Someone once told me, âYouâre lucky, youâre Asian. Your stereotypes are all positive, like all Asians are smart, or all Asians are good at math.â
Do you know the problem with Asian stereotypes?Â
The problem is that when I get an A on a test, people say, âOh, sheâs Asian, of course she got an Aâ.Â
The problem is that when our badminton team won state, people said, âOh, theyâre Asian, of course theyâre good at badmintonâ.Â
The problem is that when my sister got into MIT, I heard people saying, âWell, sheâs Asian, so of course she got into MITâ.Â
When my friend wins a piano competition, people said he won because âall Asians are good at piano.â
I got an A on that test because I did my homework every day and studied for hours.
Our badminton team won state because we train 9 hours a week, all year round.
My sister got into MIT because she spent hours agonizing over her essays, because she stayed up ridiculously late doing homework and studying for tests.
Yes, I agree, a lot of the Asians I know are very smart, and many Asians excel in music and extracurriculars. Do you know why? Itâs because of their parents, who yell at them when their grades drop, when they donât practice enough. Itâs the hours spent crying, the times you consider cheating because you donât have time to study. Itâs your bleeding fingers and aching shoulders, but you havenât practiced enough.Â
Because when we donât succeed, all we hear is countless people telling us, âYouâre Asian, arenât Asians supposed to be smart?â âArenât Asians supposed to be good at piano?â âArenât Asians supposed to succeed at everything without trying?â
Do not invalidate our hard work by saying our achievements are a result of our ethnicity.
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