When Asians Fail Math
By Leo Feng
I think it's firmly established in American culture, at least among high schoolers, that Asians are naturally good at math. Somehow, in the minds of Americans, for both those who excel in STEM and don’t, Asians, in particular Southeast Asians, are born with this natural gift that’s just encoded into their DNA. And with America’s biggest high school competition, the AMC, finishing up, I think it’s necessary to explore whether the stereotype is true, the history behind it, as well as its impact on the AAPI community.
At first glance, the idea that “Asians are better at math” seems like a compliment. After all, being recognized for exemplary performance seems like it should be a good thing. And to some extent, it almost always is. But when that compliment gets generalized to an entire group of people held together by their culture rather than their capabilities, the claim becomes rather parasitic. In reality, the idea that “Asians are good at math” only puts greater pressure on Asians to excel in their studies and prolongs negative stereotypes that prevent Asian Americans from exploring other fields. In addition, it excludes members from other minority groups from being acknowledged in the same way and objectifies Asians as machines, in this case calculators, rather than actual human beings.
As Asians, at some point in our lives, I think we’ve experienced moments where expectations were placed upon us solely based on our ethnicity. Especially in areas where Asians are the low minority, the expectations that some may have of us can be slightly warped due to stereotypes. It’s natural. It’s something that happens to all minorities. But I think the difference between us and others is that we’ve somehow accepted those stereotypes as the truth and are actively working to extend those negative ideals. We can joke around (wrongfully) that Latinos are all immigrants and associate (once again wrongfully) African Americans with watermelons and fried chicken, but we’ve come to accept that we have to be the model minority. It doesn’t feel like a joke anymore. It feels like reality.
TED Talk has a fantastic article on this topic that covers all the bases explained here in greater detail and with more academic diction. It also provides a few figures that further demonstrate the tendencies described in this blog.
It’s also important to note that many interpretations of the stereotype ignore all the hard work and dedication that goes into advanced studies. It is undeniable that there are many Asians out there who will dedicate their entire lives to their studies which is something that so many people have rightfully criticized. And while this philosophy of “study 24/7” is most definitely not exclusive to Asians only, as of right now, it is most prevalently employed by those of Asian ethnicity.
