Guilt, Shame and Model Minorities: How South Asian Youth in Toronto Navigate the Canadian Educational System

GUILT, SHAME AND MODEL MINORITIES: HOW SOUTH ASIAN YOUTH IN TORONTO NAVIGATE THE CANADIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Sangeetha Navaratnam

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Sociology and Equity Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

GUILT, SHAME AND MODEL MINORITIES: HOW SOUTH ASIAN YOUTH IN TORONTO NAVIGATE THE CANADIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM Masters of Arts 2011

Sangeetha Navaratnam

Sociology and Equity Studies in Education University of Toronto

Abstract The present study examines issues that South Asian youth face as members of a model minority group. Using 14 semi-structured interviews, South Asian youth (aged 18-26) discussed issues they encountered as they navigated educational institutions in Canada. The study found that participants were not aware of the term model minority. Furthermore, participants received input, either directly or indirectly, from family and community members regarding their career choices. Lastly, participants experienced guilt and shame during decision-making processes, but ultimately chose their own path with [eventual] acceptance from parents. Results indicate that schools in the GTA are not attuned to the needs of South Asian students which often left students at a disadvantage when making future career and educational choices. There is a need for educators, administrators, and policymakers to develop more specialized programs toward helping South Asian youth navigate the Canadian educational institutions.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank all of the South Asian youth who agreed to participant in this study. I would like to express my appreciation for your willingness to share your stories with me. I hope I did justice to your experiences.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Coloma. There were moments when I was sure that I could not finish this project but you encouraged and supported me to see this thesis to its completion. I will always be grateful for your patience and guidance throughout this process. I also need to express my gratitude to Dr. Cody the second member of my thesis committee for his feedback on this project and more importantly for his gentle push into the world of Tamil Studies.

To Amma and Appa, although I’m sure that you both do not know what my degree is in, thank you for always offering me a room of my own.

To my sisters from Akka’s Place, you ladies have been amazing. Thank you so much for laughter, stories and the food! I’ve learned so much from each and every one of you. I could not have asked for a more enthusiastic, critical or supportive group of people to spend time with while working on this project. Our discussions were continuous sources of inspiration for me and I am so happy that I have all of you in my life.

Finalmente, ao Douglas. Você foi uma constante fonte de apoio, amor e compreensão durante todo esse trabalho, nada disso teria sido possível sem você. Obrigada por incontáveis vezes ler os meus rascunhos, trazer-me xícaras de café, buscar-me à noite na biblioteca e entender minha loucura. Você está presente, e muito, nesse projeto; só queria que estivesse aqui para comemorar essa conquista comigo. Amo você.

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Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ...... 1 South Asians as a Model Minority...... 15 Model Minority Post-9/11...... 20 Dangers of the Model Minority Stereotype ...... 24 Model Minority and Education ...... 26 Cross-Cultural Notions of Guilt and Shame ...... 32 Guilt and Shame in Asian Communities ...... 36 Chapter 2 Research Methodology ...... 37 The Participants ...... 38 Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Participants ...... 43 Table 2: Opinions about Parental Involvement in Children’s Education ...... 44 Data Collection and Analysis...... 46 The Politics of Research ...... 49 Limitations and Implications ...... 53 Chapter 3 ...... 57 Results ...... 57 Overview ...... 57 Section A: Guilt and Shame ...... 60 Section B: Career Choices ...... 65 Professional Careers...... 68 Section C: Gender Roles in Relation to Career Choices...... 74 Section D: Model Minority ...... 78 Chapter 4 Conclusion ...... 90 References ...... 92

List of Tables

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Participants…………………………..………43 Table 2: Opinions about Parental Involvement in Children’s Education………….....……..44

List of Figures

Figure 1: Breakdown of South Asians in Canada ...... 8 Figure 2: Islamophobic/anti-South Asian graffiti on the Toronto Transit System ...... 23 Figure 3: Visual Depiction of the Social Model of Guilt ...... 34 Figure 4: Visual Depiction of the Social Model of Shame ...... 34

List of Appendices Appendix A: E-mail text for recruitment…………………………………………..………..98 Appendix B: Letter of Information…………...………………………………….…..……...99 Appendix C: Interview Guide…..……………………………………………………..…...100 Appendix D: Consent Form………..…………………………………..…………………..102 Appendix E: Debrief Form………..……………………………………..………………...103

Chapter 1 Introduction

Wherever I turn, there is something of which to be ashamed. But shame is like everything else; live with it for long enough and it becomes part of the furniture… You can find shame in every house, burning in an ashtray, hanging framed upon a wall, covering a bed. But nobody notices it any more.

(Rushdie, 1983: 21)

In 1983, Salman Rushdie, a well-known South Asian author, wrote a novel entitled

Shame . The novel takes place in an unnamed South Asian country 1, and explores the concept of shame through various themes such as the political arena, familial relations and personal emotion. In the novel, Rushdie discusses shame and other self-conscious emotions within a

South Asian framework, which spoke to me on a personal level. The narrator of the novel explains that the South Asian understanding of shame is different from the Western word

“shame”:

This word: shame. No, I must write it in its original form, not in this peculiar language tainted by wrong concepts and the accumulated detritus of its owners' unrepented past, this Angrezi 2 in which I am forced to write and so forever alter what is written....Sharam, that's the word. For which this paltry 'shame' is a whole inadequate translation….A short word, but one containing encyclopedias of nuance….embarrassment, discomfiture, decency, modesty, shyness, the sense of having an ordained place in the world and other dialects of emotion for which English has no counterparts. (Rushdie, 1983, p. 33)

Although the novel is set in South Asia, the narrator is a member of the South Asian diaspora, residing in London, England. I believe the narrator is telling this story from a particular diasporic context, one that gestures to the frustration of trying to navigate communities and circumstances that are neither exclusively South Asian nor wholly Western. In particular,

1 Most academics and literary critics claim that the country is Pakistan (Hussain, 1989). 2 Angrezi is a word used by Hindi speakers for English. 1

2 the word sharam captivated my attention. I do not speak a word of Hindi, but I knew exactlywhat Rushdie’s narrator meant when he suggested that English has no counterpart to the word sharam . Although, I did not grow up in South Asia, I was drawn to the ways in which the novel illustrated these nuances within personal, professional and familial situations. The novel is entitled shame but the characters experience in the novel both shame and guilt, at least in the

Western sense of those words. Guilt is actually seen to occur when there is an issue that a person has control over , but shame is often experienced when a person feels responsible for a problem that they could not control (Branscombe et al ., 2004).

For example, in the novel Omar’s unwed mother’s pregnancy is an example of sharam .

To mask her sharam her two sisters exhibit pregnancy symptoms and none of the three reveal which one of them is actually pregnant. Omar, the son, is born to an unwed mother, whose material grandfather dies bankrupt, and is rumored to have been fathered by a man who is not

South Asian. Ultimately the three sisters raise the child communally trying, as much as possible, to raise him without the stigma of sharam . From a western standpoint that would be an example of guilt because pregnancy would be something that Omar’s mother has control over. On the other hand, Omar feels shame that his mother was unmarried when she conceived him. Because his feelings are due to a situation which he does not have control over, he experiences shame.

Within a western explanation of guilt and shame the two previously mentioned examples fall into different categories, however, within the definition set out by Rushdie both are examples of the nuances of sharam .

Around the midpoint of the novel, the narrator takes us from East to the West for a brief time to reflect upon shame in South Asian diaspora as reported by Western media. He touches upon gender-based violence, racially motivated assaults, and race riots. The narrator does not

3 condemn the violence, but explains that “the news did not seem alien to me. We who have grown up on a diet of honour and shame can still grasp what must seem unthinkable to people”

(Rushdie, 1983, p.117). Upon reflection, I realized that the nuances of shame he discussed were not only identifiable but I had experienced a few of them in my own life. I could recall several pivotal moments when I was faced with a decision where I, albeit sometimes briefly, considered the possibility of feeling shame on behalf of myself, my family, and my community. For example, I’ve always had a very clear plan for my educational and career trajectory. I was going to become a medical doctor, a decision that my parents and my extended family supported completely. However, after a year as an undergraduate life science student, I knew I had no interest in medicine. My passion lay elsewhere, in the social science field. Similarly, I also recall struggling to complete my bachelor of education degree, and becoming so frustrated by my conservative peers and teaching associates that I contemplated leaving the program. In both instances, I felt a great deal of guilt and shame because I felt pressured to complete the educational and career goals I had set out for myself. It took some time and personal reflection before I could admit to both myself and my parents what was actually happening in my life. In fact, I remember feeling quite anxious; not about switching my major or dropping out of my post-graduate degree program, but about how my parents would take the news.

Unfortunately, it appears that Rushdie is among the few who have managed to tackle the issue of shame within a South Asian framework. While combing through both academic and mainstream literature I found a number of articles and novels that hint at the issue of shame and guilt, but none that focus mainly on this topic. Moreover, the articles, especially those in popular media, tend to focus on the success of South Asians, both economically and academically.

Furthermore, those same articles often referred to individuals such as Rushdie who have “made

4 it” in the diaspora by achieving academic and financial success. Often the authors put forward a cultural argument stating that South Asians are naturally hard working, and as such, it would be no surprise that South Asians are successful in the diaspora. An excellent example of such an article was published by Forbes Magazine entitled “Indian Americans: The New Model

Minority.” In the article, the author explicitly states that culture is one of the main aspects that make Indian Americans academically and professionally successful in Canada and the United

States. He says, “the success of Indian Americans is also often ascribed to the culture they bring with them, which places strong – some would even say obsessive – emphasis on academic achievement” (Richwine, 2009, para. 9). In contrast, very few articles take an in-depth approach to understanding the South Asian disapora. In other words, many articles only mention individuals who sustain the model minority stereotype; the Forbes’ article focuses on Indian

American children who win spelling bee contests, but, the article does not mention that some

Indian-American children do not have English language skills and struggle academically to acquire them. In a Financial Times article the author discusses the success of Asian immigrants in the United States. Shashi Anand, a South Asian woman who emigrated to the U.S. with less than $100 and now runs a company worth $18 million, was interviewed as part of the article.

Anand claims that “the success of Asians is clearly cultural” and often is tied to the obligations that come with being an immigrant (Pimlott, 2007). While the article does spend a few lines discussing how some South East Asians struggle financially when they move to the U.S., the general tone of the article is still one that supports the model minority stereotype. In general, what is often missing from these mainstream articles is a critical analysis that examines the issue from the perspective of the whole community. Furthermore, many times discussions and

5 interviews with individuals and their families who do not fit into the model minority stereotype are not included thereby painting a very one sided picture of the phenomenon.

