Like other minorities residing in foreign countries, Asians are also subjected to their own group of stereotypes. The most common which are here.
1. Superior in academics 2. Being bad drivers 3. Having small eyes
While these stereotypes may sound fairly harmless, there will harm Asians in different ways, so let's break it down one by one.
1. Superiority in academics
The most well-known stereotype of Asians is definitely their perceived aptitude in being good in all things school. Whether its the Asian nerd portrayed in the average high school drama or the ones you hear in the daily school announcements, telling everyone they have won awards from a competition. Its not hard to see why everyone thinks that Asians are smarter than everyone. However, the presumption of being more intelligent may not benefit every Asian, as the stereotype will hold every Asian at a higher standard in academics. Holding Asians at higher standards will have a variety of effects, including less help from teachers at class as they are assumed to be smarter. Asians also have a more difficult time entering university due to these standards being imposed on them due to their race.
One may consider that these unfair standards won't be obstacle to Asians anyway, as we are so smart. I would like to remind you that Asians, like people from other races, have those who are better in academics than others. So setting the Academic bar higher will not simply make the situation more fair but will only decrease the number of Asians that are able to get into higher educational institutions. Therefore, this stereotyping of Asians being academically superior is wrong as it will lead to such unfair circumstances.
2. Being bad drivers
Like the "Asians being smart" stereotype, the "bad drivers" Stereotype impacts Asian communities in a similar way. Obtaining a driver's license would be harder as prejudiced individuals may bar you from passing the exam as they subject Asian candidates to more scrutiny then the others.
In addition, this assumption is completely negative. Right of the bat, it tells listeners that particularly Asians are worse at controlling an automobile. Some may hold prejudice towards other Asian drivers on the road as a result.
3. Having small eyes
This one is just dehumanizing, this stereotype of Asians having unusually small eyes reduces each Asian individual to a caricature of an Asian individual depicted on newspaper cartoons on the last century. In reality this trait is present some Europeans as well, such as Russians, Hungarians and British.
As one may see, these stereotypes will harm East Asian Individuals in various ways, while some are more subtle than the others. So it is necessary for us, as a community to stay vigilant and minimize these stereotypes as much as possible.
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