minorities, have greater average income and education levels. However, this idea is overly unsubstantiated. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, members of 12 out of 19 Asian origin groups have poverty rates as high as or higher than the U.S. average. (U.S. Census Bureau). White House archives from 2012 data shows that 12%  of Asian Americans live in poverty (the White House). These numbers greatly increased during the pandemic, with Pew Research Center data showing that Asian Americans faced the sharpest increase in long-term unemployment (Bennett). Even within professional settings, 58% of Asian American respondents say racism in the workplace has damaged their relationship with their employer (Edelman Trust Barometer). As Christopher Tang notes in his LA Times opinion piece, “Asian Americans have a strong presence in corporate America, but they are [still] virtually absent in the executive suites” (Tang). The concept of Asian exceptionalism aims to sweep these issues under the rug, ignore the real economic hardships faced by many Asian Americans, and reduce Asians to arbitrary standards based on false assumptions. 
It is easy to understand how someone could look at the Model Minority stereotypes and assume them to be positive. After all, what could really be the issue with someone assuming your cultural group to consist of hardworking doctors? With both historical and statistical context; however, it becomes evident that the myth was never meant to serve Asians. The Model Minority Myth was created to paint Asians as a monolith, pit them against other racial minorities, and overall contribute to the pressure and “otherness” they feel within the United States. It is, and always will be, the responsibility of those within a society to address the stereotypes they hold and the effects of those. For it is only through collective awareness, reflection, and education that a stereotype changes. And, the Model Minority Myth idea absolutely needs to change. 

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