Asian American Stereotyping in the Media and Its Negative Impact on the Asian American Community

• Main Author: Dinh, Han
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2014
• Subjects: Asian American Stereotypes; Media Stereotyping; Yellow Peril; Model Minority Stereotype; Asian American Mental Health; Institutionalized Racism; Asian American Studies
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/882; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1876&context=cmc_theses

Americans felt threatened by Asian immigration in the late 19th century. As a result, Asian Americans were stereotyped as foreign and dangerous. The United States government supported Asian American stereotyping by passing prohibitive immigration policies. These policies were a reflection of discrimination and institutionalized racism at the time. Asian American stereotyping still exists today, but in covert form. The media plays a powerful role in perpetuating these covert stereotypes. Asian American stereotypes negatively impact the Asian American community in a number of ways, including ostracizing Asian Americans, making Asian American issues invisible, and harming the mental health of the Asian American community. As a result, stereotypes increase cumulative stress for Asian Americans, and also decrease Asian American community support. This paper reviews and provides recommendations to help reduce stereotypes and also change media representations of Asian Americans.