Racial Microaggressions and the Asian American Experience

By Derald Wing Sue et al.
Excerpted from "Racial Microaggressions and the Asian American Experience"
Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology
January 2007

[Editor's Note: A recent study by five Columbia University researchers led by Professor Derald Wing Sue identified the following eight common themes that arose in Asian Americans' lived experiences of race.]

Theme 1: Alien in Own Land

This theme emerges from both focus groups and can be described as a microaggression which embodies the assumption that all Asian Americans are foreigners or foreign-born. An example of this theme was universally voiced by Asian Americans of all ethnicities and manifested in questions or remarks like “Where are you from?” “Where were you born?” or “You speak good English.”

The participants were often torn between whether the comments were well intentioned expressions of interest in them or perceptions that they were foreigners and did not belong in America. Furthermore, the meaning construed by recipients is that they were different, less than, and could not possibly be “real” Americans. That this phenomenon has empirical reality was a finding that White Americans, on an implicit level, equated “White” and “American” with one another while Asian and African Americans were less likely associated with the term “American” (De Vos & Banaji, 2005).

On the whole, the participants did not see the questions or “compliments” as benign and curious, but disturbing and uncomfortable. One Chinese American participant shared that while she was working in a restaurant, a White customer came in and attempted to converse with her in Japanese. She interpreted the behavior as the person perceiving her as a foreigner and not fluent in English. Worse yet, the person could not distinguish between Chinese and Japanese Americans. The focus group members did not perceive the intent of the questions to be overtly malevolent. They believed the person might have been attempting to establish a relationship with the Chinese American and might have wanted to indicate that he was not like other White Americans and could speak an Asian language.
Theme 2: Ascription of Intelligence

This theme also emerges from both focus groups. It is described as a microaggression that occurs when a degree of intelligence is assigned to an Asian American based on his/her race. Many of the participants describe teachers and fellow students making statements such as “You are really good at math,” “You people always do well in school,” or “If I see lots of Asian students in my class, I know it's going to be a hard class.” The message conveyed is that all Asians are bright and smart, especially in math and science. Interestingly, the work on stereotype threat suggests that this belief is shared by many Whites, and that it may actually depress academic performance among them when in the presence of Asian Americans (Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995).

The participants believed that the conscious intent of these statements was to compliment Asian Americans, since being good at math was perceived by aggressors as a positive quality. However, the impact of assuming Asian Americans are good at math can be harmful. Participants describe feeling pressured to conform to a stereotype that they did not endorse, particularly if they were not good at math or did not enjoy it. In essence, they expressed feelings of being trapped. One Korean woman, for example, describes her coworkers bringing every math question for her to solve. Not only did it seem to operate from a stereotype, but it added pressure to help them, and resulted in a heavier workload for the woman. She also expressed discomfort at another major side effect: Asian Americans were viewed as intelligent while other people of color were perceived as less intelligent. It created tensions between her and other Black and Latino coworkers.
Theme 3: Denial of Racial Reality

Participants of all Asian ethnic backgrounds share that many microaggressions invalidate their experiences of discrimination. In one case, a Vietnamese American male was told that “Asians are the new Whites.” The participant in the study indicated that the remark dismissed his experiences of racism, indicated that Asians experience no discrimination, suggested inequities do not exist for Asians, and that they have made it in society. In other words, the Vietnamese male felt that the perpetrator saw Asians as a model minority, similar to Whites and experience minimal socioeconomic or educational disadvantages. While the intent of the aggressor may be to compliment the Asian American individual by saying that Asians are more successful than other people of color, the negating message is that Asians do not experience racism—denying their experiential reality of bias and discrimination.
Theme 4: Exoticization of Asian American Women

A fourth theme found in both focus groups is exoticization of Asian American women who are relegated to an exotic category. One Chinese American woman stated, “White men believe that Asian women are great girlfriends, wait hand and foot on men, and don't back-talk or give them shit. Asian women have beautiful skin and are just sexy and have silky hair.” One Korean American woman indicated that she is frequently approached by White men who are very forthcoming with their “Asian fetishes” of subservience and pleasing them sexually. Nearly all members of the focus groups interpreted these microaggressions as indicating that Asian women are only needed for the physical needs of White men and nothing more. Again, participants felt that the intent of the aggressor in these situations may be to praise Asian women for their ability to take care of a man's every need. One participant was quite vocal in stating that the continual subjugation of Asian American women to roles of sexual objects, domestic servants, and exotic images of Geishas, ultimately “equates our identities to that of passive companions to White men.” Many of the participants also suggested that the exotic image of Asian American women also serves as an unconscious backlash to feminist values and that it potentially creates antagonism with White women as well.
Theme 5: Invalidation of Interethnic Differences

This theme is most closely associated with the statement: “All Asians look alike.” One Filipino American woman states, “I am always asked are you Chinese?” Another example of this is conveyed by a Chinese American who stated that new acquaintances oftentimes make statements like, “Oh, my ex-girlfriend was Chinese, or my neighbor was Japanese.” These microaggressions tend to minimize or deny differences that may exist between interethnic groups or the existence of other Asian American groups. Participants believed the microaggression suggests that all Asian Americans are alike and that differences between groups do not exist and/or do not matter. The intent of the aggressor in this situation is to express that they are familiar with Asians, but instead the message received is that the aggressor assumes that all Asians are Chinese or Japanese. Moreover, it is assumed by the aggressor that most Asians are familiar with each other, regardless of their Asian ethnic background.
Theme 6: Pathologizing Cultural Values/Communication Styles

