Reflection on “Paper Tigers”

I read this article recently by Wesley Yang in New York Magazine describing the Asian-American struggle in the workforce, dating/relationships, and more.  It’s a long read but worth checking out.

New York Magazine feature article "Paper Tigers" By Wesley Yang

This article to say the least was enlightening.  In fact it’s what inspired me to start this blog.  It reflects upon the lifestyle that is enforced upon young Asians growing up in America that ultimately sets them up for disappointment later on in life. How there is this bamboo ceiling that Asian-Americans bump into that prevents them from taking on leadership roles.

“The researcher was talking about what some refer to as the “Bamboo Ceiling”—an invisible barrier that maintains a pyramidal racial structure throughout corporate America, with lots of Asians at junior levels, quite a few in middle management, and virtually none in the higher reaches of leadership.

The failure of Asian-Americans to become leaders in the white-collar workplace does not qualify as one of the burning social issues of our time. But it is a part of the bitter undercurrent of Asian-American life that so many Asian graduates of elite universities find that meritocracy as they have understood it comes to an abrupt end after graduation. If between 15 and 20 percent of every Ivy League class is Asian, and if the Ivy Leagues are incubators for the country’s leaders, it would stand to reason that Asians would make up some corresponding portion of the leadership class.”

The idea stems from the trend that Asians are constantly pushed to their academic limits which in turn “de-socializes” them in a way that moulds them to be someone who keeps their head down and respect authority. This however is not quite beneficial in the Western corporate world. Trust me, I’ve seen all too well this phenomenon where I live. It’s almost sad. To see kids who can’t for the life of them open up to other people of different races because of intrinsic fear.  If socializing were a point value, they would start off in the negative range.  I myself, have experienced this and have had to work twice as hard to build confidence, because growing up, I started to realize that this is not the life that I want to live. I don’t want to be limited by culture, in fact I feel compelled to leave it behind but I know that’s not right.  Don’t get me wrong there are aspects of my roots that I respect and that I think I’ll keep when I get older, but there is this need that I have to “go outside” to see the world and meet new people without fear.  That is my dream; that is the White Tiger’s dream.

Another topic that Yang brings up in his article is the idea of interracial dating.

“What if you missed out on the lessons in masculinity taught in the gyms and locker rooms of America’s high schools? What if life has failed to make you a socially dominant alpha male who runs the American boardroom and prevails in the American bedroom? What if no one ever taught you how to greet white people and make them comfortable? What if, despite these deficiencies, you no longer possess an immigrant’s dutiful forbearance for a secondary position in the American narrative and want to be a player in the scrimmage of American appetite right now, in the present?

How do you undo eighteen years of a Chinese upbringing?”

How do you undo eighteen years of a Chinese upbringing?  Well that is not an easy thing to do let alone contemplate. For the record, I fully support interracial dating, in fact I almost encourage it. It speaks more to your character as a person who isn’t afraid to go out of the comfort zone.  I fully agree that there aren’t enough Chinese role models in Western society. I think that Asian guys need to find their own sense of masculinity that granted, shouldn’t be confined to how they were raised.  WE NEED more Harry Shum Jr’s, we NEED more Daniel Dae Kim’s in order to be good role models for struggling White Tigers and to show the world that Asians, especially Asian males can be masculine, and CAN be date-able for non-Asians.

Left: Daniel Henney and Gwyneth Paltrow Right: Dianna Agron and Harry Shum Jr.

Alas, this is in fact an extremely rare sight to see where I live in Markham.  I even think that the multiculturalism in Canadian values is discouraging to this type of behaviour because there is less encouragement towards a viable assimilation, thus sticking with your own kind is all too common.

Bound by the shackles of our culture, one can only hope to wonder if the White Tiger will ever be set free.