Kenji Yoshino and Wesley Yang in Asian American Culture Essay

Introduction

Stereotyping, bias, and assimilation are among the core concepts of multiculturalism, which can differentially affect both minorities and majority groups. It is important to note that any society has its own set of intricate and underlying norms of behavior and even appearance, which are imposed by the majority on the minority. The term “covering” is a concept, which explains these invisible forces.

Yang’s and Yoshino’s Views on ‘Covering’

Yang’s essay does not simply negate Yoshino’s hope for “a new civil rights” but rather focuses on more pragmatic or practical aspects of assimilation. The primary focus and emphasis of Yang’s arguments are put on Asian American’s inherent cultural barriers for assimilation. The author acknowledges the notion that Asian American culture is not perfect and has elements, which harm Asian Americans themselves. For example, he states that “challenging established modes of doing things, questioning authority, and seeking out risk don’t always come easily to the children of tiger moms” (Smith para. 4). However, Yang does not directly claim to be against a new civil rights, but his approach is more assimilation focused in the areas, which could be beneficial for the community.

Yang would agree or at least acknowledge with Yoshino’s concept of “covering,” but the former is rather interested in solutions centered around assimilation. For example, Yoshino states, “racial minorities are pressed to “act white” by changing their names, languages, or cultural practices” (Yoshino para. 1). However, Yang does not argue that such forces do not exist, but simply points out that the “brute force” method of Asian American culture is too limiting for the community itself by stating that “Asian-Americans should do what Yang has done and consider the importance of behavioral assimilation. That can start with something as simple as smiling” (Smith para. 4). In other words, the perspectives of the authors are different but not mutually exclusive.

Yoshino does indeed argue that people should feel free not to “cover,” but it does not mean that changing the problematic or restrictive elements of a culture is something negative. Every culture has aspects, which everyone should embrace and adopt, and aspects, which are harmful, ignorant, and unhelpful to the community itself. Asian Americans do not need to fit into the mainstream but rather forge their own path through the empowerment of its inherently positive cultural aspects by eliminating the ones, which hurt them. For example, Yang describes many Asian American students as “unsmiling, silent, anti-social automatons who got perfect scores on everything,” which primarily hurts the community and repels them from other cultures (Smith para. 6). Being cheerful, socially competent, and communicative are not elements of white or other cultures but rather universally beneficial for all people since humans are social creatures. Therefore, every culture should work on transforming itself by getting rid of harmful aspects and using positive ones towards empowerment, which does not require adhering to the norms of the majority.

Yoshino might be critical of the statement if it is understood incorrectly, but otherwise might agree with Yang. The latter states that “those who present faces of stone in the workplace or social situations are sometimes incorrectly assumed by others to be discontented or angry or bubbling with secret grudges” (Smith para. 4). In other words, Yang means the statement in a literal sense in regards to the facial expression usage by Asian Americans. Multiculturalism embraces and welcomes all cultures, races, and ethnicities, but every group is still required to put the effort in order to achieve some form of mutual understanding, cooperation, and collaboration without adhering to the majority’s standards of behavior. Therefore, Yoshino would agree with Yang that there are inherent issues among Asian Americans, where the culture develops certain skills but ignores other ones, such as communication, facial expression use, and emotional openness. Similar problems are present in toxic masculinity, but it does not mean that manhood is inherently bad.

Covering is directly related to power, and power can be equated to freedom, which in turn means that power equates to covering. In the United States, covering is imposed on minorities by the White majority since the latter is in a position of power to dictate so. Silently forcing minorities to assimilate under the terms of the majority is a strong indicator of power imbalance in favor of the latter. In a theoretical world, where power is distributed evenly, assimilation would take place without imposing covering forces, but rather through an embracement of positive aspects of each culture and eliminating the harmful and redundant ones by the communities themselves. However, covering pressures minorities to adopt the norms of White culture, some of which are not beneficial to both Whites and minorities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both Yang and Yoshino address critical aspects of Asian Americans and their culture but focus on different aspects of it. Yoshino addresses the external pressures of covering, which are imposed by the majority on the minorities in order to forcefully assimilate them without evaluating whether or not these covering elements are inherently beneficial. However, Yang highlights the inherent flaws of Asian American culture, such as tiger mom raising individuals with outstanding “brute force” capabilities but no social skills.

Works Cited

Smith, Kyle. “Wesley Yang’s Asian-American Experience.”National Review, 2019, Web.

Yoshino, Kenji. ” Covering: The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights.”Kenji Yoshino, Web.