From the articles mentioned in the Financial Times and Forbes magazine it would appear that success and failure have to do with the amount of money that an individual makes. Or in the case of first generation South Asians in Canada and the United States, success seems to be about much more money an individual has compared with when they migrated where they began. For example, Shashi is considered successful because she came to America with less than $100 but is now worth $18 million. However, based on the literature and the discussions with South Asian youth I would say money is not always the focus when defining success. In terms of the model minority stereotype, success seems to occur when an individual has a professional degree and middle to upper middle class income. While speaking to participants, it was clear that South

Asian youth were concerned about more than just money. Many participants were concerned about work life balance and job satisfaction and spent more time discussing those issues compared with money.

My personal point of departure for this study is based on informal discussions I have had over the past few years with peers, family members, friends, and colleagues who are South

Asian. During the time, we were making the transition from pre- to post-secondary studies and as a result educational and career goals were a popular topic of conversation. Many people I spoke with discussed their future career choices in relation to desires that their families had for them. As a result, I started to think about how family and community play a crucial part in choosing careers, and consequently how individuals feel if they chose to pursue other occupations.

In light of societal perceptions of South Asians as a model minority, and the lack of educational research about them, this thesis investigates the following research questions: What pressures might exist for South Asians in Canada to live up to these ideas of academic and economic success? How do individuals feel about these pressures, and how might these pressures affect them on a personal level? The aim of this research is to complicate notions of academic and financial success as cultural traits within the South Asian community. In other words, the purpose of this study is not to assume that the model minority stereotype is a cultural trait; rather, this study aims to ask questions about what other factors, other than culture, might be leading South Asian youth to gravitate towards certain career and educational paths. In particular, this will be done by examining how emotions such as shame and guilt influenced

South Asian youth in terms of their career and academic choices.

My purpose with this study is to broaden our understanding of the difficulties that South

Asian youth experience as they try to navigate the Canadian educational system. While some research has examined the model minority stereotype, the majority of studies have focused on the educational system in the United States and on East Asians students (Chou, 2008; Kao, 1995;

Kibria, 1998; Klassen, 2004; Lee, 2009). Furthermore some analyses of education and schooling have occurred through ethnographic designs with South Asians in the U.S. regarding economic achievement and education (Asher, 2002; Bhattacharya, 2000; Ngo, 2006). Additionally, extensive studies on South Asians and educational achievement have also been undertaken in the

United Kingdom (Abbas, 2004; Chandra-Gool, 2006; Hussan & Bagguley, 2007; Shain, 2003) though comparable studies have not yet been extensively explored within a Canadian context.

This study attempts to provide a voice for South Asian youth and also contribute to the small body of literature that focuses on South Asian students in Canada. To this end, I examined the

7 challenges that South Asian youth face at the personal level, as well as the types of family influence that might occur with respect to career options. Through investigation of the emotions of shame and guilt I hope to gain a better understanding of the ways in which the model minority stereotype affect the lives, educational experiences, and career choices of South Asian youth.

Evidence suggests that South Asian youth in both the United Kingdom and the United

States are facing unique challenges in navigating secondary and post-secondary educational institutions (Bhattacharya, 2000). In fact, many of these challenges are complicated by factors such as class, gender and immigration status. For example, according to a study conducted by

Crozier and Davies (2006), some South Asian mothers, who had limited knowledge of English, were embarrassed to speak with their children’s teachers regarding their children’s academic progress. As a result, students’ academic or personal issues were left undisclosed to parents.

Furthermore, according to Ijaz and Abbas (2010), some South Asian Muslim families face challenges with the educational system because of the stereotypical view that their community does not value education for daughters. On the other hand, according to Banerjee-Stevens

(2009), the transition from high school to university was fraught with conflict for her because she felt pressure to both pursue her own dreams and please her parents. Based on the examples cited above, it is clear that many challenges exist on a both a personal and institutional level, which can potentially affect educational achievements of South Asians in the diaspora.

With respect to the Canadian context, the term South Asian represents a range of “ethnic, religious and linguistic groups whose ancestries, immigration histories and personal experience[s] are quite varied” (Tran et al ., 2005 p.20). It refers to individuals who trace their origins to the Indian subcontinent (Herteis, 2009; Tran et al ., 2005). Presently, South Asians make up the largest visible minority group in Canada and account for approximately 4% of the

8 total population or about 1,262,900 people (Statistics Canada, 2006). In 2006, more than 69% of South Asians self-identified as East Indian, 9.3% as Pakistani, 7.8 % Sri Lankan, 4.1%

Punjabi, 2.7% Tamil, 1.8% Bangladeshi, 2.7% Canadian, 2.6% European, and 2.5% identified as being from the British Isles 3 (Statistics Canada, 2006). Please see Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Breakdown of South Asians in Canada

The vast majority of South Asians have made Ontario and British Columbia their homes. While

Vancouver has historically been the port of entry for many South Asian immigrants (Gee, 2011;

Prashad, 2000), the past years have seen a dramatic shift in immigration patterns where Toronto has now become an equally, if not more, desirable port of entry to Canada (Gee, 2011). South

Asians are expected to triple its numbers to 2.1 million by 2031 where close to one in four people in the GTA will be of South Asian descent (Gee, 2011). According to a report by the

3 13.1% of South Asians reported multiple ethnic origins.

Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), 23.7% of South Asians in Canada currently live in Scarborough, a suburb of the GTA. Of the various groups of South Asians in

Canada, the largest number of individuals reported Punjabi as their ancestry especially in

Vancouver where they make up 80% of the South Asian population (Gee, 2011). However, within the GTA where different migration patterns have taken place, individuals of Tamil ancestry make up the largest group of South Asians (CASSA, 2000).

The first group of South Asian migrants arrived in Canada as labourers from India over

100 years ago. They were men from the Punjabi region who arrived in Vancouver and became a source of cheap manual labour, especially for the construction of the Trans-Canada Railway

(Fleras & Elliott, 2003; Jaicy, 2010; Tran et al ., 2005). According to Helen Ralston (1999),

South Asian migration to Canada commenced when Punjabi Indian troops stationed in East Asia, traveled through Canada on their way to various celebrations held by the English monarchy in

London, England. According to her, in 1904 there were approximately 44 South Asian men and women who migrated to Canada. However, that number quickly increased and by 1908 there were 5179 South Asians in Canada (Ralston, 1999). It should be noted that, in the early 1900s,

Canada and most of South Asia were under British colonial rule; therefore, South Asians were able to immigrate to Canada as members of the British Commonwealth because of the belief that everyone was equal under the empire.

However, those first immigrants faced racism and discrimination, and were often excluded from mainstream Canadian society. In fact, many became targets for abuse and exploitation (Fleras & Elliott, 2003). According to Siddiqui (2004), some of the early racism that South Asians faced included the Vancouver press characterizing South Asian men as a

“danger to chaste white women.” Canadian politicians characterized South Asians as “decidedly

10 grotesque, and a people sadly out of place in Canada who cannot be assimilated." Furthermore, anti-Asian riots occurred in Vancouver in 1907 (Kurian, 1991). In 1908 the Canadian government implemented the Continuous Journey Regulation , which required all immigrants to come directly from their homelands. As a result, on May 23, 1914, a defining moment in South

Asian Canadian history occurred when 376 South Asians arrived in Vancouver on the Komagata

Maru , a Japanese steamship (Kurian, 1991). Although all of the passengers, as British citizens, were legally entitled to enter and reside in Canada, they were not permitted to disembark, and after two months of waiting offshore in horrible conditions, the ship was turned away and forced to return to India. The Komagata Maru incident marks the first time in Canadian history that a boat carrying immigrants was denied entry into Canada. During this time, much of the rhetoric surrounding South Asian immigration pointed to the notions that they were dangerous, distrustful and unable to integrate into Canadian society (Prashad, 2000). The Continuous Journey regulation was kept in place until the end of the Second World War. Once the Second World

War ended and India had gained its independence, the Canadian government established immigration quotas for South Asians wanting to settle in Canada (Kurian, 1991). Although the quota system was seen as more lenient compared to the previous laws, immigration was still restricted to only 150 Indians, 100 Pakistanis, and 50 Sri Lankan immigrants per year (Kurian,

1991; Siddiqui, 2004).

South Asian immigration to Canada did not expand until the 1960s–1970s, when a new criterion for immigration was established with the elimination of the quota system. This new system was seen to emphasize “education, training and skills” (Kurian, 1991 p. 422), and allowed many individuals from India and Pakistan, who were skilled workers and professionals, to immigrate to Canada (Siddiqui, 2004). Fundamentally the system focused on economic

11 priorities. It should be noted family reunification is also considered important due new immigrants benefiting from having family already established in the country and the support that they can provide. Within the new system, potential immigrants were given points based on criteria such as education, training, job experience, occupational demand, age, relatives in

Canada, and knowledge of English and/or French as Canada’s official languages. If individuals have enough points they can potentially be interviewed by a visa officer to determine suitability for immigration (Fleras & Elliott, 2003). As a result of the new criteria, the new system introduced also led to increasing immigration of South Asians from the Caribbean. 4

In contrast to immigration from India and Pakistan, the majority of Sri Lankan immigration to Canada has only significantly occurred in the past 20 years, while immigration from Bangladesh only began to increase to significant numbers 15 years ago or so 5. Both Sri

Lankan and Bangladeshi immigrants have mainly arrived in Canada as refugees (Ghosh, 2007).

In fact, in 1983 there were less than 2000 Tamils in Canada. However, due to the start of a civil war in Sri Lanka in 1983 the Tamil population in Canada has grown to become the largest Tamil diaspora outside of South Asia. Currently there are approximately 110 000 Sri Lankan Tamils in

Canada (Wayland, 2003). Canada has facilitated the migration of Sri Lankan Tamils, most of whom have entered as refugees or sponsored by family who initially arrived as refugees and then gained permanent residence and/or Canadian citizenship status (Wayland, 2003). In a similar vein, Bangladeshis have also been arriving in Canada as political refugees. Between 1961 and

4 These immigrants from the Caribbean are the descendents of indentured labourers brought to the West Indies by the British between 1830-1920 as a source of plantation labour (Siddiqui, 2004; Shukla, 2001).

