Posted by Lee Man Tsang on February 4, 2011 at 9:06pm
I care about my family and cultural expectations a lot. They are the key factors to shape who I am now. I emphasize my black eyes and single eye lids because they are the symbols of my Chinese background. Being raised in a traditional Chinese family, I have been trained to be a hardworking girl. My parents had high expectations of me to be a role model for my younger sister. Therefore, I generalized from this that all Chinese should be role models for other nationalities. This triggered me to consider and research about Americans’ stereotypes on people of Chinese descent. Do they also think that the Chinese are diligent in school? What reasons contribute to this diligence? Are all of them actually high achieving in American society without any difficulties? Is being the model minority really good? When studying in America, I developed a stronger sense of my Chinese identity. It is because I can communicate with people from different countries and understand their stereotype to Chinese people. Through daily interaction with Americans and conducting researches, I realized that the Americanized stereotypes about my people, the factors of Chinese diligence, and the difficulties and negative effects of being a role model. This has enabled me to think critically about the correctness of the stereotypes. My original perspective on being a Chinese person as a perfect role model has changed. I understand that we are all human beings in this world, and that we are all equal. It is arbitrary to say that one minority is superior to others. Therefore, studying aboard enhances my understanding of my personality, identity, and culture.
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