- Stereotypes of South Asians
Stereotypes of South Asians are oversimplified ethnic stereotypes of
South Asia n people, and are found in many Western societies. Stereotypes of South Asians have been collectively internalized by societies, and are manifested by a society's media,literature ,theatre and other creative expressions. However, these stereotypes have very real repercussions for South Asians in daily interactions,current events , and governmentallegislation .Some stereotypes of South Asians overlap with
Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians , such as the model minority stereotype and stereotypes of exclusion. However, not all stereotypes of Asians apply to South Asians, and South Asians have their own independent set of stereotypes as well.South Asians as well as other
Asian American s have been stereotyped as "model minorities": hardworking, politically inactive, studious, intelligent, productive, and inoffensive people who have elevated their social standing through merit and diligence.Particularly in Britain, South Asians have been stereotyped as being a majority of
newsagent andconvenience store shopkeepers, the stereotypePaki shop ; and also making a majority of doctors, these are all again often associated as being hardworking. This stereotype was made fun in the television and radio sketches of Goodness Gracious Me by fourBritish Asian comedy actors themselves. This stereotype also exists in America as well.Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from the animated TV showThe Simpsons is a prototypical hard working South Asian convenience store owner who essentially never takes a vacation, has an arranged marriage and a large number of children.Pakistanis
Racial superiority to Indians
Indians
Both South Asians and East Asians were subject to stereotypes of exclusion, especially during the late 1800s and early 1900s with the advent of what Americans called the
Yellow Peril andHindu Invasion. American newspaper headlines illustrating stereotypes of exclusion towards South Asians include: "The Tide of Turbans" ("Forum", 1910) and "The Perils of Immigration Impose on Congress a New Issue: the Hindoo Invasion - a new peril" ("Current Opinion", 1914).General
Violent fighting over securing an Indian wife
"The shortage of Indian women resulted in violence commited by jealous lovers and husbands, creating a stereotype of East Indian men, which gained in infamy ... coolies reputation with the police was bad and significantly while the Negroes use their tongue in argument, the Indian commit murder, and given the scarcity of Indian women, without hesitation. Thus the stereotype is reinforced ascribing to the Indian husband a frantically jealous discposition." Ramdin, Ron. Arising from Bondage: A History of the Indo-Caribbean People.Published by NYU Press, 2000ISBN 0814775489]
Irrationality
" [I] n the Western popular consciousness the Indian subcontinent... is denounced for its irrationality...Hindu beliefs and traditions are often represented as a superstitious localized collection of archaic cults...During the impressionable teenage years, these negative portrayals [of Hinduism] can cause shame and embarrassment among Indian-American students regarding their ancestry and can engender a dislike for India... Negativities may persist in classes at the University level [in the United States] , in which Hinduism is represented as myth," (this refers only to those following the Hindu religion, and another stereotype is presented here: most people think that all Indians are Hindu)
Monkey brain eaters
"The wholly fictional depiction of India in the Steven Spielberg film,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , seems to have been taken as a valid portrayal of India by many teachers, since a large number of students surveyed complained that teachers referred to the eating of monkey brains."Rosser, Yvette. Missouri Southern State University. Teaching South Asia. 2001. Accessed July 18. [http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/tsa/VIN1/Rosser.htm ] ]ee also
*
British Asian
*South Asian American
*Indo-Canadian
*Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians
*Brown people
*Oriental Chinese References
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