cultural differences of asian americans
...n women were brought to San Francisco, California for prostitution (Lee, 10). They were forced to satisfy the whit mans sexual urges while the Asian male was there to clean the house and other domestic duties for the white female. This led to times of interracial sexual activity, which in turn was a threat because it represented racial pollution of the white race by the Asian race (Lee, 10). The fourth, the yellow peril, refers to when white America ha obtained new territories in the pacific and Caribbean (Lee, 10). Whites were afraid of a yellow and brown invasion of the society, as they knew it then. The Asians were smart and learning fast to be “cultured”. Americans were wary of letting them work in jobs they held or to have rights like they did in fear of them overpowering and taking power from the white people of America. The Asian immigration to America posed the #1 threat to the white race at this time (Lee, 10). The fifth, the model minority, was first used in the 1950’s but has been commonly known to evolve from the 1960’s and the 1970’s (Lee, 10). It pertains to the Asian American race as a westernized cultured race. They are all of theses stereotypes and “alien” yet they are perceived to be the epitome of a higher-ranking minority against the white majority. Asians can gain economic, social and political status by assimilating white characteristics and beliefs. By becoming more “white–I-fied” and cultured like the white Americans they can sustain a higher status in society. The model minority idea is used as a model for other minorities such as African Americans and Spanish Americans. It is a way the white citizens in America allowed the Asians to mobilize upward in society without causing rebellion. The sixth, the gook, refers to the Asian American as they were perceived after Vietnam and post liberal American popular culture (Lee, 11). The gook represents an enemy that cannot be seen and is the epitome of inauthentic identities that are both racial and national (Lee). The gook goes hand in hand with the use of the model minority belief in that they both show that Asians are productive humans but one is still considered an alien (the gook) while the other is acknowledged as the closest thing to being a white but still not white. The family plays a very important role in all of these cultural stereotypes. The family, in the Americanized sense of the word, is perceived as a national identity. It is marked by race and gender (Lee, 7). The cartoon about the Clintons and al gore wearing yellow faces was a way to symbolize racial pollution. It seems like an alien idea for an Asian to be associated with the white house or any upper level position in the American government. We as Americans have always referred to this country and the people running it as family members of some sort. Uncle Sam, the founding forefathers, the father and mother as the president and first lady, these are all terms we use everyday to acknowledge government officials and historical figures. Yet all of these people have one thing in common, they are all white. Due to the stereotypes and beliefs of those founding for fathers and the presidents before, it is difficult to envision an Asian in office when we are always surrounded by barbaric ideas and ignorant beliefs about a race of people who together with the white people built this very nation we all live in today. It is possible though to counteract these stereotypes and try to break through the barriers that were built to hold back Asian Americans. Asian Americans have transformed American society. They fought for justice through labor unions and strikes against their employers. Due to the “white only” edict of the 1790 Naturalization Law, Asian Americans organized to form campaigns and sit-ins, which ended in the abolishment of the law in 1952. Asians have shown they are Americans by fighting with the whites against American enemies in World War II. They were discriminated against by certain immigration laws, such as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the 1924 National origins Act. But as a result of fighting against these laws they overcame them with the passing of the 1965 Immigration A...