Another microaggression theme involves the perception of cultural values and communication styles other than that of the White majority as being less desirable or indicators of deficits. One Chinese American woman expressed exasperation at how class participation (usually verbal) is valued strongly in academic settings and that grades are often based upon it. Because of Asian cultural values that emphasize the value of silence, less verbal Asians are often perceived as lacking in interest, disengaged, or inattentive by the teacher. Many of the participants felt disadvantaged, for example, when verbal participation in class was graded. They felt forced to conform to Western norms and values (“talking more”) when such behavior violated their cultural upbringing. Although the Asian participants could see that educators might be attempting to enforce an objective grading standard, they unintentionally negated traditional Asian cultural values and penalized their Asian American students. Another example was relayed by a Vietnamese American male who describes being derided and teased by friends for using chopsticks as a utensil. He stated that the message was quite clear; eating with forks, knives, and spoons is the right/correct way to eat and “the American way.”
Theme 7: Second Class Citizenship

Being treated as a lesser being or second class citizen was another common experience. A number of Asian Americans relayed similar stories of Whites being given preferential treatment as consumers over Asian American customers. A typical story involved a Korean American female who told of dining with White friends. Although she frequently ordered the wine, it is usually her friends who are asked to taste and approve the wine selection. She would often feel snubbed because Whites were believed to more knowledgeable about wine, and their opinions were more important. Another Asian American woman described how her eight family members were taken to a table to the back of the restaurant, even though there were available tables elsewhere. She interpreted the action to mean that they were lesser customers and did not deserve a table in the front of the restaurant. The message, they believed was that Asian Americans are not deserving of good service and are lesser than their White counterparts.
Theme 8: Invisibility

This theme is used to label incidents that involve the experience of being overlooked without the conscious intention of the aggressor. Experiences with the theme of invisibility are commonplace among Asian American individuals of all ethnic groups who share that they were often left out whenever issues of race were discussed or acknowledged. One Chinese American female stated, “Like even most race dialogues are like very Black and White…like sometimes I feel like there's a lot of talk about Black and White, and there's a huge Asian population here and where do we fit into that?” Another example involved an Asian American appointed to a committee and having someone suggest that they needed “to appoint a person of color” to the group as well. The messages being conveyed were that Asians are not an ethnic minority group, experience little or no discrimination, and that their racial concerns are unimportant. In addition, the Asian participants felt trapped in that when issues of race are discussed, they were considered like Whites, but never fully accepted by their White peers.
Experiences of Microaggressions

Most of the participants acknowledged that the majority of those who engaged in microaggressions did so unintentionally, and the perpetrators often perceived their own remarks or actions in a positive light (interest in the Asian American person: “Where were you born?”). Nevertheless, most of the Asian American participants were clear that the remarks reflected a biased worldview that tended to communicate something negative and disrespectful about their group. In general, it appears that most of the Asian American participants experienced psychological conflict and distress because of several dilemmas they faced.

First, they remarked that it was often difficult to determine whether a microaggression occurred. Were they being oversensitive or misreading the remarks or questions? They described spending considerable psychic energy trying to discern the motives of the person and/or dealing with inner turmoil and agitation caused by the event. A few stated that it was often easier to deal with a clearly overt act of bias than microaggressions that often created a “guessing game.”

Second, most of the racial microagressions that occurred came from peers, neighbors, friends or authority figures. It disturbed them that personal or respected acquaintances could make such insensitive or hurtful remarks. What bothered them most, however, was their occasional tendency to “make excuses” for friends by rationalizing away their biases and by denying their own racial reality. Although we did not specifically explore the differential impact of microaggressions from acquaintances versus strangers, it appears that some of the participants felt that microaggressive behaviors were easier to handle and less problematic when they came from strangers.

Third, many expressed severe conflict about whether to respond to microaggressions given that most were unintentional and outside the level of awareness of the perpetrator. Pointing out a microaggression to a friend, for example, generally resulted in denial, defensiveness, and a negative outcome for the relationship. A few shared that they simply were at a loss of how to respond, or that the incident occurred so quickly a chance for some sort of intervention had long passed. They described being angered and upset without any recourse other than to “stew on it.” Some indicated being especially angry at themselves when they finally thought of what they could have said or done (“Damn it, that's what I should have said.”) Again, we did not explore this aspect of the participants' inner turmoil; blaming themselves for not having a comeback and having to deal with the agitation for a prolonged period of time. We can only conclude that the emotional turmoil could be long lasting and take a psychological toll on the recipient.

Last, deciding to respond also had major consequences. Some of the informants stated that responding with anger, striking back, or confronting the person generally did no good. It only served to make the victim appear “paranoid” or suggest that the responder had some major personal problem.
References

De Vos, T., & Banaji, M. R. (2005). "American = White?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 447–466.

Steele, C. M. (1997). "A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance." American Psychologist, 52, 613–629.

Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). "Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 797–811.