5 It is quite difficult to determine exactly how many immigrants of Bengali descent arrived in Canada prior to Bengali independence, which occurred in 1971. Prior to independence, Bengal was called East Pakistan, and any Bengali immigrants would have been subsumed under the category of either India or Pakistan. Once immigration quotas came into place, Bengali immigration was restricted to 58 individuals per year in 1982 (Samuel 2002).

2001, approximately 23 276 Bangladeshis immigrated to Canada and the number is increasing.

However, their numbers are small especially compared with Sri Lankan Tamils (Haider, 2005).

The Toronto District School Board (2011) reported that South Asian students constitute the board’s largest ethno-racial group. However, there is a very limited number of studies or reports that focus on their unique needs. Klassen (2004) argues that much of the existing research on Asians in Canada has been conducted on East Asian communities; therefore, it cannot necessarily be generalized to the South Asian population in Canada. In other words, there is research being conducted on visible minority populations and their experiences in the

Canadian educational system. However, the majority of the literature have not focused on South

Asians. Therefore, it would be problematic to assume that the conclusions drawn from studies on East Asians are generalizable to the South Asian community. In particular South Asians have their own history and migration patterns which are distinct from that of East Asians in Canada.

Ladson-Billings, has stated, “the voice of people of color is required for a deep understanding of the educational system” (1988, p. 14). With respect to the existing scholarly literature, there is very little that explores South Asians and their experiences with the model minority stereotype. This is especially true in a Canadian context where there is very little literature on South Asians in education and even less on South Asians and the model minority stereotype. This study is among one of few that includes the voices of South Asian youth as they discuss the transition from secondary to post secondary education.

Most research examining the model minority stereotype concentrates mainly on East

Asian students from the U.S. (Chou, 2008; Lee, 2009; Wing, 2007; Yeh, 2002). A handful of studies focus on South Asian youth in the United States (Asher, 2002; Bhattacharya, 2000;

Shankar, 2008) and a number of studies focus on the South Asian diaspora in United Kingdom

(Abbas, 2004; Chandra-Gool, 2006; Crozier & Davies, 2006; Hussan & Bagguley, 2007; Shain,

2003; This study attempts to provide a voice to South Asian youth and to also contribute to the small body of literature that focuses mainly on the experiences of South Asians youth in the

GTA navigating the educational system. Through discussions with South Asian youth about their families, career choices, guilt and shame, I hope to gain a better understanding of the ways in which the guilt and shame affects the lives, experiences, of South Asian youth navigating the education system and what those institutions might do to address any issues they might have.

The format of this study will be presented as follows: The first section of the paper will discuss the model minority stereotype, its history, and how it came to be associated with Asians in North America. Various theories regarding how the stereotype is sustained and justified in popular discourse will be examined, especially in relation to South Asians in North America.

Additionally, an explanation of self-conscious emotions will be provided with an emphasis on guilt and shame. Lastly, cross-cultural theories of guilt and shame will also be explored, along with concepts such as individualism and collectivism. Chapter three will explain the research methodology used for this study by outlining the participants, the data collection, data analysis and political implications of the research being undertaken. All the participants in the study are

South Asian youth who have spent the last 10 years in the Canadian K-12 educational system.

All were from the GTA and had attended post secondary studies in colleges and/or universities.

According to Denzin and Lincoln (2003), there are three main purposes of this type of qualitative inquiry: first, to capture the individual point of view, second, to examine the constraints of everyday life, and third, to secure rich descriptions. Of particular importance to me was respecting the lived experiences of those who agreed to partake in the study. Chapter Four analyzes the experiences of the participants as they discuss the educational and career choices

14 they made and any influences which their family might have had upon them. The chapter is divided into three main sections which focus on guilt and shame, career choices and the model minority stereotype.

The participants in this study had not heard of the term model minority prior to the study.

Nevertheless, regardless of familiarity with the term, they engaged with me in discussion on the topic. However, what was obvious is that all the participants had some type of conversation with at least one member of their family about some of these issues. For example many participants discussed with their parents which degree they were going to pursue in university or college.

Other participants chose to sit down with their parents again when they changed their minds about their educational and career paths. While some participants had very supportive parents, others had parents who felt they should pursue certain occupations. Ultimately, every participant’s family accepted the choices they made with regards to their education and career trajectories. Finally, the last chapter discusses suggestions for future research in the field and my final comments.

Literature Review

This chapter provides an overview of the model minority stereotype, including its development in the past 30 years within the contexts of civil rights movements, changing immigration policies, and post-9/11 dynamics. I will discuss the self-conscious emotions of guilt and shame including different analytical and theoretical frameworks that have been developed with an emphasis on cross-cultural research. In particular, I will focus on how guilt and shame might play a role within family and community relationships with respect to career trajectories of

South Asian Canadians.

South Asians as a Model Minority

In The Karma of Brown Folk, Vijay Prashad (2000) discusses some of the challenges of what it means to be a member of the South Asian diaspora today. He mentions the way in which other visible minorities, mainly African Americans, have been perceived historically and presently in the United States. Within the racial dichotomy of the United States, South Asians are neither white nor black. According to Prashad, South Asians often positioned themselves in opposition to African-Americans within the U.S. racial hierarchy. As a result, he asks, “How does it feel to be a solution?” (p. viii). The belief that individuals from Asian backgrounds are a solution in multi-ethnic North American societies has also been called the model minority stereotype. According to Chou (2008), the term “model minority” refers to visible minority populations “whose members are more likely to achieve higher success than other minority groups, especially in economic advantage, academic success, family stability, low crime involvement, etc.” (Chou, 2008, p. 219). Once a particular racial group has been labeled as a model minority in multi-ethnic societies, they are often held up as the example to other racialized groups as to how they should model themselves against and aspire to (Wing, 2007).

In Canada there are several examples of prominent and successful South Asians in various fields. For example, Deepa Mehta, is an award-winning director whose films often include South Asian characters, settings and storylines. Shyam Selvadurai is an acclaimed novelist whose stories predominantly feature South Asian themes. Naheed Kurban Nenshi is the current mayor of Calgary, Alberta, and is the first Muslim to become mayor of a Canadian city.

Laslty, Altaf Stationwala is the President and CEO of York Central Hospital located in

Richmond Hill. In terms of educational achievements, the four individuals reinforce the model minority stereotype. All are university graduates and in fact Mehta, Nenshi and Stationwala hold graduate degrees in philosophy, public policy and business administration respectively.

Unfortunately, compiling a list of prominent South Asian Canadians was a bit challenging for both me and the participants in the study. In fact, I asked all participants if they could name a few prominent or successful South Asians in Canada. Only one participant was able to give me a name. She mentioned Manny Malhotra, a mixed race South Asian athlete currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL. However, in terms of careers none of the participants mentioned any of these careers when discussing family input about education and career decisions. In fact, all are in careers which step right outside the stereotype as a film director, writer, politician athlete and CEO. Sadly most are one of a handful of South Asians in their fields.

Origin of the Model Minority Stereotype

The term model minority emerged in the United Stats and Canada during the mid-1960s

(Chou, 2008; Lo, 2008; Maclear, 1994). At that time, many articles appeared in popular newspapers and magazines about the success of Asian students in the North American school

17 system. Some of the popular media that have printed stories about the model minority stereotype include The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Toronto Star , and The Montreal Gazette

(Lee, 2009; Maclear, 1994).

What is interesting to note is that the articles that were published about Asians in North

America from the 1960s and onwards have changed remarkably in tone from what was previously written about them (Wing, 2007). The historical context of Asian migration to North

America is important in understanding why and how the model minority stereotype came about.

Policies were put in place throughout Canada and the United States between 1885 and 1962 to prevent the immigration of people from Asia (Taylor, 1991). For a long time, Asians were seen undesirable as immigrants and residents of Canada and the United States. These policies included the previously mentioned Continuous Journey regulation in 1908 and the Chinese head tax which was imposed from 1881-1884. Eventually, the Canadian government removed the free requirement and barred the migration of most Chinese through the Chinese Immigration Act which was in effect from 1885-1923. Both policies served to severely restrict Asian immigration into Canada (Taylor, 1991; Tran et al ., 2005). At the same time, newspapers often ran stories about Asian immigrants with headlines warning of the incoming “yellow peril” and “tide of turbans” (Prashad, 2000; Wing, 2007). Some of the commonly held stereotypes about Asians during that era included the notion that Asians were “uncivilized, sinister, heathen, and filthy”

(Wing, 2007: 457). These stereotypes are a marked contrast from the current model minority stereotype that characterizes Asians as “smart, studious, and hardworking” (Ngo, 2006, p. 51).

It is extremely important to keep in mind the historical context in North America at the inception of the model minority stereotype. The rise in popular media about model minorities occurred against the backdrop of the civil rights movements in the United States (Lee, 2009; Lo,

2008). Often, once a group has been labeled a model minority, they are then used as an example for other racialized groups, especially those who are not achieving “success” at the same rate.

The term was used to keep a particular ideology in place, one that maintains that North America is a meritocracy and that with hard work and effort anyone can achieve success. The image of the hard-working Asian immigrant was seen as a foil to the accusations of anti-black racism by communities of African descent in North America. Unfortunately, the model minority stereotype has allowed for an easy rebuttal to accusations of unfair treatment within societal institutions

(Lo, 2008; Wing, 2007). For example, in the case of the educational system, the model minority stereotype allows educational institutions to justify maintaining the status quo. It encourages the maintenance of a supposed meritocracy; creating notions of inferiority where individuals who do not measure up fail because of their own inadequacy. This also further solidifies a Eurocentric curriculum where the experiences of people of colour are silenced. Essentially it allows for claims that such as working class and black communities are underachieving because of personal character traits such as not working hard enough or lack of intelligence (Maclear, 1994).

Fundamentally the model minority stereotype allows for the justification of the current educational system. The rational is that any problems the problem must not be in the system but in individuals who are unable to achieve success. By only focusing on a select number of students who fit into the model minority stereotype and excel in the educational system it leads to the continued silence of any other types of experiences.

Some scholars maintain that the model minority stereotype has its origins in traditional biological forms of racism (Knowles, 1996). They often point to histories of colonialism, which created racialized hierarchies among colonized populations where some colonized groups were treated better than others. In fact, South Asians were often taken to other areas of the empire as

19 buffers between indigenous populations and colonial groups (Bijlani, 2005; Samuel & Burney,

2003). An excellent example of the way in which South Asians were often positioned between various racial populations is South Africa during apartheid where descendents of the Indian indentured labor made for “complicated alliances and conflicts” with both black and white

Africans (Shukla, 2001: p. 556).

