(Patrick Lee) Pigeonholed by Race

Two nights ago, I was studying in a friend’s dorm room to get away from the raucous party raging in my common room (a UFC fight was on pay-per-view, and one of my suitemates had gathered a group of friends for an all-night viewing). As I was trudging through Don Quixote, another Korean-American student living in the same entryway wandered in and, off-handedly, remarked “Gosh, you’re so Asian.”

Coming from someone of a similar ethnic and cultural background, I didn’t know what to think or how to respond: immediately forgetting about Don Quixote’s adventures as an errant knight, I tried to understand what he could have meant by such a statement: by seeming to fit the Asian American stereotype of studying all-day long and being bookish, was I less legitimate as a person?

I might have been overreacting, but I think part of my instinct to think these thoughts stemmed from my context: at a university where the student body is extremely diverse – not just in terms of race and ethnicity, but in terms of interests, passions, and talents – I had assumed being ‘typecast’ and judged as one particular stereotype or another would be rare. The fact that another Asian American had judged me on the basis of a shallow and culturally insensitive notion didn’t so much as shock me as confuse me: are such stereotypes so ingrained into our culture that even the people they pigeonhole buy into them?

In other words, I certainly don’t view myself as a token Asian American – whatever that means. Naturally, I would assume that others don’t view me in a stereotypical light, either, but whether his remark was casual or completely serious, the fact that he said it at all makes me wonder what cultural norms we abide by in society. If we’re of a minority ethnic background, do we become more “American” if we buy into stereotypes and pass them off as offhand remarks and jokes? Or should we be actively striving to dismantle them and make it the norm not to judge someone based on superficial expectations? Or, maybe I’m overanalyzing this all and it’s not worth considering, especially given the broad diversity of the United States and its reputation as a diverse cultural haven.

Regardless, the question of identity still remains: it is much easier to accept a standard identity and try and fit the role, but that defeats the purpose of individual existence. The purpose of life’s challenges and obstacles is to help individuals find their identities amidst the context of others – whether in a college setting, at work, or even in one’s family – and develop that notion of self into something one is comfortable with and can call one’s own. If we let casual remarks that buy into stereotypes occur without taking note and starting a dialogue, we risk falling into the trap of buying into them ourselves.

My reaction and the chain of thought it spurred might be overkill, but it’s much better than the alternative of swallowing it without thought or contemplation.