Editing Asian Americans (section)

===Model minority===
{{Main|Model minority}}
Asian Americans are sometimes characterized as a [[model minority]] in the United States<ref name="Am. J. Health Behav.">{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=S. |last2=Martinez |first2=G. |last3=Ma |first3=G. |last4=Hsu |first4=C. E. |last5=Robinson |first5=E. S. |last6=Bawa |first6=J. |last7=Juon |first7=H.-S. |date=January–February 2010 |title=Barriers to Health Care Access in 13 Asian American Communities |editor-last=Glover |editor-first=Elbert D. |editor-link=Elbert Glover |journal=[[American Journal of Health Behavior]] |publisher=PNG Publications and Scientific Research Limited |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=21–30 |doi=10.5993/AJHB.34.1.3 |issn=1945-7359 |pmc=6628721 |pmid=19663748 |s2cid=31669071}}</ref> because many of their cultures encourage a strong work ethic, a respect for elders, a high degree of professional and academic success, a high valuation of family, education and religion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asian-nation.org/model-minority.shtml |title=The Model Minority Image |last1=Le |first1=C.N. |year=2001 |work=Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America |publisher=C.N. Le |access-date=February 18, 2013 |archive-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215190459/http://www.asian-nation.org/model-minority.shtml |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite book |last=Wu |first=Frank H. |title=Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White |chapter=The Model Minority: Asian American 'Success' as a Race Relations Failure |chapter-url=http://www.faculty.umb.edu/lawrence_blum/courses/318_11/readings/wu_model_minority.pdf |access-date=February 18, 2013 |year=2002 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |isbn=9780465006403 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/yellow00fran/page/39 39–77] |url=https://archive.org/details/yellow00fran/page/39 }}</ref> Statistics such as high household income and low incarceration rate,<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080716060754/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#jail |date=July 16, 2008 |title=''Bureau of Justice Statistics: Criminal Offenders Statistics'' }}, November 13, 2005. (archived from [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#jail the original] on July 16, 2008)</ref> low rates of many diseases, and higher than average life expectancy are also discussed as positive aspects of Asian Americans.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2114957/ |magazine=Slate |title=The Soft Bigotry of Life Expectancy |author=William Saletan |author-link=William Saletan |date=March 16, 2005 |quote=Asian-Americans were beating white life expectancy by six years among men and 6.5 years among women. |access-date=February 12, 2008 |archive-date=March 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307043920/http://www.slate.com/id/2114957 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The implicit advice is that the other minorities should stop protesting and emulate the Asian American work ethic and devotion to higher education. Some critics say the depiction replaces biological racism with cultural racism, and should be dropped.<ref>Chih-Chieh Chou, "Critique on the notion of model minority: an alternative racism to Asian American?", ''Asian Ethnicity'', October 2008, Vol. 9#3 Issue 3, pp 219–229</ref> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', "the idea that Asian Americans are distinct among minority groups and immune to the challenges faced by other people of color is a particularly sensitive issue for the community, which has recently fought to reclaim its place in social justice conversations with movements like #ModelMinorityMutiny."<ref name=YananWang>{{cite news|last1=Wang|first1=Yanan|title=Asian Americans speak out against a decades-old 'model minority' myth|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/20/asian-americans-speak-out-against-a-decades-old-model-minority-myth/|access-date=January 12, 2016|agency=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 20, 2015|archive-date=January 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105121219/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/20/asian-americans-speak-out-against-a-decades-old-model-minority-myth/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The model minority concept can also affect Asians' public education.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Revathy |last2=Maehr |first2=Martin L. |editor1-first=Judith L. |editor1-last=Meece |editor2-first=Jacquelynne S. |editor2-last=Eccles |chapter=Schooling, Cultural Diversity, and Student Motivation |title=Handbook of Research on Schools, Schooling and Human Development |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnrxPTyhCRMC&q=%22Asian%20American%22%20%22risk%20taking%22%20confidence%20empowered%20%22model%20minority%22&pg=PA314 |access-date=February 19, 2013 |year=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780203874844 |page=314 |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326122542/https://books.google.com/books?id=FnrxPTyhCRMC&q=%22Asian+American%22+%22risk+taking%22+confidence+empowered+%22model+minority%22&pg=PA314 |url-status=live }}</ref> By comparison with other minorities, Asians often achieve higher test scores and grades compared to other Americans.<ref>"Asian Americans outperform whites in terms of their overall or average grades (GPA), grades in math, and test scores in math", [http://www.mfas.ucr.edu/publications/Handbook_of_Asian_American_Psychology_Chapter-Ruth_6-27-05.doc School Performance] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221225215/http://www.mfas.ucr.edu/publications/Handbook_of_Asian_American_Psychology_Chapter-Ruth_6-27-05.doc |date=February 21, 2012 }}, Tseng, V., Chao, R. K., & Padmawidjaja, I. (2007). Asian Americans educational experiences. In F. Leong, A. Inman, A. Ebreo, L. Yang, L. Kinoshita, & M. Fu (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American Psychology, (2nd Edition) Racial and Ethnic Minority Psychology (REMP) Series (pp. 102–123). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications (MS Word format, via [http://www.mfas.ucr.edu Multicultural Families and Adolescents Study] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228153329/http://www.mfas.ucr.edu/ |date=February 28, 2008 }}, [http://www.mfas.ucr.edu/publications/ Publications] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060920064027/http://www.mfas.ucr.edu/publications/ |date=September 20, 2006 }}).</ref> Stereotyping Asian American as over-achievers can lead to harm if school officials or peers expect all to perform higher than average.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Yang |first=Wesley |date=8 May 2011 |title=Paper Tigers |url=http://nymag.com/news/features/asian-americans-2011-5/ |magazine=New York Magazine |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=May 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507032651/http://nymag.com/news/features/asian-americans-2011-5/ |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite magazine |last=Shankar |first=Shalini |date=6 April 2015 |title=Fifty years on, the overachiever stereotype is still hurting Asian Americans |url=https://qz.com/376677/watch-new-documentary-proves-model-minority-stereotype-hurts-more-than-it-helps/ |magazine=Quartz |publisher=Atlantic Media Inc. |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202600/https://qz.com/376677/watch-new-documentary-proves-model-minority-stereotype-hurts-more-than-it-helps/ |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite book|author=Nicholas Daniel Hartlep|title=The Model Minority Stereotype: Demystifying Asian American Success|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OH-2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96|date=1 June 2013|publisher=IAP|isbn=978-1-62396-360-6|page=96|access-date=June 1, 2018|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530112935/https://books.google.com/books?id=OH-2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96|url-status=live}}</ref> The very high educational attainments of Asian Americans has often been noted; in 1980, for example, 74% of Chinese Americans, 62% of Japanese Americans, and 55% of Korean Americans aged 20–21 were in college, compared to only a third of the whites. The disparity at postgraduate levels is even greater, and the differential is especially notable in fields making heavy use of mathematics. By 2000, a plurality of undergraduates at such elite public California schools as [[UC Berkeley]] and [[UCLA]], which are obligated by law to not consider race as a factor in admission, were Asian American. The pattern is rooted in the pre-World War II era. Native-born Chinese and Japanese Americans reached educational parity with majority whites in the early decades of the 20th century.<ref>Charles Hirschman and Morrison G. Wong, "The Extraordinary Educational Attainment of Asian-Americans: A Search for Historical Evidence and Explanations", ''Social Forces'', September 1986, Vol. 65#1 pp 1–27</ref> One group of writers who discuss the "model minority" stereotype, have taken to attaching the term "myth" after "model minority", thus encouraging discourse regarding how the concept and stereotype is harmful to Asian American communities and ethnic groups.<ref>Museus, Samuel D.; Kiang, Peter N. (2009-03). "Deconstructing the model minority myth and how it contributes to the invisible minority reality in higher education research". ''New Directions for Institutional Research''. '''2009'''(142): 5–15. [[Digital object identifier|doi]]:10.1002/ir.292. [[International Standard Serial Number|ISSN]] 0271-0579.</ref>

The model minority concept can be emotionally damaging to some Asian Americans, particularly since they are expected to live up to those peers who fit the stereotype.<ref>{{cite news|title=Asians Often Burdened as Model Minority |first=Doris |last=Nhan |url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/education/asians-often-burdened-as-model-minority-20120511 |newspaper=National Journal |date=May 15, 2012 |access-date=February 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109055547/http://nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/education/asians-often-burdened-as-model-minority-20120511 |archive-date=January 9, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref> Studies have shown that some Asian Americans suffer from higher rates of stress, depression, mental illnesses, and suicides in comparison to other groups,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Mental_Health_and_Depression_in_Asian_Americans.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121220201/http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Mental_Health_and_Depression_in_Asian_Americans.pdf|url-status=dead|title="Mental Health and Depression in Asian Americans"|archive-date=January 21, 2015}}</ref> indicating that the pressures to achieve and live up to the model minority image may take a mental and psychological toll on some Asian Americans.