DiversityAsian Pacific AmericanHeritage Month

Presented byPresented by

Janette De La Rosa Ducut, Ed.D.Janette De La Rosa Ducut, Ed.D.Training ManagerTraining Manager

Case StudyAsian American

South Asian American

Asian AmericanCase Study

At a lunch break during a conference, a third-generation Japanese American woman who speaks with a standard American accent and a European American man eat together. He was the facilitator of a discussion group that morning - a group in which she actively participated. As they are eating lunch, he asks her, "Where are you from?” The woman replies “Toledo, Ohio.” “I mean,” he says, “Where are you really from?”

What do you think about the questions?

How do you think the women might feel about them?

Asian AmericanCommentaryImplications of the question

She’s not from the U.S.

Unlikely that someone with no accent would be asked the same question

Seen and treated like perpetual foreignersregardless of how long they and their families have been citizens of the United States.

Can be hurtful and irritating“You’re not really American or you don’t quite belong here like we do”

South Asian AmericanCase Study

After the [diversity] training a colleague approached me and asked if we could talk. He said, "Y'know, I used to have an Indian girlfriend, she actually looked a lot like you...and people would always assume that she was good at math and intelligent. Does that happen to you too? Isn't that a good thing?"

The colleague seems to assume that a positive stereotype is a good thing. What do you think about this assumption?

South Asian AmericanCommentary

“You all look alike; I can’t tell you apart.”

Want to be seen as unique individuals, not stereotypes

Can leave a person feeling unseen and automatically lumped together with every other member of his racial group.

“Please make an effort to get to know me before you decide what I am and am not.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETegyBzAQnc