The media lowers Asian self-confidence … now what?

For many of my fellow Asians across the country, the characters they see representing them in the media only serve to unwittingly bring about embarrassment, self-loathing and a stunning loss of identity. And I have had all of those feelings in my life.

Within the media, Asians have historically been cast in stereotypical roles, often as a side character, comedic relief, or merely to reinforce widely held stereotypes. A recent example of this is Ned, played by Jacob Batalon, in Marvel’s Spider Man Homecoming. Ned’s character is included for comedic purposes, particularly as a Lego-loving, chubby sidekick. Other stereotypical roles that are included across films and genres include overbearing tiger parents, oversexualized women, nerdy men aspiring to become doctors, kung-fu action stars, gangsters, etc. The worst part is that many speak broken English, even though the actors themselves are fluent. 

These ignorant depictions have perpetuated a society that doesn’t see a need to fully understand Asian culture. A study by Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH) showed that 42% of Americans can’t name even one famous Asian American. That’s truly disappointing, yet unsurprising. Even worse, it impacts the Asian community itself. Pioneer High School student Alysa Zhu says that lack of Asian representation has “made me less appreciative of my culture… and I struggle to appreciate it even within myself.” 

Constantly seeing beautiful white people as leads and nerdy Asian computer scientists as side characters creates a culture where Asian masculinity is questioned. John Cho, one of the few Asian actors to land desirable lead roles such as Sulu in Star Trek, had to fight through serious challenges related to his masculinity. In a May 2015 interview with theworld.org, he said,  “We believe what girls tell us, what the movies tell us- that we’re not supposed to be leaders, we’re not masculine and we’re weak, all those things,” he said . Cho’s frustration is shared by John Shim, who wrote a piece in UCLA’s The Daily Bruin:  “I feel cheated out of a myriad of romantic experiences that could have been brought to fruition were I not an Asian male,” he said. 

I am immensely grateful that I haven’t had to look to the media for role models. My parents don’t let the media dictate how they should act and they raised me with the same mindset. I live with my role models. But I worry for those who don’t. We all remember being young and impressionable as kids or teens. The kids who don’t have role models at home look to the media and their friends to find identity. And sadly, for many Asian youth, that means trying to become white because Hollywood will tell you that’s the only way to be the main character in everyday life. 

Shankrith Chandru, a Pioneer High student of Indian heritage, says that had he been asked to identify as more white or more Asian two years ago, “I would 100 percent say more white, just because I thought that being more white was how I could have more friends, have more fun,” he said.

Sara Chang, who led Asian students regarding their faith at Intervarsity Christian Fellowship  at the University of Michigan, felt the same way when she was younger: “Growing up, especially because I was adopted by white parents, I always wanted to be white. I didn’t love myself; didn’t feel like who I was created to be was valuable and worthwhile,” she said.

Chang’s statement has undoubtedly been echoed by countless other Asians across the country. What they see on TV, what they read in books (Ximena Chin in the popular book Wonder is portrayed as one-dimensionally smart), and what they see in commercials — all of these representations lock these kids into narrow paths that they feel are the only paths they can take. All representation is not necessarily accurate representation. 

One such path that kids can take is to listen to the media, to listen to the stereotypes, and to be reduced and limited to the roles our culture and media offers. While there may be some Asians who desire this path, there are many others who only do so because they feel like that’s what’s expected of them. If Asian youth only see adult Asians as doctors, computer scientists, gangsters, and kung-fu masters on screen, they feel limited in what roles they can choose. In their minds, if they choose these professions, they can at least be partially accepted into society. And if they choose differently, venturing into fields or vocations where there is hardly any representation, they have to face a whole new set of challenges. 

The same is true in sports: “You always have to doubly prove yourself because people see you and think that you can’t be that good because you’re Asian,” said Bert Chi, Senior Product Manager at DraftKings.

The second path is when Asians make fun of their culture with hopes of fitting in. To try to become more accepted, Asian youth, embarrassed by  racist depictions, often seek to be the opposite of what those depictions say, and will try to become “more white” by putting down their own culture. “They try to play the role that other people want them to play, in order to succeed,” said Chandru. “Say I’m an Indian guy and I make fun of a bunch of Indian people just to make my way to the top. I’m not only showing my family and people that I don’t stand for them, I’m showing the white people that it’s okay to stomp on such Indian people because I do it myself.” 

On the other hand, Asians shouldn’t pretend to be dumb just because of the “smart Asian stereotype.” While writing your own narrative is a good thing, writing a narrative solely for the sake of breaking stereotypes is not.  Just because Asians are portrayed as smart in the media doesn’t mean that one should act dumb in class or a work environment. I have been a victim of this mindset. Recently, I started thinking about why I was so bent on keeping tan. No, it wasn’t to look good (although that couldn’t hurt), but I wanted to look different from stereotypical Asians in the media. And this was wrong. I shouldn’t have worried about getting a tan so I could look different from other Asians. The tan is a by-product of spending a lot of time outside and that’s who I am. Asians shouldn’t break stereotypes for the sake of breaking stereotypes. In doing so, we lose sight of who we really are. It sounds cliché, but the best path to take is the path where we stay true to ourselves. 

When we do this, we end up breaking stereotypes because we are no longer giving power to someone else’s narrative. The power of stereotypes becomes useless because one of the most powerful qualities of humans is that we are all different. So when people of a racial group decide to stay true to who they are, they cannot be generalized into one stereotype–we are all unique. 

The way to stay true to ourselves while being strong enough to combat the messages of the media is to surround ourselves with strong role models. Dr. David Chao, director of the Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary, said in an interview that role models “actualize your imagination… they embody pathways and vocations and they kind of give a story for what’s possible.” Not until recently did I reflect on my previous experiences and realize that my identity today would have been quite different if it were not for the inspirations around me. My identity was saved and protected by strong parents who taught me that other people do not get to have a say in how I live my life. Thanks to them, the racist depictions of my skin color in the media embarrassed me, but they did not stop me. In times of doubt, I looked to my father–a pillar of rock that pushed me to be the best of myself–and to my mother–a shining voice of reason that made me feel comfortable in my own skin. I know that others feel the same way. Software engineer Chris Combs, who is biracial, says that the difference his parents made in his life was “huge” and, “because of their support, I didn’t feel a super strong need to see representation in whatever I wanted to do… just because I had that stability.” 

So, to all the beautifully unique Asians out there, I have a message: Be that role model to someone today. Somewhere in your community, there is a kid who needs you to tell them that they can be whomever they want to be, not who the media says they have to be. Work hard to represent your identity and push for those representations in culture and media. But do more than that. 

“Yes, representation is important… I will always advocate for more Asian American representation… But just because you have representation does not mean that the industry becomes more just,” said Princeton’s Chao. It isn’t enough for Asians and Asian Americans to be represented in the media and across all industries. Make sure that you have kicked down the door so that the next person doesn’t have to endure the hardships that you did. Do your best to take down the structures and policies that weighed you down and rebuild new ones. Lead by example. Staying true to yourself will show others that they can, too. 

Our skin is beautiful. 

Our culture is beautiful. 

Asian is beautiful.