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=Push to achieve tied to suicide in Asian-American women |first=Elizabeth |last=Cohen |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/16/asian.suicides/ |newspaper=CNN |date=May 16, 2007 |access-date=February 19, 2013 |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131102128/http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/16/asian.suicides/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[American Psychological Association]] has published a paper relying on 2007 data that takes issue with what is said are myths about the suicide rates of Asian Americans.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Suicide Among Asian Americans |url=https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/asian-american/suicide |publisher=[[American Psychological Association]] |access-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412053356/https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/asian-american/suicide |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Alongside mental and psychological tolls that the model minority concept has on Asian Americans,<ref name=":1" /> they are also faced with the repercussions that it has on [[Health status of Asian Americans#cite note-:4-31|physical health]] and the desire for individuals to seek medical care more specifically cancer screening or treatment. Asian Americans, between the other racial/ethnic groups in the United States, are the only group with the leading cause of death being cancer while having significantly low rates of cancer screenings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chen |first=Moon S. |date=2005 |title=Cancer health disparities among Asian Americans |journal=Cancer |volume=104 |issue=S12 |pages=2895–2902 |doi=10.1002/cncr.21501 |pmid=16270313 |s2cid=27078800 |issn=0008-543X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Different pressures like alienation if diagnosed or the desire to conform to stereotypes of the image of a healthy lifestyle<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee-Lin |first1=Frances |last2=Menon |first2=Usha |last3=Nail |first3=Lillian |last4=Lutz |first4=Kristin F. |date=September 2012 |title=Findings from Focus Groups Indicating what Chinese American Immigrant Women Think about Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Screening |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2012.01348.x |journal=Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing |volume=41 |issue=5 |pages=627–637 |doi=10.1111/j.1552-6909.2012.01348.x |pmid=22537294 |pmc=3410053 |issn=0884-2175}}</ref> can deter individuals from seeking cancer screenings or treatment before the onset of symptoms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kandula |first1=Namratha R. |last2=Wen |first2=Ming |last3=Jacobs |first3=Elizabeth A. |last4=Lauderdale |first4=Diane S. |date=2006 |title=Low rates of colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer screening in Asian Americans compared with non-Hispanic whites |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cncr.21968 |journal=Cancer |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=184–192 |doi=10.1002/cncr.21968 |pmid=16721803 |s2cid=33239504 |issn=0008-543X}}</ref>

The "model minority" stereotype fails to distinguish between different ethnic groups with different histories.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fuchs |first=Chris |date=22 August 2017 |title=Behind the 'Model Minority' Myth: Why the 'Studious Asian' Stereotype Hurts |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/behind-model-minority-myth-why-studious-asian-stereotype-hurts-n792926 |work=NBC News |access-date=27 March 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327150405/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/behind-model-minority-myth-why-studious-asian-stereotype-hurts-n792926 |url-status=live }}</ref> When divided up by ethnicity, it can be seen that the economic and academic successes supposedly enjoyed by Asian Americans are concentrated into a few ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mohan |first=Pavithra |date=12 July 2018 |title=Here's another reason why the "model minority" myth is so damaging |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90201530/heres-another-reason-why-the-model-minority-myth-is-so-damaging |magazine=Fast Company |publisher=Mansueto Ventures |access-date=27 March 2019 |archive-date=March 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328065400/https://www.fastcompany.com/90201530/heres-another-reason-why-the-model-minority-myth-is-so-damaging |url-status=live }}</ref> Cambodians, Hmong, and Laotians (and to a lesser extent, Vietnamese) all have relatively low achievement rates, possibly due to their [[refugee]] status, and the fact that they are non-voluntary immigrants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asian-nation.org/demographics.shtml |title=Socioeconomic Statistics & Demographics : Asian-Nation :: Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues |publisher=Asian-Nation |access-date=November 11, 2012 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008013054/http://www.asian-nation.org/demographics.shtml |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite news |title=Asian Americans to Pew Study: We're Not Your 'Model Minority' |first=Julianne |last=Hing |url=http://www.thehartfordguardian.com/2012/06/22/asian-americans-to-pew-study-were-not-your-model-minority/ |newspaper=The Hartford Guardian |date=June 22, 2012 |access-date=June 22, 2012 |archive-date=December 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209115813/http://www.thehartfordguardian.com/2012/06/22/asian-americans-to-pew-study-were-not-your-model-minority/ |url-status=live }}</ref>