Sort of a post-graduate/workplace variation on “Too Asian?” but grounded in an Asian-American perspective rather than a non-Asian one, which then segues into a discussion of Asian masculinity. It’s a good examination of why despite the fact that Asian/-American students and workers are supposed to be overachievers, none advance very high into management ranks, always meeting what Yang dubs the “Bamboo Ceiling”. For me it confirms a lot of things I suspected were true but had no evidence of, and I imagine it’s surprising to some people who never thought of it as a covert racism thing (or, more cynically, didn’t think that Asian people could be conscious of covert racism).
Just as with “Too Asian?”, though (albeit less blatantly offensively), I find it problematic that two of the solutions it illustrates before its grand finale (leadership seminars, “how to pick up white girls” workshops) are about, as I wrote in that post, the ethnic person conforming to the non-ethnic person’s standards. Or, as Yang writes, “How do you undo eighteen years of a Chinese upbringing?” (this being the problem that needs to be solved). But Yang seems to agree with me, and undercuts his previous examples in the second half with this speculation:
If the Bamboo Ceiling is ever going to break, it’s probably going to have less to do with any form of behavior assimilation than with the emergence of risk-takers whose success obviates the need for Asians to meet someone else’s behavioral standard.
And it continues from there in the same vein, including an odd moment of solidarity between a white woman who isn’t beautiful by society’s standards and an Asian male who, well, isn’t either. It’s a long but thought-provoking read, less conclusive and more of a jumping-off point - as with anything on such a nebulous, insoluble topic.
As for my own upbringing, it’s been very similar to Yang’s, with Asian culture not primary to my way of life, as both of my parents are about a generation removed from the “homeland”. I used to say it was my mother who was the rebellious immigrant daughter rather than me, and if anything, I’ve rebelled in trying to pick up the threads she deliberately dropped (passing on language, family stories, etc.). Though I recognize some of the values and lessons Yang talks about as a part of my own upbringing - listening to others, being humble rather than arrogant - some of the details are alien to me, like being forced to learn the violin or become a doctor (I mean, look what I studied in university). I find this a common thread in discussions of Chinese-/Korean-Canadians, and it does make me feel alienated from the people who should be “my people” - a sort of third alienation to add to the usual “too Asian for America too American for Asia” double alienation of the Asian-American identity.
sorry, I have to call bullshit on this article - does as much to reinforce cultural stereotypes as it does at ‘questioning’ them. I don’t really think the author undercuts himself at the end - the idea of ‘risk-taking’ or ‘becoming successful on your own terms’ or ‘iconoclasm’ in general is an attitude that is valorized in American/Western culture just as much as the wholesome All American suburban high school scene he rejects.
