Blog #11

 

 

   As an Asian American growing up in Southern California, stereotype threat was not very apparent to me. Many of my schools friends and the people in my community were accustomed to immigrants living among them and working shoulder to shoulder in the same field. However, I first encountered stereotype threat when I left the comfortable bubble of Orange County. For the first time in my life, I left home and went to boot camp for the United States Navy in Chicago, Illinois. I did not encounter stereotype threat in the actual windy city, but within the small community of recruits who came from all parts of the United States. Individuals from all areas of the nation came together in a small space and were trained together for duration of three months. It is here, among people who have never encountered an Asian American that I felt I could not make a mistake. Many people held the stereotype that Asians are shy and quiet and I did not want to affirm that stereotype. Therefore, I tried my best to be outspoken and stand out among the many members in my unit. I did not want to remain silent in fear that I may be stereotyped to a certain characteristic.