As humans, we stereotype people everyday based on the color of their skin. In class, we've recently been discussing the stereotypes we place on African Americans and how society has deemed them as "criminals". This got me thinking about how we stereotype people of other races... Asians in particular.
We typically think of Asians as smart, competitive, and good at everything they do. But why? After reading an article written by the BBC, I think I've come up with an answer: China's one child policy.
In China, couples are legally only allowed to have one child. When parents only have one child, they don't have to divide their money and attention between numerous children and can spend all their money on one. The parents are now able to invest their money in the best schools, tutors, piano teachers, etc for their child. They pay a lot of attention to that child in hopes that they will succeed. By only being allowed to have one child, the parents are being forced to put all their eggs in one basket. They want their child to have the best life they can, so they push them to do well in school and activities.
The single children in China develop very differently than a child with siblings would. They aren't able to have that close relationship with a brother or sister that lasts a lifetime and can only have short term relationships with friends as they grow up. Studies have found that only children are "significantly less trusting, less trustworthy" and less optimistic.
China's one child policy has since been relaxed slightly and some parents are now able to qualify to have more than one child. However, many parents chose not to have more children because they feel like since they would have to divide their attention and money between several children, their children will feel lost in competition with other children. Do you think the one child policy has benefitted the single children or hurt them?
Cool post, Jaqui! I definitely agree with you that Americans stereotype Asians as being very smart and competitive, and I had never thought about China's one child policy as being something that perpetuates such traits. However, I believe that China's one child policy is just a piece of the puzzle that has lead Americans to create this "tiger asian" stereotype. As an asian myself ;) my grandparents, who are from Japan, often tell me about how they grew up in a country where you took one test to determine your future, and spent most of their free not playing outside, but in tutoring sessions. Academics was something that was super important in Japan and from what I understand, still is. So I think that this great determination of many people that are living in Asian countries to succeed academically is not something that is not specific to China, and has also been around much longer than the implementation of China's 1 child policy. I the stereotype has been around for a LONG time.
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