Pitch Perfect’s barely audible Lilly Onakuramara played by Hana Mae Lee
While I usually find myself rolling my eyes at most of the stereotypes concerning Asians, some of them puzzle me instead. In particular, there’s the myth that as Asians we are all naturally quiet people. But then there’s also the myth that as Asians we’re all naturally loud people. Confused? Yeah, we are too.
Martial arts is amazing. Its skillful, beautiful, powerful and I’m more than a little proud that it originated in Asia. Are some Asians kick-ass when it comes to Martial Arts? Of course. Some of the greatest martial arts masters are Asian after all. So what’s the problem you ask?
Not all Asians know martial arts.
Being one of the only Asians in my elementary school, I came across this stereotype at an early age. It wasn’t rare for a classmate to start up a conversation with “So you know Kung Fu right?” In one particularly annoying moment, my hands were balled into fists because of the cold and a boy asked if that was a martial arts pose. While one may argue that this is simply children being children, you have to wonder- where do they get this stuff ? How does an eight year old learn to think that all Asians know Kung Fu?
What makes it worse is the idea that martial arts impedes our other abilities. My friend explained that upon trying out for the basketball team, he overheard the teammates saying ”Why is he trying out? This isn’t Taekowndo.” Of course, none of this makes sense. Asians are capable of many physical sports outside of martial arts and yet I see this far too often. Too many times have I come across doubt on someones face when it comes to an Asian performing well in sports.
“An Asian good at sports? No that can’t be! They must mean Kung Fu!”
Yes, that statement was just as silly reading as it was to type. Click on for a list of amazing Asian athletes that help break this Asian myth.
Matthew Moy as “Han Lee” on 2 Broke Girls
Quite possibly one of the biggest stereotypes about Asians is the one concerning our height. It seems as if every and all Asians have dealt with the stereotype of Asians being short. Admittedly, there are quite a few fun-sized Asians (I am among them) and we definitely have no problem with short. The problem is the amount of shock towards tall Asians. I’ve always wondered about why this is such a perplexing thing for some. I’m certainly not surprised when I run into a tall Asian- if there are tall people in other cultures, why is it so unheard of to encounter a tall Asian? But what happens if an Asian doesn’t fall into this myth? They’re met with remarks like “Wow, you’re tall for an Asian.” The western world seems in disbelief that Asians can be anything but short. As seen in the picture above, media doesn’t always seem to be helping in breaking this myth so we’ll go ahead and do it ourselves.
Continue reading to get a glimpse of Asians who certainly Break The Asian Myth about Short Asians:
Asian Hair.
If there’s one Asian stereotype we’re all very familiar with, its Asian hair. No one knows when this actually happened, but at one point people began thinking that all Asian women had the same kind of hair- straight, black, and very sleek. This myth has become so well known that theres actually something called “Japanese hair straightening” to try and get these hair qualities. Its not uncommon to flip through a magazine and come across an article showcasing different types of hair and as expected, “Asian hair” get its very own section. Do some of us have sleek, black, and straight hair? Of course. Do all of us have this? Absolutely not. People may be shocked to discover that just like everyone else, Asian’s are not all born with the same kind of hair (What!?) So let’s break the Asian myth with some familiar faces. Continue reading for some products we suggest for ALL kinds of Asian hair.
