Negotiating the Model Minority Image: Performative Aspects of College-Educated Asian American Professional Men

Abstract

This study is a chapter in a larger work, in which the authors explore how eight college-educated Asian American professional men negotiate the model minority image to present the performative constructions of their multiple identities within the racialized and gendered context of U.S. organizations where they work. The authors first discuss the participants' perceptions of how others view their social identities as part of a homogenized concept, regardless of their diverse Asian American subjectivities. Then, they examine how the participants engage in performative aspects of the model minority image to promote positive impressions on others and to empower themselves in U.S. organizations. Exploring the subjective standpoint of being the model minority in the context of mainstream organizations, the authors aim to further reconsider the concept of identity as relational in the context of intercultural interactions.

Keywords:

• Asian American Studies
• Identity Negotiation
• Intercultural Communication
• Masculinities
• U.S. Workforce

Acknowledgments

The first author presented an earlier version of this manuscript at Eastern Communication Association (ECA), Theory and Method Interest Group, Arlington, VA, April, 2011.

As this study emerged from the first author's dissertation study at Howard University, he wishes to thank Drs. Melbourne Cummings (dissertation chair), Chukwuka Onwumechili, William Starosta (dissertation advisor), Carolyn Stroman, and Wei Sun for their critiques and evaluations of the dissertation research. He would also like to thank Drs. Deborah Borisoff (New York University), Bernadette Calafell (University of Denver), Victoria Chen (San Francisco State University), and James Chesebro (Ball State University) for their support and encouragement on obtaining in his scholarship.

Notes

Participants in the larger research project were recruited based on the following four criteria: (a) Asian Americans who identified as Asian Americans and/or identified with specific cultural/ethnic groups under the Asian American identity category defined in the U.S. Census (2000); (b) Asian Americans who lived and worked in the United States with legal work permits (e.g., U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and U.S. non-immigrant working visa holders such as H1-B and O-1); (c) Asian Americans who worked in organizations that are not comprised of predominantly Asian American members; and (d) Asian Americans who have obtained college degrees (e.g., BA or BS).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shinsuke Eguchi

Shinsuke Eguchi (PhD, Howard University, 2011) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at University of New Mexico, MSC03 2240, Albuquerque, NM 87131.

William Starosta

William Starosta (PhD, Indianan University, 1973) is a graduate research professor in the Department of Communication and Culture at Howard University.