The Model Minority Myth

Alright, Now What?

With Prachi Gupta, author of They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies that Raised Us. The Canadian Encyclopedia says the model minority is a stereotype that “depicts Asians as hard working, successful at school and in the workplace, and as economically prosperous.”

It may seem like a positive stereotype. But it divides non-model and model racialized communities, ignores vast disparities in wealth and well-being faced by pan-Asian people, and trivializes the impacts of racism.

That the model minority stereotype is racist is no question. But how does it impact people differently depending on their gender? How does it work to alienate us from ourselves and from each other?

We’re joined by Prachi Gupta, award-winning journalist and former senior reporter at Jezebel. She won a Writers Guild Award for her investigative essay “Stories About My Brother.” Her work was featured in The Best American Magazine Writing 2021 and has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post Magazine, Marie Claire, Salon, Elle, and elsewhere. They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies that Raised Us is her debut memoir, named one of the top 40 books of 2023 by Amazon and top 18 memoirs of the year by Audible. She lives in Brooklyn.

A note about content: this episode addresses gender-based violence.

Episode ⁠Transcripts⁠

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