Other scholars contend that the model minority stereotype has its roots in new racism

(Sniderman, Piazza, Tetlock, & Kendrick, 1991). The New Racism is not grossly different from previous forms of racism; it still maintains that some groups are superior to others. However, the distinction lies in the way the difference is discussed. New racism is not based on genetics or biological ideas of inferiority and superiority; in fact, proponents maintain that genetically there are no differences between different racial groups. However, new racism justifies the unequal treatment of racialized groups based on cultural differences, and asserts that Western cultures are better than others. In other words, individuals and groups are not different because of their physiology, but because of cultural traits. However, as culture is seen as changeable, labeling non-Western cultures as inferior is not seen as racist because with some changes they too can have a superior culture just like their Western counterparts. These arguments are highly problematic, as ideas of race are couched in notions of culture, but ultimately function to maintain the status quo.

After conducting an overview of the literature on the model minority stereotype, I find that different cultural traits have been widely used by North American society to justify the model minority stereotype. Some of the literature traces the stereotype to ideas surrounding spirituality in Asia and traditions such as Confucianism and Buddhism (Bijlani, 2005; Chou,

2008). Others attribute Asian students’ success to cultural practices related to hard work and

20 family values (Wing, 2007). In many ways, new racism is very similar to previous forms of racism because of the ways these ideologies position different racialized groups in society. The only difference is that cultural difference now replaces biological difference as a way to place racialized groups into a hierarchy.

None of these explanations, cultural or biological, have any validity and have repeatedly been disproved in the academy. Despite the abundance of academic literature disproving the model minority stereotype, it is repeatedly reinvented, affirmed and “researched” through popular discourse and the media. For example, Malcom Gladwell, in his best-selling book,

Outliers , claims that Asians are good at math because the main staple of the Asian diet is rice.

According to Gladwell, a society where rice is the staple will result in a culture of hard work and dedication to tasks because rice is a difficult crop to grow and those who grow it must be willing to put in a lot of hard work and effort for the crop to succeed. He says, “When it comes to math, in other words, Asians have a built-in advantage” (Gladwell, 2008, p. 253).

Although there are many examples of individuals who do not fit into the model minority stereotype, as well as an abundance of literature that does not support it, many individuals prefer to remember only those articles, theories, and individuals who endorse the model minority stereotype, which is precisely what makes this stereotype so dangerous.

Model Minority Post-9/11

An incident that complicated the perception of South Asians in North America was the

9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City and Washington D.C on September

11, 2001. Post-9/11, there has been an increase in the policing of South Asian bodies in North

America. According to Puar and Rai (2004), “the model minority status of South Asians has been tarnished for some with an association with Osama bin Laden” (p. 81). This form of racism

21 and discrimination is quite different in its tone compared to the model minority stereotype. On the other hand, while both are forms of stereotyping, this type of stereotyping makes South

Asians hyper visible, especially in spaces such as airports. Yet the model minority stereotype often renders South Asians as invisible, especially in spaces such as schools. However, both are not mutually exclusive. For example, as a graduate student I might be subjected to the model minority stereotype at an educational institution but when travelling I am often questioned, searched and fingerprinted by customs and immigration officers due to the idea that South

Asians are potential terrorists. Both types of discrimination can happen to me in one day as I move from an educational setting into an airport and vice versa. As a result of this new type of discrimination, along with the stereotype of the model minority, South Asians must also contend with the idea that they are perceived as “distrustful and terrorists” (Bijlani, 2005; Jaicy, 2009).

According to Puar and Rai (2004), the same fears, suspicions, and concerns with public safety, which led to the Japanese Canadian and Japanese American internment during WWII, are being used to justify the way in which South Asians are treated at airports. “Flying while brown” can cause embarrassment and shame for individuals of South Asian descent who are targeted because of their ethnic and racial identities. In fact, in 2002, South Asian Canadian novelist Rohinton

Mistry withdrew from his U.S. book tour due to the mistreatment he was suffering at the hands of airport personnel. According to a Globe and Mail article, his treatment was “consistently racist, rude, humiliating and ultimately unbearable” (Mallick, 2002). However, this discrimination is not limited to incidents that occur at airports or borders. South Asians often encounter hostility in their everyday lives. In particular, South Asians made hyper visible by religious marks, such as the hijab and the turban, have become targets of anti-Muslim and anti-

South Asian ideology.

In the past, racism was mostly expressed in overt forms of discrimination that were based solely on biological physical features. When comparing the latest form of discrimination to cultural or biological forms I strongly believe that these ideas are just a different method to carry out the same sentiments. Instead of using culture or biology individuals are using the idea of safety to mask racist behaviour and policy. The rhetoric is that not all South Asians are bad.

However, since there is no way to ensure if someone is a good or bad South Asian then all South

Asians then suspect until proven otherwise .

Much of the literature on the model minority stereotype has a U.S. and U.K. focus.

However, in June 2011 I encountered disturbing racist graffiti on public art in the Toronto

Transit System. I have often admired this piece of art on my daily commutes into the city. The piece features the backs of people’s heads and features adults and children of various ethnic and racial backgrounds. I thought they were important pieces of art that reflect the diversity of

Toronto and I can see myself, my friends and family reflected in the artwork. However, these photos were defaced with racist graffiti: near the pictures were the words "PAKI" and "Al-

Qaeda" in permanent market in reference to a man wearing a turban, and the word "Raghead" written above a person in a hijab. Please see Figure 2 below for a picture of the art and the graffiti.

Figure 2: Islamophobic/anti-South Asian graffiti on the Toronto Transit System

What the pictures and the graffiti demonstrate is the way in which South Asian bodies are not always seen as model minorities; rather they are at times read as dangerous and threatening. It demonstrates the way in which brown bodies that refuse to confine themselves to Western dress and manner are penalized in Canadian society. According to Bijlani (2005), South Asians are increasingly facing racism and discrimination, which is not common to other Asian groups. In other words, while the model minority stereotype is applied to Asians in Canada, stereotypes about terrorism are attached to South Asian bodies and those considered Middle Eastern. This implies that dominant society is able to distinguish between South Asians and other individuals of Asian descent since they are the only ones singled out for this type of discrimination.

Dangers of the Model Minority Stereotype

One of the primary dangers of the model minority stereotype is that it is often used as a way to position racialized groups against others in competition for resources such as jobs and education. The model minority stereotype has been used to tell other visible minority groups that if they just work hard enough, they can achieve academic and economic success. It tells individuals that it is their fault if/when they are failing academically or economically (Museus &

Kiang, 2009). The result is that individuals and communities often do not see the institutional barriers which may be in place and could be preventing them from achieving academic or economic success. It also prevents them from being identified as requiring assistance, especially in educational settings.

As with any stereotype, the model minority stereotype erases any notion of individuality.

The idea that a student might be good at math just because he or she is Asian reduces that person and everyone else who is Asian into a one-dimensional characteristic. The stereotype paints everyone in a particular group with the same brush. It also makes assumptions about a student’s weaknesses. For example, Gordon Pon, a Chinese Canadian professor and social worker writes,

“It took me years beyond high school to figure out that my essay-writing skills, which were strong for my grade level, ruptured the dominant stereotypes of Chinese students, particularly the belief that we are all math whizzes” (Pon, 2000, p. 224). Pon explains that English teachers often questioned if he actually wrote the essays that he submitted. His teachers assumed that

Asian students are good at math but not good at English. Making the assumption that Pon could not excel in an English class because he is Asian meant that teachers no longer saw him as a person; rather, he became just Asian student who was good at math but not good at English.

Stereotypes are especially dangerous in educational settings, where they can affect teacher expectations of students which in turn, can affect educational trajectories.

The model minority stereotype subsumes individuals from these different cultures into one homogenous group, thereby removing any differences that may exist between different communities. Asia is the largest continent on the planet and people who can trace their origins there are from a variety of countries and cultures. Since South Asians in Canada represent a range of “ethnic, religious and linguistic groups whose ancestries, immigration histories and personal experience are quite varied” (Tran et al ., 2005, p. 20), all South Asian students would not have the same patterns of educational achievement. Educational researchers have found there are differences in achievement levels between various Asian groups in the U.S. For example, according to Zhou and Xiong (2005), less than 7% of Cambodian students are expected to attain a post-secondary degree. However, Chinese students had an approximate 47% chance of entering and completing post-secondary studies. Similar studies indicate that a number of factors contribute to educational success for Asian immigrants including class, language, and circumstances surrounding migration (Kibria, 1998; Yeh, 2002). For example, families who migrate to North America from former British colonies such as Hong Kong or India often possess cultural capital in the form of English language skills, which are an asset when attempting to navigate the Canadian educational system. Other studies have shown that

Southeast Asian students often struggle with North American educational systems due to their lack of English language skills (Kao, 1995). Furthermore, political unrest in Southeast and

South Asia often results in families arriving in North America as refugees (Kibria, 1998; Yeh,

2002; Zhou & Xiong, 2005). Many refugees and children of refugees have trouble adjusting in school and society in ways that are different from individuals arriving as landed or sponsored

26 immigrants (Ngo, 2006). Regardless of status upon arrival, class also plays a factor as immigrants and refugees with middle-class backgrounds often have higher levels of achievement when they move to North America (Ngo, 2006). Ultimately, by ignoring the heterogeneity within the Asian community and assuming that the model minority stereotype applies to all

Asian students, the model minority stereotype provides very few educational and career options for students to pursue and succeed in.

Furthermore, the model minority stereotype allows educators and school administrators to make Asian students invisible. When discussing the model minority stereotype, Maclear

(1994) asks, “Success on whose terms?” (p. 57). According to Lo (2008), proponents of the model minority stereotype only remember success stories, but fail to take into account the notion that some Asian students might not be academically or economically successful. Therefore, this stereotype not only renders students who are struggling academically invisible, but also renders any children whose families are struggling financially as invisible as well. Additionally, by focusing solely on economic and academic success, the stereotype does not take into account the lack of political participation or social activism that Asians have in North American society

(Maclear, 1994). Despite the model minority stereotype, there are “very few role models [for

South Asians] who are academics, entrepreneurs, parliamentarians, civil servants or sports stars today” (Abbas, 2006, p. 22). I agree with the previous statement regarding few role models.

Before South Asians in Canada can be seen as successful, there should be more than just one or two token South Asians in high profile fields.

