Asian vs Western, how much of what u believe about each other is actually real, and how much of it is shaped by stereotypes u’ve absorbed over time?

[Anonymous]

For those from Western backgrounds, what are your honest stereotypes about Asian people, both positive and negative?

And for those from Asian backgrounds, what are your stereotypes about Western people?

More importantly, how much of those beliefs come from direct experience, and how much from media, culture, or other people’s opinions?

If you’re being completely honest, have you ever realized that something you believed about a group wasn’t really your own conclusion but something you inherited without questioning?

And at what point do we stop calling something a ‘stereotype’ and start recognizing it as a bias we’ve simply become comfortable holding onto?

[KostasKouvalis]

I've been to Asia, encountered many Asian tourists and there's also a large Asian community where I live, so I think I'm qualified to answer.

Most of the good ones I hear are false, it's mostly the bad ones I've heard that turned out to be true. Like that they're dangerous drivers and that Chinese are the worst behaved tourists.

The part about them being smart and hardworking, that mainly applies to EAST Asians.

The "polite" stereotype, I also found to be untrue. They're always loud, pushing and shoving and they'll scream at you over the slightest things, and they're racist and believe they're superior and anyone who doesn't look or act like them, is below them and unworthy of equal treatment.

Maybe only Hmongs are the exception, they assimilate well, but like to keep to themselves.

I had a SE Asian girl tell me they're a little different because they look down on themselves and are only good for sex. The White man and sex obsession and gold digging stereotype is somewhat true, though many see White people as inferior too, except maybe Koreans, but still treat them better than other races, but still treat other Asians better. Even if they're countries are enemies, they'll still treat another Asian better.

My mom never liked them because she said they're loud and dangerous drivers and also my dad cheated on my mom with an Asian. I never reallly had strong opinions one way or the other, except I was annoyed when they would scream and scare off wildlife. It wasn't until I actually traveled to Taiwan, that I developed a strong dislike of them. But I should point out Asians in the U. S. are COMPLETELY different than Asians in Asia.

But my biggest issue is, they're so racist, but have the nerve to whine when others are racist towards them. Some Asian made a post on Reddit complaining about racism is White countries, but when I made the same post with the reverse, it got removed. Asian racism is always excused as "misunderstanding" or "being cautious."

"If you’re being completely honest, have you ever realized that something you believed about a group wasn’t really your own conclusion but something you inherited without questioning?"

YES, NOT JUST WITH Asians. And it's both. Negetaive stereotypes turned out to be false, but also positive ones turned out to be false.

"And at what point do we stop calling something a ‘stereotype’ and start recognizing it as a bias we’ve simply become comfortable holding onto?"

Do you know the sayng, "Two is a coincidence, three is a pattern."

Bottom-line is, Asians aren't as nice and polite as people say.

[KostasKouvalis]

Oh, I'll add one more thing, the one my dad cheated with (my mom claims she was Filipino, my dad says she was Taiwanese), she charged my dad 100% to cook him dinner.
My cousin dated 2 from Korea. One got mad and left him because my mom wouldn't give my cousin a ring for engagement. The second got mad and left him, because he wouldn't sponsor her and pay for her college. And online I read a story, about a Filipina woman who got caught shoplifting and she threw the stuff into her White boyfriend's cart and ran off.
Another said, she married a White man and moved to the U. S. and her family disowned her after she stopped sending them money.
Lastly, the U. S. actually had to pass laws to prevent Asian (mostlly Chinese women) from marrying American man just to get a greencard. I saw a documentary about a White guy with a Chinese fetish. He married and divorced over 1000 Chinese women to get them greencards, and he said he didn't care, because they gave him sex in return.

Asians aren't ass polite and classy as people think. Even advanced nations like Japan are still backwards in many ways. They are smart in math, science and technology, but completely dumb when it comes to other cultures. One of our tour guides took money directly from Asians, but made us give it to our receptionist because he didn't trust Whitey to pay up. And I read in Korea, some restaurants banned black people because they thought all black people might have Ebola. Even Koreans wouldn't hire an Asian-American to teach English, because they thought only White people can speak proper English.

[BonzoInBitburg]

My wife is from SE Asia and we've spent a bunch of time there and I'm not sure any of the stereotypes are true. Maybe based on some truth and very exaggerated but Asian culture is definitely misunderstood by Westerners.

[7Phoenix7]

I think a lot of what we believe starts off as stereotypes… whether we admit it or not lol.

Like, I have a guy friend who’s Korean and a girl friend who’s Chinese… and just knowing them alone has already challenged a lot of the ‘general ideas’ people like to throw around regarding Asians. They’re both completely different from each other snd other Asians I've met… and also from what people assume.

It made me realize how easy it is to think you ‘know’ a group of people when really you’ve just absorbed things from media, jokes, or other people’s opinions.

And I think the tricky part is that some stereotypes come from patterns people think they see… but we forget that individuals don’t exist to match those patterns. Everyone is their own person period.

For me, the moment it shifts from stereotype to bias is when you keep holding onto certain beliefs even after you’ve had real experiences that contradict it.

That’s when it’s not just something you’ve heard anymore… it’s something you’re choosing to believe.

[NathanDavis]

I don't stereotypes

[Dargil]

Both.