I like to think of The World Through Rose Coloured Glasses as a place where I can dissect social issues and share helpful resources. I used to wonder if there were enough social issues to cover one each month. In the 10 months since I launched this blog (and despite missing a few months), I have stopped feeling this way. There will always be something new (or old) to talk about. There will always be something that requires our attention and support. Right now, many issues require our immediate attention and action including the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the legacy of residential schools in Canada after the alarming discovery of 215 child remains in Kamloops, BC this past weekend. However, May is Asian Heritage month in Canada and Asian Pacific-American Heritage month in the US. While there are a plethora of other issues that require our attention, this blog post will discuss the model minority myth and the widespread anti-Asian racism that has been happening since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
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| The Honourable Doctor Vivienne Poy signing the official declaration to designate May as Asian Heritage Month in May 2002. |
MODEL MINORITY MYTH
People of Asian descent were, and still are, considered less than white settlers in North America. Yet, they are also expected to be docile, have a good work ethic and have a desire to be successful, intelligent, and wealthy. This is what is known as the model minority myth, and it really is just a myth. Asians are not a homogenous group and labeling them as a model minority is problematic and unfair. Moreover, the portrayal of Asians as model minorities came about in part in the 1950s and 1960s as a way to discredit the Civil Rights Movement and the African Americans who were demanding racial and economic justice at that time. Asians were seen as a race that did not want to upset the status quo. After decades of overt discrimination at the hands of North American governments, Asian Americans and Canadians are expected to continue to live up to these myths. This in and of itself is an injustice.
ASIAN FETISHISM
In addition to the model minority myth, Asian women are fetishized and hypersexualized. They are portrayed as docile and submissive, making them targets for men who wish to assert their dominance. Massage parlor workers and sex workers are especially at risk as we know from the Atlanta shooting that occurred in March, where 6 of the 8 victims were women of Asian descent. The way their race intersects with their gender makes them uniquely vulnerable to violence. This cannot be ignored. We must uplift and protect Asian women.
ANTI-ASIAN RACISM
This brings us to the anti-Asian racism that has been rampant throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A Canadian website called Fight COVID Racism (covidracism.ca) has reported over 1,000 incidents of anti-Asian violence from March 2020 to February 2021. Asian Americans and Canadians are NOT responsible for the spread of COVID-19. I cannot even comprehend how people can think that they are. These individuals are Canadian and have a right to exist in peace and safety just like everyone else. Together it is our responsibility to condemn hate in all its forms. We must all be anti-racist. If you haven't already, I encourage you to check out the YouTube video "Eyes Open: An Anti-Asian Racism PSA" which was published by the Chinese Canadian National Council-For Social Justice earlier this month. I have inserted it below.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGQtaCyp8f8I named this blog The World Through Rose Coloured Glasses because I am an optimist. However, the current state of the world upsets me more than I have words to express. Everyday, I am reminded that atrocities and injustices happen. And yet, I still think there is hope. I have to have hope, otherwise everything, including the small steps I take to educate myself and others with this blog, is pointless. I will continue to actively learn more about the experiences of people of Asian descent in Canada. I will lift up Asian Canadians whenever I can and I will not stand for anti-Asian racism. What will you do?
ORANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT
Butterfly
https://www.butterflysw.org/8callsforjustice
Chinese Canadian National Council-For Social Justice
https://ccncsj.ca/
Red Canary
https://www.redcanarysong.net/
BOOKS
Unfortunately, I realized I have not read many books by authors of Asian descent. That will quickly change now that I am aware of it. With that being said, I have a few I can recommend. They are mostly lighter reads but I encourage everyone to read and understand the history of the model minority myth and how we have ended up in an age of unnecessary violence against people of Asian descent.
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Cartographies of Violence: Japanese Women, Memory, and Subjects of Internment by Mona Oikawa
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
REFERNCES
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/first-person-florence-hwang-model-minority-myth-1.6043978
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/anti-asian-racism-video-1.6027843
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/how-the-model-minority-myth-holds-asian-americans-back-at-work.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/17/us/asian-women-misogyny-spa-shootings-trnd/index.html
https://www.ryerson.ca/alumni/news-and-stories/2021/05/meet-dr-vivienne-poy-the-senator-behind-asian-heritage-month/
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