Model Minority and Education

What are the experiences of students who are rendered invisible by the model minority stereotype? In Wing’s (2007) research, Asian American students were interviewed about their

27 experiences in a multi-ethnic high school. A recurring theme in her study suggested that many

Asian students do not have their educational needs met. All of the six students she interviewed

“experienced some form of academic difficulty that teachers reportedly failed to notice, in part because of the [model minority] stereotype” (p. 464). She also examined data collected which measured Grade Point Average (GPA) and noted the race of students. She found that there was a small minority of low-achieving Asian students at every grade level. For example, one of the students Wing spoke to had two siblings who dropped out of high school. His sister dropped out when she became pregnant and his older brother never completed his first year of secondary school. Wing also mentioned of Southeast Asian students who are also first generation immigrants with limited English language skills. Many of those participants had trouble keeping up with the regular curriculum while also struggling to learn English. Additionally, students who are struggling academically are not being acknowledged or helped by teachers or guidance counselors. Furthermore, none of her participants provided a cultural or biological reason for their high achievement. Instead, students indicated that they and their families sacrificed, developed coping strategies, and worked extremely hard to attain academic success (Wing,

2007). Students and their families have to develop these coping strategies to respond to the widespread acceptance of the model minority stereotype as they are not receiving the support they should from the educational system.

In addition, the model minority stereotype allows educators to justify streaming Asian students into certain professions in Canada and the United States. These professions are usually heavily math- and science-based. Therefore, Asian students are often grossly underrepresented in the humanities and social sciences (Maclear, 1994). The streaming of Asian students into math and science fields is based on discriminatory beliefs about language proficiency and the

28 notion that Asian students are best suited in careers that do not require a significant amount of reading, writing, and critical-thinking skills (Samuel & Burney, 2003).

Lastly, most of the literature about the model minority stereotype have been written by

U.S. researchers. There does not appear to be much research about the topic from a Canadian perspective. To my knowledge, there is only one academic article that discusses the positioning of Asians as model minorities in Canada. The article by Kyo Maclear (1994) close to a decade ago is most likely the first time the model minority stereotype was published in a Canadian context. However, this does not mean that the model minority stereotype is not an issue for

Asian Canadians. Most people have common-sense notions of which racialized groups in

Canada constitute the model minority. Maclear’s conclusions are consistent with the scholarly literature that has been produced in the United States. What is problematic is that South Asians have been so under-theorized in the Canadian educational system. Therefore, little is known about how the model minority affects the South Asian diaspora in Canada.

Presently, South Asians constitute the largest visible minority population in Canada (Statistics

Canada, 2006). It seems prudent that research is conducted so that all educators, parents, community activists, and policymakers have a more complete understanding of the challenges that this particular community faces. One study that was insightful, although did not exclusively focus on the model minority stereotype, was conducted by Klassen (2004) and compared efficacy beliefs between South Asian immigrant children and white non-immigrant children.

Efficacy beliefs are context specific evaluations of the capability to successfully complete a task.

Klassen (2004) mentions that there is little research, in both the U.S. and Canada, regarding

South Asians in terms of academic motivation compared to research about East-Asian students.

According to the results, South Asian youth viewed the world through a different cultural lens

29 than their white counterparts. In particular, South Asian students and white students differentiated in their motivation to achieve and the ways in which their motivation beliefs were formed. In particular, South Asian students and white students differentiated in their motivation to achieve and the ways in which their motivation beliefs were formed. Interestingly, Klassen

(2004) also mentions that regardless of ethno-racial background, emotional arousal had a strong negative effect on efficacy beliefs. In the context of the present research, the findings by Klassen are particularly fascinating. It stands to reason that self-conscious emotions would play a significant role in academic motivation since those emotions can have a strong negative effect on an individual. In particular, the self conscious emotions of shame and guilt would seem to have a strong impact on efficacy beliefs and academic motivation. With respect to the South Asian community, Rushdie (1983) has mentioned that sharam or shame is understood differently by the

South Asian community than it is by non South Asians. Therefore, understanding shame and guilt in a Western sense is not adequate to determine if these emotions impact academic achievement. Understanding cross cultural notions of shame and guilt would be more appropriate when discussing individuals from the South Asian diasproa.

Guilt and Shame

From a psychological standpoint, guilt and shame are categorized as self-conscious emotions because a person first needs to have a basic understanding of themselves in relation to others before they can experience these emotions (Wong & Tsai, 2007). Psychologists have determined that self-conscious emotions are experienced starting at about the age of two years old when children develop the ability to “think about themselves as they think about other people” (Kalat & Shiota, 2007, p. 333). However, not all psychological research concurs with

30 the idea that these two are separate emotions. Depending on the criteria utilized by the researcher, guilt and shame are sometimes classified as graduations of the same emotion (Kalat

& Shiota, 2007). Generally speaking, theories of emotion vary and emotional theorists vary on their definitions of guilt and shame. Guilt and shame are often seen to have overlapping characteristics (Kalat & Shiota, 2007). As a result, the separation of guilt and shame as distinct emotions is sometimes debated. Therefore, what is the difference, if any, between guilt and shame? From a physiological perspective, there is not much difference between the two; in fact, the facial expressions of shame and guilt are quite similar and not easily distinguishable (Kalat &

Shiota, 2007). Many studies have shown that situations that elicit shame and guilt are often quite similar. An event has the potential to invoke guilt and shame, guilt followed by shame, or combination of both emotions. The fundamental discrepancy between the two is related to how a person interprets the cause of the event that elicits negative feelings (Kalat & Shiota, 2007).

Shame is often felt when someone feels as though they are a bad person whereas guilt is often invoked when a person feels they have done something wrong (Branscombe, Slugoski, &

Kappen, 2004). In essence, guilt occurs when the self is responsible for a problem that a person has control over , but shame is when a person feels responsible for a problem that they could not control (Branscombe et al ., 2004). Studies have shown that failure often invokes feelings of shame and guilt (Nurmi, 1991). For example, we can examine the negative emotions that are felt by a student who fails a test. If a student attributes failure to a lack of intelligence, then shame is the more probable consequence. However, if he/she thought they failed the test because they did not study, then guilt would most likely be felt. The difference between the two is that in the first situation, shame would be caused by feeling a lack of intellectual capability. The student feels shame because nothing could have been done to prevent the failure; it was something she/he

31 innately lacked. On the other hand, in the second scenario, the student could have behaved differently. She/he could have adequately studied and prepared for the test. In the second scenario guilt is more likely to felt since the problem lies not in the person but their behaviour, whereas in shame the cause of the negative event lies in the person.

According to a number of theorists, shame is a more adverse emotion than guilt

(Branscombe et al ., 2004; Silfver, 2007; Wong & Tsai, 2007). The rationale behind this theory has to do with the notion that guilt is less devastating to a person’s self-concept because a person who is guilty only feels badly about their actions. Therefore, they should be able to avoid feeling guilty by changing their behaviour. Consequently, some researchers categorize guilt as a positive emotion because it can function to propel change in a person (Wong & Tsai, 2007). On the other hand, if the problem lies in the character of the person, then not much can be done to alleviate the negative feelings. In fact, researchers — the same researchers who categorize guilt and a positive emotion — have also found a link between shame and anger (Wong & Tsai,

2007). According to these researchers, a person who feels shame will often become angry because there is nothing they could have done to prevent the negative experience.

Some of the literature question whether shame and guilt should be categorized as separate emotions. In fact, when examining the literature, it is evident that depending on the parameters set out by the researcher and the study being done, shame and guilt can be defined as the same emotion. For instance, some theorists insist that separate physiological reactions have to occur before a distinction between emotions can be made. According to Kalat & Shiota (2007), guilt and shame do not show much difference physiologically. In some instances, researchers work solely with notions of guilt, while others work with guilt and shame and some other self- conscious emotions. As will be discussed in the next section, some researchers who are

32 conducting cross-cultural work are suggesting that shame and guilt — as we understand them in

North America — are not quite the same in other cultural contexts.

Cross-Cultural Notions of Guilt and Shame

Almost all of the aforementioned claims about guilt and shame are grounded in Western contexts, such as North America, Australia, or Western Europe. Is it possible that current conventional models of shame and guilt are embedded in Western cultural ideas and practices?

If so, then the following question needs to be asked: do shame and guilt differ in non-Western cultures? Some researchers, having realized Western bias, have conducted cross-cultural research into how guilt and shame might be experienced and expressed differently in non-Western cultures. According to Bedford (2004), “guilt and shame subtly shape our behaviour often causing people to behave so as to avoid experiencing them. They are so important for social control that it is unlikely that any society could be maintained without them” (p. 29). Wong and

Tsai (2007) state that “current models of shame and guilt would be better if they incorporated cross cultural research as many of the theories seem to be centered around an individualistic cultural context” (p. 26). They mention an “individualistic cultural context,” which is related to a well-established distinction that psychologists make between Western and non-Western cultures. Psychologists have found that most Western cultures such as Canada have an individualistic orientation, and non-Western cultures such as India, China, and Japan have a collectivist orientation. Broadly defined, individualistic cultures are characterized by an emphasis on personal achievement, whereas collectivist cultures emphasize group goals over personal ones.

In many collectivist cultures, guilt and shame vary from Western notions of the same emotions. Wong and Tsai (2007) find that depending on the type of orientation, either

33 collectivist or individualist, the same situation can elicit feelings of either guilt or shame. In an individualistic contexts guilt is seen as a bit more “healthy” than shame. The idea that guilt is healthier than shame has to do with self –concepts surrounding how guilt and shame are evoked in Western cultures. Ultimately, since guilt has to do with a person’s behaviour then if they feel badly they can take individual responsibility and do something about the situation which caused the feelings of guilt. However, this is not necessarily the case in collectivist cultures.

For example, in the novel Shame , it appears that what happens to one family member has the ability to bring shame upon the whole family. In the case of the character of Sufiya Zinobia her constant blushing is a source of shame for her mother, father and sister. After looking at the ways in which guilt and shame are grounded in cultural ideas, Wong and Tsai (2007) find that “shame may have better and more adaptive consequences in collectivist contexts” (p. 216). An example of shame having more adaptive consequences in collectivist context could be the three sisters who raise Omar in Shame . Rather than raising Omar as a single parent in a single parent household, Omar’s material aunts took on the burden of having a child out of wedlock and all three collectively raise him. As a consequence, Omar grew up with not one, but with three caring and attentive parents. According to Bedford (2004), “although guilt and shame are present in every society, not every society uses them in the same way” (p. 29).

