On March 15, Harvard sophomore Justin Fong published a short piece entitled "The Invasian" in The Crimson's weekly magazine, "Fifteen Minutes." In "The Invasian," Fong criticized the Harvard Asian American population for falling into stereotypes in an unusually hyperbolic essay where he described the stereotypical Asian male as "a scrawny, impotent, effeminate brainiac" and the stereotypical Asian female as "a sex fiend hottie whose bones everyone wants to jump." While much of the ensuing uproar focused on Fong's alleged racism and misogyny, most people missed the point of the article -- it was a critique of Asian self-segregation.
Fong stated that he hated Asians in general because they complain of marginalization in a world where they continue to exclusively "hang out with Asians, walk to class with Asians, eat dinner at a table full of Asians, eat Asian food preferably in Asian restaurants in Asian districts of Asian Boston."
The Invasian. It's not just limited to Harvard. We see it at Dartmouth every day, the cluster of Asian Americans who sit together in Food Court, who talk privately among themselves in Collis, who only say hello to other Asian Americans as they pass one another in the Hop. Is this a problem? Does self-segregation hurt the Dartmouth community? Why do so many Asian Americans self-segregate?
On a fundamental level, people choose to associate around those that they feel comfortable around. Athletes hang out with athletes. Rich preppies hang out with rich preppies. Asian Americans hang out with other Asian Americans. These groups share a collective culture and experience that allow close friendships to develop. Furthermore, self-segregation among minority groups is often a necessity. Caucasians rarely think twice whether they are the minority in a room; at Dartmouth, this is rarely ever the concern. But minorities face such situations on a far more common basis. Minority groups often allow its individuals to feel a little less like outsiders, to feel like they actually belong somewhere. In the face of an overwhelming white America, minority groups provide strength and foundation.
There is nothing wrong with grouping itself. However, Justin Fong makes a good point when he writes, "the real problem with all of this is that [self-segregation] perpetuates the stereotypes and the racial divisions that we already have. The more the Asians stick to themselves, the more alienated we feel from their community, and the more alienated they feel from our community. We're distancing ourselves here." The irony and the conflict of the situation reside in the fact that while self-segregation seems helpful to the individual, it negatively affects Asian Americans within the larger community. Self-segregation leads to group alienation, a process that can easily turn into the social and political marginalization that many Asian Americans feel they suffer in America.
I would furthermore argue that self-segregation places limitations on both the individual and the group. On an individual basis, self-segregation limits the number of people one can meet and the types of friends that one can have. While many Asian Americans are happy to have strictly Asian friends, they are closed off from the variety of experiences that a diverse group of friends can bring to the table. Diversity brings with it new experiences, new stories, different values and different perspectives all the little insights that can help us learn more about the world. The Dartmouth campus is full of fascinating people from diverse backgrounds; to ignore the richness of this community is an injustice to the individual who hides behind the cloak of ethnicity.
On a larger scale, self-segregation limits Asian Americans as a group. When Asian Americans refuse to associate with those on the outside, that outside majority can only assume what the group is like; the majority can only generalize. Assumptions, generalizations this is the path to racism. I cannot help but believe that if every student had more minority friends than group assumptions, then race relations on this campus would be far better than they are today.
However, this process starts with the group, with Asian Americans breaking away from the self-segregating pack. A self-segregated group may provide strength for the individuals within it, but it can splinter the greater community if its members refuse to share themselves.
Having argued all this, however, I must admit that I disagree with Justin Fong on a fundamental level. He blasts Asians for associating with other Asians, for perpetuating stereotypes by refusing to blend into the outer world, but he has not taken into consideration the concept of individual choice.
I believe in personal choice. All Asian Americans have a right to associate with whomever they wish to. If an Asian American chooses to associate only with other Asians, that is okay. If an Asian American chooses to associate with a diverse group of friends, that is okay too. Despite all that I have argued in favor of having diverse friendships, it is more important for Asian Americans to do what they feel what is comfortable for them. To tell an Asian American who has only had Asian friends all his life to go find non-Asian friends is arrogant -- who am I to tell someone whom to associate with?
Thus, the Dartmouth majority has much to learn about self-segregation as well. There needs to be less criticism and more understanding. Self-segregation is not all that bad, especially when it helps individuals feel comfortable and safe. Conversely, Asian Americans need to learn that while self-segregation can be helpful, it limits the experiences one can have, as well isolate the minority as a whole. Self-segregation is a complex issue, far more complicated than Justin Fong made it out to be in his article. But he raises interesting points on inclusion and exclusion that the Dartmouth community ought to consider. Think about it.
