7 Stereotypes East Asians Are Tired of Hearing
- Caitlin Jordan
- Apr 2, 2017
- 3 min read
When people hear the word ‘Asian’ they usually think of individuals with slanted eyes, yellow skin and heavy accents. Said individuals are assumed to be black belts in martial arts and can even solve the hardest of maths equations with ease.
For whatever reason, people feel compelled to remind East Asians of well, how “East Asian” they are. Here are seven common Asian stereotypes that we deal with on a daily basis.
1) Are you Chinese?
You're just messing with me, right? You must be Chinese.
Credit: Redd Angelo, Unsplash
In some convoluted way, we must all be from China. It’s very perceptive of you to assume our nationality but unfortunately, not all East and Southeast Asians are Chinese. Even if we try to clarify that we are not Chinese, we’ll be interrupted so they can impress us with their geographical knowledge. Let’s play a game of “List all the East Asian” countries, shall we? Japanese? No. Korean? Nope. Are you sure you’re not Chinese? Excuse me, I feel like this conversation has done a full loop.
2) Is that your cousin across the street?
Oh, so you’re from the Philippines? I have a friend from the Philippines too. Maybe you know him.
Credit: Jason Ortego, Unsplash
The person then proceeds to show a picture of said friend, expecting me to go "Oh yes, I know Carlos very well, we see each other every week or so". As a firm believer of equally carrying a conversation it would only be right to respond with "You're English right? How often do you see Emma Watson? You must know her, introduce me please".
Then there's the stereotype saying we all look the same, hence we must all be related. I'm confident that I've never met the man you just pointed out but let's not dismiss the 0.1% chance that he could be my 10th cousin, thrice removed.
3) Yes, I speak Engrish vely werr.
I have no idea how to differentiate between the "l" and "r" phonetics, please enlighten me.
Credit: Dmitri Popov, Unsplash
Don't try to imitate the heavy accent as a poor attempt to humour us. I'd like to see you learn Mandarin and see how you get along.
4) Everybody was Kung Fu fighting.
Woah you must be a black belt, I don't want to get on your bad side.
Credit: Andrew Branch, Unsplash
In fact, please do get on my bad side. I've been wanting to practice my praying mantis style on someone and you seem like the perfect sparring partner.
This stereotype isn't that bad but it does get a tad annoying when you have to inform people that Asians are not automatically born with karate in their genes. Unfortunately, we don't have the inept ability to send people flying into walls.
5) How are you so smart?
Because I'm Asian, duh.
Credit: Les Anderson, Unsplash
If I was a maths whizz, why would I be doing journalism?
Assuming we're a race of geniuses is a bit much, but generally Asians do try to get all A's or the highest grade possible. Now that's down to some very simple reasons:
We want to stay in our parents' good books and aren't too keen on disappointing them.
Relatives and social circles have a tendency to gossip and judge.
There's nothing wrong with personally wanting to work hard and do well.
Some parents may be stricter on education and want their children to do well, but like every race out there we have a range when it comes to intelligence.
6) So like, you eat dogs?
I personally haven't tried it, but if it tastes good- why the hell not?
Credit: "Koreans Try Dog Meat?", Solfa
This has been a controversy for years and it's one that often draws looks of disgust from onlookers. Do Asians eat dogs? Well, the answer is yes and no. Dog meat was common in the past as some medicinal theories claimed it helped calm the organs, lighten, strengthen and warm the body, remove any diseases, and aid blood.
Nowadays we aren't very peckish for the stuff and this video by Korean YouTube channel, Solfa does a good job at showing our reaction to the idea of eating dogs.
7) Asians are bad drivers.
Is it because we can't see the road properly?
Credit: JJ Ying, Unsplash
Evidently, we need to open our eyes more.
Here is a short video I made, where East Asians share their views on stereotypes.
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