Linsanity changes perspectives, defies stereotypes

Alina Alam
Columnist

Asian-American Jeremy Lin, current point guard for the New York Knicks, has dominated both on the court and in the media for the last couple of weeks. In doing so, he’s helped to defy the stereotype that surrounds his race.

The introduction of this tall, attractive Asian male, whose image has swept the media for weeks, is changing America’s perspective of Asian-Americans. While “Linsanity” has produced both crude and unfunny jokes that touch on Asian stereotypes, Lin’s on- and off-court performance is helping to prove the jokesters wrong.

We have all seen various Asian-Americans, especially on VCU’s diverse campus. However, there is still a picture in our head of the Asian male or female who is known for having Einstein’s brain and excelling at hobbies in the arts, such as music or drawing.

Lin, whose parents emigrated from Taiwan, was born in Los Angeles and raised in a Christian family. Like Lin, many people can relate to being born and raised in America while being of a different ethnicity. They don’t embody Caucasian features or typical American habits, so they may feel disconnected from the majority of American society.

Integrating proves to be a challenge because immigrants are often caught between nationalities. They know they’re American, but their physical appearance, foreign accent or particular behavior clearly divides them from the America portrayed on the cover of magazines and television ads.

While the media is slowly being filled with various other races, the majority of what we see still consists of Caucasian-Americans. Lin is a role model for children of different races who don’t have someone with whom to identify.

I know that I don’t fulfill many of the stereotypes that are made about my own ethnicity, yet I’ll be the first to admit that stereotypes have influenced my perception about people of another race.

While many of us know better than to judge based on a stereotype because we have seen that almost everyone is an exception, we’re all still guilty of doing it. It’s part of human nature to identify differences in other people. At the very least, these judgments occur on a first impression and superficial basis.

Lin will give Asian-American kids a role model to look up to, someone to show them that they can go beyond the limitations introduced to them through stereotypes.

Lin is a different type of role model for today’s youth, particularly Asian-Americans without athletic role models. Lin can be the person to whom they can look and know that race is an obstacle that can be overcome. It’s a good thing to see that we’re recognizing that diversity goes beyond just blacks and whites.

In the grand scheme of things, Lin is only the beginning; he has opened doors for Asian-Americans after him.