Diverse Identities

"When you get bad grades, people look at you really strangely because you are sort of distorting the way they see an Asian."

(Koppelman 2011, pg 164)

We are all taught about racism in school.  We know what it is and how to prevent it from happening to those around us and ourselves.  But what some of us don't realize is that racism isn't just "black and white".  There are other people that get stereotyped and judged on a daily basis that seem to not be as controversial.  I am one of these people. 

I am Asian.  Technically, I am half-Japanese, yet no one could really notice.  To the everyday, average person, I have slanted eyes, so I must be Chinese.  I do not have an accent, yet people assume that I speak perfect Japanese (usually they assume it's perfect Chinese) and/or I may not speak/understand English very well. This assumption is very confusing to me, especially since my name is the very English, Nicole Richardson, not something obviously Asian, like Ling Ochiai.  I have been attending college for 3 and a half years now and am doing well.  Not because I'm Asian, but because I study and try hard to do well.  Yes, my parents pushed me to become this studious and hard working, but never made me study all day, every day.  Though I do wish they made me play instruments for hours during the day.  I've recently started playing the guitar with little to no luck on any musical skills. 

Speaking of my parents, they both work good paying state jobs, not at your local nail salon.  I happen to have nice nails, yes, but that's because I am a girl, not because I get a discount from my parents/cousin/any other family member.  As a family, we eat the same horrible food that every other American eats. This does not include cats and dogs.  Come to think of it, I don't even remember the last time I even used chopsticks.  We all drive American made cars, with a very minuscule traffic violation record I might add.   

Unfortunately, the stereotypes that I hear are some that I have a hard time overcoming.  Being thought of as "automatically" smart by the average person is almost a compliment.  Yet, this "positive stereotype" almost hurts my grades in the classroom rather than improve them.  Teachers tend to automatically assume that I should be turning in high letter grade work, and that results in them grading my work harsher or with higher expectations than others of different race around me.  Racist logic will lead people to believe that I, and others who share the same ethnic background, will attend good schools, like M.I.T., Princeton and others just like it.  Some people even use our "positive stereotype" as a model for other racially diverse students to rise up and meet academically.  (Koppelman 2011, pg 164)  Not only does this reinforce the stereotype, but sets up others for automatic failure.  What happens when I get a C? or a D? or even an F?  Instead of believing that this can happen to anyone, people assume there must be something wrong with me for me to not be excelling academically and still consider myself Asian.  Just because I was born into a race with a long history of stereotypes doesn't mean I have to abide by them. 

Koppelman, Kent L.  (2011), Perspectives on Human Differences.  Boston:  Pearson Education, Inc.