Model of and Model for Ethnic Minorities: Individualization of the Model Minority Stereotype in Hong Kong

Abstract

In recent years, we have seen a wave of media attention on the “first ever South Asian…” in Hong Kong. They are upheld as “role models” of and for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong—role models who have achieved success through the local system. 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. This chapter begins by listing some noticeable examples of the “first ever South Asian…” in Hong Kong. It then argues how such promotion of individual success stories is essentially individualization of the model minority stereotype, and discusses the possible impacts.