Asian American Olympians often framed through ‘strict’ parent narrative. Why that’s damaging

The members of Team USA are thrust into the spotlight every Olympic Games, but when it comes to coverage of Asian American athletes, experts say the media often falls short, giving them little dimension.

Scholars pointed out that Asian representation among Olympians has increased over the years, but stories and headlines about Asian American athletes have remained stagnant, continuing to revolve around athletes’ “strict” parents, immigrant sacrifice and discipline. While these can be critical elements of Olympians’ lives, experts say the simultaneous erasure of other aspects, like passion and individuality, have led to a longstanding and dangerous history of refusing to illustrate Asian Americans as full human beings, even in the realm of elite sports.

“If you start to dig underneath that language and look at the larger history, the longer portrayal of Asian Americans, in the way, even in these positive iterations in talking about Asian American Olympians, it’s still relying on this language of yellow peril and model minority,” Jennifer Ho, president of the Association for Asian American Studies, said. “It’s been repurposed and repackaged, but it’s still really referencing Asian Americans as part of a larger collectivity.”

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