So far, my life has been one big, fat joke of Asian stereotypes. It seems like no matter what I say, do or even eat, someone always comes up with a ridiculous generalization. In middle school, so many people made Asian jokes about me and came up with the most offensive stereotypes I've ever heard. I won't lie, at the time I was very hurt. In fact, there were times when I hated being Asian. I wasn't proud of my ethnicity, not one bit. However, as time went on, I started to get thicker skin. Suddenly, those offensive jokes turned into really funny ones. I started to not care about the typical stereotypes. My mindset went from, "Oh my gosh.. that's so offensive" to "Seriously? If you're going to make an Asian joke/stereotype, you better make it a good one." I never realized how ridiculous each stereotype was until I thought to myself, "Just because I'm Asian doesn't mean I follow these generalizations."
1. Of course, you like sushi... You're Asian!
Let me make this perfectly clear for anyone who believes it's in my blood to like Asian food...It's not. My love for sushi, pad Thai, lo mein, etc. was not genetically placed into my blood like some weird science experiment. Believe it or not, my parents used to play this game with me when I was about 2 called "Let's See What Our Baby Will Eat." They placed things in front of me like the typical lemon to the not-so-typical Tekka Maki roll (tuna roll, for those who do not know). If I liked it, I ate it. Simple as that. So no, being Asian has nothing to do with my food taste. I didn't come out of my mother with a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a sushi platter in the other. if that was ever the case, I'd be very concerned with my mother's health and well-being. I'd also be very concerned for mine.
2. Asians are bad drivers
This is has to be the most common stereotype I've ever heard come out of peoples' mouths. I remember the first day I got my license. I was set to go wherever my little heart desired whenever I wanted to. However, I was pretty sure I'd be destined to go alone, since no one wanted to risk their lives driving with me. Though I had to take my road test twice, I can easily say that it wasn't because I'm a bad driver. I'm just really bad at parallel parking. My friends and I can agree on that. It takes 20 minutes and two people to get me into that stupid little spot next to the sidewalk. However, I haven't gotten a ticket, nor have I been in an accident. I also don't run stop signs, merge into lanes without putting my signal on and I don't speed. With that being said, I disagree with anyone who says that Asians are bad drivers.
3. You must be really good at math
Quite the opposite, my ignorant friend. I am most certainly not good at math. In fact, not every Asian person is born having a calculator for a brain. We are not some mathematical robot that can solve the hardest mathematical question placed on this Earth. It was one of my hardest subjects in school. I hated math so much in high school. Not only did I find it hard, but people would make fun of me because I was an Asian person who found math hard. Then when I would get an A, I wouldn't hear the end of it! Math was a double-edged sword for me. The only math class I succeeded in was Geometry. That had to be the easiest for me. Believe it or not, my favorite subjects in school were Environmental Studies and Creative Writing. Why? Because I was good at them, and they were fun.
4. OMG—You eat dog?!
When I was in middle school, a boy who was about a year older than me walked up to me and told me that I ate his dog. He didn't ask if I ate his dog or if I had intentions of eating his dog—he simply decided that I did. My comeback to this lovely fellow was simply: "Yes, I ate your dog and it was delicious!" Of course, that's not true, but what else was I supposed to say? He irritated me, and I was a very sassy child back then. What I didn't understand was why he said I ate his dog. Apparently, when you're Asian, whether it's Asian-American or straight off the boat, you eat dog. I've never in my 18 years of living ate a dog. Nor have I ever wanted to. I love dogs. They're cute and furry and make me very happy. In fact, I have been pestering my parents for the past three years to get me a pug.
See? How cute!
5. You must know a lot of karate, since you're part Chinese.
Honestly, out of every stereotype I've heard, this is by far the dumbest. Let me start off by saying, Karate is not a Chinese martial art—it's Japanese. Now that we have that cleared, just because I'm Asian doesn't mean I know any form of martial arts. I really don't. Do I know how to defend myself? Of course, I do. Did I learn martial arts? Not at all. I'm no Karate Kid.