In fact, there are subtle differences between shame and guilt in collectivist cultures. For example, Bedford (2004) asked 34 Taiwanese women who spoke both English and Mandarin fluently to provide personal examples of shame and guilt so that he could attempt to distinguish if the Mandarin words were the same, different, or similar to the English words. The study found three types of subjective guilt and four types of shame identified by the women in the study. The three types of guilt were all aroused by the person’s behaviour. According to Bedford (2004),

34 the word guilt in English corresponds to three types of negative feelings associated with a failure to live up to responsibility. The responsibility is either to another person, to society, or a theoretical moral obligation (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Visual Depiction of the Social Model of Guilt

Guilt (Types of responsibility)

Responsibility to Social Moral another person responsibility responsibility

In contrast, the word shame in English corresponds to four types of negative feelings in

Mandarin. All four are related to a perceived deficit in the self. The deficit is either to a public identity, a personal identity, a private identity, or both the public and private identities (see

Figure 4).

Figure 4: Visual Depiction of the Social Model of Shame

Shame = type of failure or defect

Public Personal Private Public and Identity Identity Identity Private Identity

Figures 3 and 4 help to compare and contrast the concepts of shame and guilt in a cross-cultural context. In some ways, guilt and shame share similarities in collectivist and individualistic

35 cultures (Bedford, 2004); in both cultures, feelings of guilt are related to transgressions of behaviour that seem more easily reconciled. For example, the idea of guilt in Mandarin-speaking cultures is shown to be connected to responsibility. If a person does not accept a particular responsibility or obligation, they will not experience guilt. According to Bedford (2004), guilt is

“one's own personal reaction to one's own acts,” (p. 44) and shame is related to ideas of exposure, inadequacy, and concern with identity (p. 44). Along those same lines, shame in both cultures is related to personal characteristics that are not as easily repaired. In a similar vein to the research found in individualistic cultures, shame often invokes feelings that a person has failed or is deficient in some way.

A difference between collectivist and individualistic cultures with respect to guilt and shame is that the ability to feel shame on behalf of someone else who is thought to be a part of one's group (Bedford, 2004). Not to say that people raised in individual cultures cannot be shamed by others’ actions. However, the research shows that people in collectivist cultures are more likely to feel shame on behalf of another person. For example, Liem (1997) conducted a study where Asian American students were interviewed about guilt and shame. One narrative from the study stood out in particular: a young Asian American man discussed the hypothetical shame he might feel if his sister failed an entrance exam for a prestigious university. According to Liem (1997), “shame is experienced not only by the principal actor... but also by other family members who share in the exposure” (p. 48). The young man who was interviewed in this study self-identified as Asian American; therefore, he was not exclusively born and raised in a collectivist or individualistic culture, yet his concepts of shame and guilt were rooted in collectivist ideals

Guilt and Shame in Asian Communities

Of the cross-cultural research that has been conducted, a few studies have examined how shame and guilt operate in the Asian diaspora. In Ngo’s (2006) study of Asian students in the

United States, guilt was shown to be one technique that was used by parents to remind children of their familial responsibility. Parents constantly reinforced the idea that children should “work hard and make decisions only with the approval of their parents” (p. 58). This idea is also quite prevalent in the South Asian community. For instance, Bhattacharya (2000) finds that children of South Asian immigrants in the United States “felt a sense of obligation to fulfill their parents’ dreams” (p. 81).

After examining the research concerning the shame and guilt in cross-cultural settings, it becomes apparent that there is a gap in the research involving South Asians and shame and guilt.

What is most apparent from the research is that there are stereotypes about South Asian student achievement. Furthermore, the research conducted on the model minority stereotype in the

United States has done an excellent job of helping us to understand the discourses around the stereotype that sustain it. Nevertheless, what is missing from this literature is the Canadian context to understand if South Asian youth are feeling similarly marginalized in the Canadian educational system. If South Asian youth are feeling marginalized what emotions are playing a role in academic motivation. More specifically are guilt and shame affecting career and educational trajectories of South Asian youth? .

Chapter 2 Research Methodology

My aim in carrying out this study is to examine the model minority stereotype within a

Canadian context. In particular, I aim to inquire into how South Asian youth experience emotions of guilt and shame, especially when faced with the notion that South Asians are very successful both academically and economically in Canada and the United States.

In order to gain a better understanding of how the model minority is experienced by South

Asians in Canada, I interviewed 14 youth from the Greater Toronto Area who self-identify as

South Asian to participate in the study. According to Statistics Canada (2006), the category of

South Asians consists of individuals from diverse backgrounds, and includes various linguistic, cultural, and ethnic groups. Complicating this further are religious and linguistic differences that, when taken together with the aforementioned diverse backgrounds, results in an extremely heterogeneous group grouped solely on the grounds of their common origin. However, despite the regional differences in South Asia, many have chosen to settle in large cities, such as

Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto. According to the Toronto Star, South Asians account for the largest visible minority population in Toronto, and as such, there are many advantages for South

Asians who choose to settle in Toronto (Kennedy, 2010). For instance, Toronto has a number of resources and agencies that cater to visible minority populations, or more specifically, South

Asians. For example there is the South Asian Women’s Centre which is a voluntary non-profit women's organization run by, and for South Asian Women. The centre provides space for youth and seniors groups, along with general settlement programs and services for South Asian women in the Greater Toronto Area. Another South Asian focused agency is the South Asian Legal

Clinic of Ontario which is a not-for-profit legal aid clinic that aims to provide access to justice for low-income South Asians in the Greater Toronto area.

The Toronto Star reporter also interviews some South Asian immigrants who point out that while South Asians are a numerical majority, they are still not reflected in positions of power

(Javed & Keung, 2008). Therefore, the community-specific resources, along with various prominent South Asian communities who have settled in Toronto, render it an ideal environment to pursue this line of research.

The Participants As a South Asian woman whose family has lived in the GTA for over 25 years, I was able to mobilize several formal and informal networks to recruit participants. I sent out a standard e- mail for recruiting purposes (see Appendix A) via those networks to elicit participants. E-mail was chosen for participant recruitment because of the age group I was targeting. Much of the information regarding events, functions and issues within the South Asian community is predominantly through e-mail, listservs and other forms of social media. In fact, the recruitment e-mail was sent out via several South Asian focused listservs including the Council of Agencies

Serving South Asians, Munk Centre for South Asian Studies, and the South Asian Public Health

Association. All participants had to meet three criteria: self-identification as South Asian; between the ages of 18-26 years old; fluent in English and a resident of Canada for a minimum of ten years. The rationale for requiring all participants to have lived in Canada for at least ten years was to ensure that they had had adequate exposure to the Canadian educational system.

Ideally, participants received the majority of their education in Canada, thereby giving them a number of years of Canadian educational experiences to draw upon for discussion and reflection.

Additionally, I used a snowball sampling technique whereby individuals who already consented to participate in the study were asked if they could suggest other participants. I felt that snowball sampling would be most suitable due to the potentially sensitive nature of the topic. I felt that if someone else could speak about a positive interviewing experience, others might also be willing to participate. Many individuals were interested in the topic of study, and due to my recruitment e-mail in various South Asian listservs, there were a good number of individuals willing to participate. In fact the majority of participants were recruited through the listserv a total of 8 participants were recruited through it. One participant was recruited through snowball sampling and the remaining 5 participants through word of mouth. Three participants attempted to put me in contact with other South Asian youth for participation in the study however, none of the three potential participants meet the criteria for participation in the study.

Initially, I estimated that eight to ten participants would be sufficient for this study. A sample consisting of less than eight individuals was thought to be unrepresentative, while a larger sample, although desirable, would have required more time and resources for analysis than available for the current project. However, once recruitment and data collection was initiated, the response from the community was more positive than expected. As a result, 16 interviews were scheduled; however, only 14 were conducted. Two were cancelled once I realized that the participants did not meet the criteria of having lived in Canada for 10 years or more. The primary reason for extending the recruitment process beyond the expected number of participants was to collect data from additional male participants. Only three male participants had been scheduled to be interviewed. However, of those three, only one met all the requirements of the study; therefore, recruitment was extended until more male participants could be interviewed.

While I am uncertain as to why male participants were hesitant to participate. I suspect that it

40 might have to do with the sensitive nature of the topic. Once I realized how difficult it was to recruit male participants I asked the men who agreed to participate what compelled them to agree to be interviewed. One participant talked about how he was aiming to enter into the research field himself and felt that out of solidarity he should participate. He mentioned the fact that he was also engaged in research and that he knew how difficult recruiting participants could be.

Another participated in a different study focusing on South Asians in the diaspora and had a positive experience which compelled him to contact me when he heard about the study.

Recruiting participants between the ages of 18 and 26 years old has to do with the age of consent in the province of Ontario. If interview subjects were under the age of 18, I would have to gain permission to speak to them from a parent or legal guardian, and to undergo a more rigorous ethics proposal for the research and ethics board of the University of Toronto. The ethics procedure would have been more rigorous because human participants under the age of 18 are not able to give their own consent, therefore, parents or guardians would have to be involved in the recruitment process along with a more detailed ethics proposal. Therefore, the decision was made to set the minimum age of participants to 18 years old. The rationale for limiting the participants to the age of 26 has to do with the central research question which asks, how does the model minority stereotype affect South Asian students, given that the stereotype only allows for a narrow understanding of academic and professional success? Since many students who attend professional schools or pursue graduate education are well into their mid 20s, I decided that the maximum age for participants would be set at 26. This was to accommodate students who had completed an undergraduate degree but chose not to complete a post-graduate or professional program. If the model minority paints all South Asians as successful professionals, then following that logic individuals who do not complete a post-graduate or professional

41 program could be considered unsuccessful either by themselves, their family, or their community.

For example, one of the main stereotypes about South Asians is that South Asian students excel at math and science, and are often expected to pursue related careers such as architecture or medicine . The failure of a South Asian student to gain entrance or complete such a program may have potential for them to self-identify as unsuccessful thereby qualifying them for participation in this study.

Of the 14 participants whose data was used for the purpose of the study, 11 were female and three were male, and their ages ranged between 18 and 26. Eleven participants lived with their parents, while three lived on their own. According to Tran et al (2005) the South Asian community is “one of the most unified when it comes to the value they attach to family interaction” (p. 20). Therefore, it seemed appropriate to ask all the participants what their living situations were so as to better understand the relationship that they have with their parents. All participants were from the GTA. All of the participants had attended some type of post- secondary institution; however, not all of them completed the degree or diploma they initially enrolled in. A few participants started university degrees and subsequently switched to college diplomas, while other participants attended and completed degrees in both types of institutions.

