Book summary concepts and frameworks

¶ … Stacey Lee confronts the issue of the perceived stereotype of the white American culture that portrays Asian-Americans as the "model minority." For many years, this stereotype has always existed and portrayed Asian-Americans as smart and hard-working people. However, this stereotype may not be consistent among members of this "model minority" group. In a study conducted at the Academic High School, Lee established that indeed, not all Asian-Americans conform and to the perception of being a "smart and hard-working" Asian.

In the second part of the book, it was identified during the course of the author's study that there exists within the Asian-American group several sub-groups of different characteristics, which clearly shows that the "model minority" stereotype does not really hold with every Asian-American. These sub-groups are identified as: Asian-identified, Asian-American-identified, Korean-identified, and Asian New Wavers. Asian-identified students are strict adherents of their traditional Asian norms, and have a personality that fits well with the "model minority" stereotype. Asian-American-identified students are those who are "bicultural," who question the "model minority" stereotype because, they reason, not all Asian-Americans excel in their studies.

Korean-identified students, meanwhile, do not identify themselves with their fellow Asians, and consider themselves as "superior" academically and socially. Lastly, Asian New Wavers are those students who "represent counter-cultural behavior patterns." They are, therefore, the antithesis of the "model minority" stereotype.

The latter chapter of the book discusses the social relation of Asian-Americans in the society, particularly among various racial groups. Lee stated that the "model minority" stereotype affects other racial groups because they are, in turn, stereotyped as the opposite of what the Asian-Americans are: lazy and stupid. The dominant group of white Americans, meanwhile, manipulates the Asian-Americans by perpetuating the "model minority" stereotype because they fear that they "might lose their dominant grip in the society," and by perpetuating the stereotype, they indirectly imply to the Asian-Americans that the dominant group of white Americans are still in control of what the Asian-American group should or should not be.