Media Portrayal of South Asian Role Models

What is it about?

This chapter examines the discursive constructions of these role models and argues that this is individualization of the model minority stereotype with two effects. First, it serves to confirm the message that Hong Kong is a meritocratic society with equal opportunities for all. Such notion may mask the structural barriers that interrupt academic and career advancement of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, and shift the blame to individuals who are in fact victims of an unequal system. Second, this individualization of the model minority stereotype also serves to reinforce the cultural hierarchy of Hong Kong/Chinese cultures over South Asian cultures.

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Why is it important?

This paper argues that the individual role model thesis paradoxically works to confirm the minority stereotypes of the underprivileged group.