Of the 14 participants, 12 had attended or were currently attending university, while one completed a college diploma and one was currently completing a college diploma. Ten had already completed either college or university, and four were currently attending either college or university. None of the participants were high school “drop outs” but two had withdrawn from university programs. During the introduction phase of the interview, the participants were given the opportunity to choose a pseudonym for themselves. Although many participants were more than happy to use their given names, after some discussion and explanation about maintaining

42 confidentiality, participants agreed to choose pseudonyms. Please see Table 1 and 2 below for more information.

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Participants

Pseudonym Country of Gender Religion Languages Spoken Age Occupation Level of Education Origin (other than English) Achieved Christine Sri lanka Female Catholic Tamil 23 Arts Administrator Undergraduate Degree Hazel Pakistan Female Muslim Hindi , Urdu 26 Chartered Accountant Undergraduate Degree Jay Sri Lanka Female Hindu Tamil, French 18 Nursing Student Undergraduate Degree (in progress) Kay Sri Lanka Female Hindu None 25 Outreach and Undergraduate Degree communications coordinator Matti Bangladesh Female Muslim Bengali 21 Assistant Manager College Diploma Nav India Male Sikh Hindi, Punjabi 25 Unemployed Undergraduate Degree Neha Sri Lanka Female Hindu Tamil 26 Teacher Undergraduate Degree (Two degrees) Rashi India Female Hindu Hindi 25 General Manager – Fast Undergraduate Degree Food Service Restaurant Sandy Sri Lanka Female Buddhist Sinhalese 26 Portfolio Risk Analyst Undergraduate Degree Sara Pakistan Female Muslim Hindi, Urdu 24 Outreach Specialist Undergraduate Degree, College Diploma Sonia India Female Sikh Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu 26 Teacher Undergraduate Degree Sonya India Female Sikh Hindi, Punjabi 24 Unemployed Undergraduate Degree Sunny Sri Lanka Male Atheist Tamil 20 Life Science Student Undergraduate Degree (in progress) Vishva Sri Lanka Male Hindu Tamil 25 Retail Investigator College Diploma (in progress)

Table 2: Opinions about Parental Involvement in Children’s Education

Pseudonym In their career choices do What would your parents say if I children need direction from asked them this same question? their parents?

Christine Somewhat Agree Somewhat Agree Hazel Agree Strongly Agree Jay Agree Agree Kay Somewhat Agree Agree Matti Agree Strongly Agree Nav Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree Neha Agree Agree Rashi Agree Strongly Agree Sandy Somewhat agree Strongly Agree Sara Agree Strongly Agree Sonia Agree Agree Sonya Agree Agree Sunny Somewhat Agree Agree Vishva Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

The educational backgrounds of the participants were consistent; most had attempted some type of post secondary schooling. In comparison, parental educational levels varied greatly. At minimum, parents had a primary level of education, and at maximum graduate and/or professional degrees. However, participants did not have in-depth understanding of their parents’ educational levels. They were aware of their parents’ occupation, but were unaware of the educational requirements involved for entry into those occupations abroad. For example, when interviewing Christine, whose parents were educated in Sri Lanka, I learned that neither one of her parents had gone to university but both had professional certifications. She explained that her parents are accountants, but she did not know what qualifications were needed in Sri

Lanka to work in that particular field. The majority of the participants did not have parents who went through the Canadian educational system. Therefore, parents were often unable to provide practical advice on how to navigate the educational system. Just as my participants did not

45 understand how the educational system worked in South Asia, their parents did not always understand how the educational system worked in Canada.

What was quite evident from the interviews is that mothers and fathers either had the same amount of education or fathers had more education than mothers. Participants also indicated that both parents were involved in their upbringing, even if parents were no longer married to each other. Parental marital status was not explicitly outlined as an interview question.

However, many female participants discussed the ways in which gender roles in their parents’ marriage affected their perceptions about career and educational goals. For example, Hazel whose parents were divorced discussed the issues her mother faced when divorcing her father, especially with respect to employment. Hazel’s mother, an esthetician, struggled to find employment, while her father, an engineer with an MBA, had no such issues. Seeing this situation play out while she was growing up influenced her career and educational choices.

In terms of country of ancestry, seven people identified themselves as Sri Lankan, four as

Indian, two as Pakistani, and one as Bengali. In general, the South Asian diaspora is quite complex and it should be noted that asking participants about nationality or country of origin at times resulted in complicated discussions regarding patterns of migration and diaspora.

Therefore, I would like to mention that some of the participants and their families are twice migrants — i.e., these participants were not born and did not live in any of the four countries previously mentioned, yet they trace their ancestry to one of them. I should also mention that none of the participants were South Asian immigrants via the Caribbean. This might be due to the snowball sampling technique which I used which relied on existing social networks.

Although I did send out my recruitment e-mail to members of the South Asian Caribbean community, I was unsuccessful in recruiting any of them for participation in my study.

I am concerned about the ways in which as a researcher, I have the potential to reinforce existing ideas about my own racial group and also how easily researchers can slip into those roles. Because of the nature of the research process, researchers have power over their subjects; therefore, they must be careful about the ways in which they use that power. Researchers have a responsibility to their subjects. It is vital not only to maintain respectful interaction at all times with participants, but to remember that the process should not be a one-way exchange. Ideally, a reciprocal relationship emerges where “the interview [process becomes] an educative process, for both the interviewed and the interviewer” (Abbas, 2006. p. 322). If the research process is truly to be an educative one, then as a researcher my aim was to set up that environment by demonstrating to my participants that I am also willing to share my own experiences with them so that the interview does not become a one-way process.

Data Collection and Analysis

Only one data collection technique was used in this study: one-on-one face-to-face interviews. I asked each participant if he/she would like a copy of the interview guideline prior to our meeting. Many participants who were hesitant to participate felt more comfortable once they had a chance to look over the questions. I believe that some participants were hesitant to participate in the study because of their unfamiliarity with research. In fact, most were unfamiliar with OISE and the Sociology and Equity Studies department. As a result, I spent some time explaining key terms such as sociology and equity to my participants to help them understand where I was coming from as a researcher. I obtained signed informal consent from every participant prior to the interviews in accordance with the U of T ethics procedure for human participants. I also provided participants were also be provided with a letter of information detailing the structure of the interview, the potential risks involved in participation,

47 confidentiality during the course of the study, the method of data collection, and contact information for questions, comments, or concerns (see Appendix B). Participants were asked to sign two copies of the letter of information; one to be kept by them and one to be kept by me as the researcher.

The interviews took place throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The majority occurred at of the University of Toronto’s St. George location in a library group study room because of convenience and privacy. Some interviews took place at local coffee shops, malls, and other post-secondary institutions where students were studying. According to Abbas (2006), “to improve the quality of the data, the researcher has to ‘actively listen,’ keeping the interview focused…infilling and explicating’ where the data is lacking and identifying cues made by respondents” (p. 322). In other words, during the interview process, how a participant responded could provide important information that could be just as valuable as what the participant said.

Therefore, I digitally recorded the interviews using an iPod Touch along with handwritten notes.

My primary purpose for taking notes along with the digital recording was to keep track of non- verbal cues in the participant’s responses such as looks of discomfort, hand gestures, shrugs, or nods. The interviews were scheduled for approximately one hour in length and followed a general guideline for discussion (see Appendix C). Many of the interviews lasted much longer than one hour since participants asked for clarification, needed to be prompted, or I required more information to clarify responses. After hearing some questions, participants requested that we postpone a discussion so that they could think about the issue and respond more toward the end of the interview. As a result of repeated requests to come back to certain questions, I rearranged the sequence of questions for later participants. For example, none of the participants had heard of the term model minority . I assumed that participants would have heard of it;

48 however, as the interviews progressed, I saw a pattern with participants asking for an explanation of the term model minority. As a result, I moved that section to the end of the interview so as not to interrupt the flow of the conversation, which up until that point usually went quite well.

Although there were no known physical, economic, or social risks associated with this study, I was slightly concerned about potential psychological risks that may have resulted in asking participants about guilt, shame, and parental expectations. My concern was both for the participants during the interview process, and once the interview was complete. I repeatedly emphasized both verbally and in writing that participants were free not to answer any questions that may make them feel uncomfortable. Some participants may not have indicated any discomfort during the interview; however upon reflection, they may have felt the need to discuss some of the issues brought up during the interview. I offered all participants a debriefing form which provided information about different community resources that they could contact if they desired (see Appendix D). Lastly, I considered the issue of payment for participants especially during the end of the study because I had so few male participants; however, due to lack of funding, payment was deemed impossible.

Once the interviews were completed, I tried to transcribe them as soon as possible so that the written notes could be incorporated along with the transcription. This process helped me to become more familiar with the data before beginning the more formal process of organizing and analyzing it. The data for analysis included approximately 16.6 hours of recorded material, yielding 411 pages of written transcripts. All the transcribed interviews were then uploaded into

NVIVO 9, a qualitative analysis software program. Once inputted, all of the interviews were analyzed to identify meaningful quotes and phrases. Each segment of data that was deemed significant was assigned a name; however larger themes were not initially taken into account.

After completing the coding process for all 14 interviews, approximately 60 codes had been identified. Some of the codes included career choices, sacrifice, marriage, university, success, parents and money. The codes were then organized into groups based on similarity. Oftentimes it was necessary to rename codes to better capture the idea being expressed. For example, there was a code entitled South Asian Community and another one entitled South Asians in Canada.

Since both codes had quotes which were very similar, they were condensed into one code entitled South Asians. Additionally, there were three codes entitled university, high school and education. The codes university and high school were then subsumed under the general code of education. Based on the number of quotes in each group, data was organized by theme. Folders that had very few quotes in them were often deleted, and the text was then reassigned into folders with similar quotes. As this process continued, themes began to emerge, which were later used as a basis for organizing and analyzing the results of the research.

The Politics of Research

According to Denzin and Lincoln (2003), research findings have political implications.

The politics of conducting research with groups that have a history of oppression in North

America is important. Furthermore, the political implications should be kept in mind when considering the significance of studying the experiences of racialized youth. As a researcher who is conducting a qualitative study using a non-random sample, I understand that I cannot claim objectivity. My own relationship with respect to this research topic should be understood.

