Graduation Year
2022
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Sociology
Reader 1
Dr. Azamat Junisbai
Reader 2
Dr. Rudy Mondragón
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
This study examines the impact and the implications of the model minority myth in the lives of Asian American women athletes. It draws on thirteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews with women currently competing in college sports who grapple with their intersectional identities as Asian American athletes and as women. I analyze the effects of the model minority expectations through individual internalization of the myth and its associated ideologies. This study looks at the ways that they are physically perceived as female athletes and the racialized nature of sports through the objectification of their appearances. Additionally, it explores the parental influence on their participation in athletics and contradicting factors that affect their current position as Asian American student athletes. I discovered a prominent generational shift in the understanding and implementation of the model minority myth. By focusing on this specific subgroup of Asian Americans in female student athletes, I locate a tension between how they subvert and embody the model minority. This complicates our understanding of the model minority myth because of the unexplored aspects of its effects on student athletes in collegiate sports. To further previous research, the study highlights the importance of challenging hegemonic narratives and developing one’s racialized and gendered identity outside of systemic stereotypes.
Recommended Citation
Ponzio, Anna, "Model Minority Perceptions: The Lived Experiences of Asian American Women in Collegiate Sports" (2022). Pitzer Senior Theses. 126.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/126
