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From A Different Shore
Xenophobia is a form of prejudice or behavior against people from other countries. Attitudes and behavior associated with xenophobia typically reject, exclude and often vilify persons, based on the perception that they are of a different racial group, ethnicity, religion, or culture. Xenophobia has little impact on society without social groups fomenting actions and influence toward public and foreign policy. Anti-immigration movements in the U.S. have always been characterized in part by their xenophobic attitudes. These U.S. movements are made up of key organizations, events, and people who were responsible for shaping public perception of non-whites as outsiders or foreigners. For example, Euroamerican companies, including news publications, profited from attacks and vilified Chinese immigrant workers after the 1850s. Anti-Asian violence is not new but it has long been part of U.S. history and American culture. Xenophobia towards Asian immigrants and Asian American has often been described by white politicians and news reporters as the “Yellow Peril.”
Orientalism is the way Western countries and cultures enact cultural imperialism. Coined by Edward Said in 1978, the concept of orientalismdescribes how western culture (literature, art, cinema, etc.) constructs images of the Orient or the East in such a way that validates the preference for Western civilization and culture. The image of Asians in U.S. society is constructed and generally utilized in three ways, according to Edward Said. Orientalism can be found in academia and English literary tradition. It is also found in the worldview, representation, and “style of thought” of Western countries. Third, orientalism is a powerful political instrument of domination. In other words, the word “Orient” does not describe a people or countries. Instead, the term is a construction of the Western gaze toward people east of the invention of Europe. In short, there is no such thing as an Oriental person but there is such a thing as an “Orientalist” (Western gaze).
Model Minority is a myth but believed to be true due to the process of racialization. There have long been policies and military actions that have promoted in American culture that African Americans, Mexican Americans, and indigenous populations are, for one reason or another, not desirable populations in the country. After the Immigration Act of 1965, on the other hand, there has been a popular perception that Asian Americans are closest to White Americans in regards to attitude and abilities in higher education and professional careers. While there have been numerous studies debunking this myth, the Model Minority stereotype continues to be placed as a cultural expectation on Asian Americans as a group that each individual will be naturally smart, wealthy, hard-working, self-reliant, living the “American dream,” docile and submissive, obedient and uncomplaining and/or spiritually enlightened and never in need of assistance. Asian Americans are a diverse group of individuals with diverse experiences, yet individuals who identify as Asian American may feel pressured to meet these cultural expectations and feel self-blame if unable to do so. The stereotype also reinforces the public perception that Asian Americans don’t need help, yet the pressures behind the stereotype impact mental health according to one study (2021). Although the Model Minority stereotype is untrue, the effects of the myth are damaging not only to Asian Americans but other marginalized groups as well. For example, the myth is often used to drive a racial wedge between the Black community and Asian Americans by using the term to blame Black people for not being like Asians.
Islamophobia is an extreme fear of and hostility toward Islam and Muslims. It often leads to hate speech and hate crimes, social and political discrimination, can be used to rationalize policies such as mass surveillance, incarceration, and disenfranchisement, and can influence domestic and foreign policy (Georgetown). Religion and culture outpace politics across all regions surveyed by Gallop as the root cause of tension between Muslim and Western worlds (2011). While countries in the Middle East usually come up in discussions around Islamophobia, larger muslim populations exist outside the region. For example, the largest muslim country in the world is Singapore in southeast Asia. The fear and hate speech toward muslims is highest in “isolated” regions of Western countries, yet hate crimes toward Muslims are most common in urban or suburban areas in the U.S.
Racialization is a cultural process from which members of a society make “race” matter to the functioning of said society. Omi and Winant define the term as “the extension of racial meaning to a previously racially unclassied relationship, social ptractice, or group” (Omi and Winant 2014: 111). As a concept, it explains how “race” matters to people and institutions no matter an individual’s beliefs about racism. Racialization happens at all levels of society. Xenophobia, or a distrust for other racial groups, promotes racialization of individuals according to group stereotypes or racial myths. An example is the racial myth that the best athletes are Black and smartest students are Asian. Neither is scientifically true as race does not exist, yet society makes “race” matter by racializing individual-group associations with natural abilities, social attitudes, and typical behaviors. Another example of racialization – how “race” is made to matter to a society – is the Model Minority myth. Begin to think and think again
You have a mind; what’s it thinking?
Instructions: Write 100+ words on one (1) course concept above.* Define what the concept means in your own words (3 pts).
Think of a useful description or example of the concept (4 pts).
Create your own reason that explains why this concept is significant to Ethnic Studies (3 pts).
Guidance: Follow the three (3) requirements above to receive maximum points. No other rules apply (citations, format, etc.). Base your response on what you already know, not the unit lecture. In other words, use your own knowledge to create knowledge about a concept: you can tie in your own personal experiences, stories, and examples. You can also use other concepts from this course to explain any aspect of your response.