Too Asian?! : A Response to Maclean's Controversial 'Too Asian?' Article
{ Friday, December 31, 2010; 4:41 AM }
Appeared in: the Mary Ward Planet; Volume 16, Issue 1
Read the original article yourself here: http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/10/too-asian/
Attention all Asians! Yes, you, with the glasses bowing intently over your schoolwork. Please don’t study so hard because you’re making all of the white people who want to party all day look bad. Also, don’t even bother trying to go to university, particularly any university where Canadian white kids would like to go to, because they will blame you for taking their university spots.
What? Was that offensive? Well, if it was,
Macleans sure doesn’t think so.
In the November 10, 2010 issue of their magazine, an article entitled
‘Too Asian’? was published. The focus of this article was to expose the over-representation of Asians in university, as well as the segregation between different ethnic groups on campus grounds across Canada. The
Mary Ward Planet executive team was shocked by this insensitive and flawed report.
The piece begins with the story of a private school girl named Alexandra, described in the article as “a girl who looks like she came out of the Aritizia billboard”, or in other words, pretty, white, and stick thin. Alexandra is quoted in the article as stating that Asians go to U of T, while all the “white kids” go to Queen’s, Western and McGill. By opening the article with this image, the authors are painting a picture - with a lot of white paint.
That’s not the end of it. According to the article, Asians “assert their ethnic identities” more likely than “white students”. Throughout the article, they place Asians into the mould of academically-focused students who get “98 percent” and don’t “have other skills”. They are characterized as people who don’t get involved in extra-curricular activities, and who “tend to stick together”.
It’s not just stereotyping Asians either that’s the problem. White Canadians in this article are described as party animals who choose universities based on social interactions. According to the article, “many white students simply believe that competing with Asians—both Asian Canadians and international students—require a sacrifice of time and freedom they’re not willing to make. They complain that they can’t compete for spots in the best schools and party as much as they’d like.”
These simplistic descriptions are appalling; every individual is a complex person, and no one has the right to be reduced to a caricature. The very usage of the term “asian” or “white” to classify such large diverse groups of people is demeaning, and does not consider people’s individuality.
Of course, anything as biased as this ‘Too Asian’ article is sure to produce negative feedback. So,
Macleans decided to defend themselves by writing another article, which stated that “they did not intend to cause offence.” What is also interesting to note is that they changed the name of the article to
The Enrollment Controversy.
posted by Rowena |