I am a young South Asian woman who is pursuing a graduate degree at a large Canadian university. I am acutely aware that as a young South Asian woman and as a researcher, there are implications for my study because I am of the same race as many of the participants. This fact cannot be ignored and could contribute to how the participants either chose to respond or not

50 respond to me. According to Denzin and Lincoln (2003),“researchers tell stories about the worlds they have studied” (p. 115). While it is certain that I have been formally studying South

Asians in Canada for the past few years, I have been informally studying South Asian diaspora for most of my life. Therefore, it is not only my academic knowledge that informs this research, but also my lived experiences within the diaspora that contribute to the story I am telling.

According to Fawcett and Hearn (2004), “there are, at least in most researchers, multiple forms of social relation involved between researchers and researched” (p. 202). I realized upon reflection that these multiple social relations shifted throughout the interview process. During the interviews, there were many moments when I felt a strong kinship with my participants, especially with the young women in the study. There were moments when they perceived me as an outsider. For example, when we discussed language skills, I shared that I could not speak any of the South Asian languages fluently. Furthermore, while discussing career choices, I let some participants know that I dropped out of the Life Sciences program I initially enrolled in as an undergraduate. Dropping out of a science program might have been perceived as a failure by some participants. However, for those participants who just started secondary schooling, I may have been seen as successful since I was in the process of completing a graduate degree.

Depending on which life experiences I shared with the participants and how they chose to focus on and interpret those experiences, I was at times considered an insider and at other times an outsider. This shifting insider/outsider status affected the type of data that I was able to collect.

One interesting byproduct of my shifting insider/outsider status was that I felt the most distance between myself and my participants when I had to do the least prompting. At times, that insider status caused participants to assume that I had knowledge of the situations that they were describing, and often led them to omit certain descriptors. Because of this idea, they assumed I

51 would intrinsically know what they were speaking about. Often this was easily solved by asking them for a few descriptions or prompting them to elaborate on the topic or theme. For example, when speaking with Vishva he mentions the idea of “needless sacrifice” with respect to his parents and his upbringing. I gave him a puzzled look because I was unsure what he meant by the term. He repeated “you know needless sacrifice.” I asked him to give me an example because

I was not sure what he meant. He thought about it for a bit and then gave me the example of his mother choosing to stay home and raise him and his sisters rather than engaging in paid employment outside the home. He felt this was needless because when his family immigrated to

Canada he and his siblings were in school full time. He felt that his mother could have better acclimated to Canadian society by having a social network outside of her immediate family by engaging in paid employment outside of the home. When asking them to elaborate, participants sometimes reacted with surprise; because the interaction between myself and the participants felt more like a discussion rather than a research study, and those moments reminded them of the purpose of the conversation. On the other hand, I also shared many insider moments with my participants. For example, Sara and I had an insider moment when she and I were discussing

South Asian media in Canada. For instance, she said “you know those commercials for med school” I immediately knew that she was referring to advertising medical schools in the

Caribbean which run quite frequently on South Asian radio and television.

According to Denzin and Lincoln (2003), “the academic and disciplinary resistances to qualitative research illustrate the politics embedded in this field of discourse” (p. 67). Although I believe that my shared racial identity with my participants is a strength, it is important to address some critiques that may come up as a result of this shared racial ethnicity. For example, an often mentioned critique of individuals who choose to study their own racialized group is that

52 they are “too sensitive” and not objective enough to conduct unbiased research (Margolis and

Romero, 1998). It is interesting to note that this same critique is not leveled at white researchers that choose to study individuals from their own group. This critique of racialized individuals who study their own group appears to be yet another way in which the voices of racialized individuals are time and again silenced.

One moment that I found both fascinating and challenging, in terms of the interplay between my identity as a South Asian researcher and my participants, was in the few minutes prior to the start of the interview. When I asked my participants to choose a pseudonym for themselves, some responded with questions like, “What kind of name? Does it have to be South

Asian?” South Asian names are often quite distinct and in Canada there are consequences for having a distinctly South Asian name. For example in 2009, the Globe and Mail ran an article which reported that, in terms of employment, individuals with English names were 40% more likely to receive callbacks than people with the same education and job experience but with distinctly Indian, Chinese, or Pakistani names (Jimenez, 2009). In terms of impact on education, studies have shown that South Asian students are disadvantaged when it comes to admission to medical schools since their names provide an ethnic marker to admission committees (Hussain &

Bagguley, 2007). As someone with a markedly South Asian name, I feel as though I have spent my entire life defending my “complicated” name. Upon reflection, I realized that this was an equity issue which should be taken up by the community, given the idea that distinctly South

Asian names can be at times detrimental for upward mobility in a predominantly white society.

Hence, I was a bit disappointed when the majority of participants chose English names. In fact, I had two participants who wanted the pseudonym ‘Sara.’ However, I never asked my participants to change their pseudonyms. Given that the study was about South Asians and that I am a South

Asian researcher, I mistakenly believed that participants would choose South Asian names, which was why I found it so interesting that many of them chose otherwise. I believed that particular interaction did set the tone for some of the interviews. For example, Hazel had a lot of difficulty choosing a pseudonym and initially suggested that I use her real name. After explaining the reason for the pseudonym, she came up with Hazel. I was concerned that participants might feel that there were right and wrong answers to the questions. Simply stated, I essentially told many of them that they could not use their real names. I was concerned that after this initial interaction, they would be put off by the study and would not be eager to continue with the rest of it.

Limitations and Implications

The qualitative nature of this study generated an extremely rich data set that provided a number of insights into the concept of the model minority, and guilt and shame. As a result, there are several limitations, implications, and areas of further research that should be addressed.

One of my main concerns was to ensure that my study does not reinforce stereotypes about South Asians. Abbas (2006) writes about the implications of being a South Asian researcher and conducting research with South Asian students. He indicates that this common thread can result in both positive and negative implications. It is possible that participants were willing to share experiences with me because they saw me as a member of their community and hence their extended family. On the other hand, as mentioned previously, because I share a common racial identity with my participants, they did not always discuss certain topics to the full extent that they might with a non-South Asian researcher.

Among, South Asians the whole community is conceptualized as a large extended family.

As a result, everyone becomes a sister, brother, aunty or uncle, which can both help and hinder

54 the qualitative research process. Bhattacharya (2007) writes about her experiences conducting qualitative research with other South Asian women and discusses the ways in which the lines between researcher and participant sometimes become blurred. She narrates an experience with a participant: “she thinks of me as her elder sister. In the context of Indian culture, this is a common kinship relationship that girls form with other women older than themselves” (p. 1096).

When I conducted research with racialized students for another research project, the South Asian students thought of me as their elder sister. Many of them came to me for advice and guidance long after the study had finished, and I am still in contact with all of them in one way or another.

For this current study, I was extremely careful to maintain a balance between my role as a researcher and my place within the larger South Asian community. Since many of the participants are active members in Toronto, and I occasionally see them at community, cultural, or religious functions. When I do encounter the participants I am usually with other people from the South Asian community therefore, I am careful not to reveal how I know them. At the same time, I tried my best to be supportive of the participants especially those who were facing challenges with career and educational goals. For example, Sonya was looking to make a career change into the field of HR and wanted advice because she was uncertain about if she should go back to school or not. I happened to know someone who worked for a HR firms in the city and I offered to put her in touch with them so she could make an informed decision about how to best achieve her career goals.

I felt that it was important to spend time debriefing and creating an environment that allowed participants to feel as though they had the right to ask questions about the research process. I wanted them to leave the interview space with the understanding that they could, if they choose, contact me again. Much of the information in the debriefing form after the

55 interview was aimed at providing services to youth. I hoped that the participants would use the resources so that they could make choices that are best for them or to cope with some of the pressures that they might have faced as members of the South Asian community. The debriefing form a participants information about academic and social services that are available in the GTA.

While many of the participants may have been from low-income or new-immigrant communities, all of them had residency status in Canada. That is to say, all of the participants were citizens, permanent residents, or refugees, thus allowing them access to Canada’s pre- and post-secondary educational systems. There are South Asians in Canada who do not have status as citizens, immigrants, or refugees and as such they are barred from admission to post- secondary institutions, 6 and their experiences of career choices and education within the

Canadian educational system may be vastly different from those of the participants in this study.

I did not speak with any South Asian youth who did not have status in Canada; however, speaking to that subset of the population might have shed additional interesting light on the way in which the model minority is challenged by those ‘less successful’ members of the diaspora.

Moreover, the age range of the participants in the study, 18–26 years old, meant that they had already attempted secondary studies. Therefore, their insights into educational and career choices during secondary schooling are always a reflection on the past rather than an account of what was currently occurring. All participants had more or less successfully completed secondary studies; as such, their memories of secondary schooling may be influenced by recall or memory bias. Recall or memory bias can be a problem if outcomes being measured require

6 According to Social Planning Toronto, “Access to public education for all children and youth under 18 in Ontario is both a right and a requirement under provincial law. The Ontario Education Act explicitly states that no child can be denied access to schools because they, or their parent(s), lack immigration status in Canada.” However, if a non-status student attempts to enroll in a post-secondary institution, they must pay international student fees; unfortunately, tuition rates triple, which prevents the majority of them from entering post-secondary schooling.

56 that subjects recall past events. Often a person recalls positive events more than negative ones.

Therefore, speaking to students currently enrolled in secondary schooling may have dramatically different results than those of the present study.

From the previous literature reviewed, some Asian students struggle academically; however, their difficulty with the educational system is not usually acknowledged by educators.

Since the model minority label is based on the idea of academic achievement, what is happening to students who might be seen as “average” or even underachieving? The experiences of those students who are pushed out of secondary studies in Canada might be vastly different than those who successfully navigated the system. Some of my participants mentioned of friends or family members who were seen as “unsuccessful” in the eyes of the community. They also mentioned the silence around the career paths of those individuals. While I think it would be extremely fruitful to conduct a study that examines South Asian dropouts and/or members of South Asian gangs, I would anticipate some difficulty in recruitment. The benefits of this type of inquiry would be to inform the South Asian community, educators and educational administers about the subjective experiences of South Asian youth who are struggling with the educational system and hopefully shed light on how institutional structures may prevent these students from dropping out or engaging in gang activity. In summary, future research may want to focus on speaking with participants who are currently engaged in secondary institutions and students who have not completed secondary schooling, and South Asian parents who have children in any stage of the

Canadian educational system.

Chapter 3

Results

Overview

As mentioned in the methodology chapter, a general outline of the interview questions were prepared and presented to the participants prior to the interview. However, many participants brought up themes, questions, and discussions that drifted from my prepared questions. Most of the stories shared during the interviews happened directly to them; however, in some cases, they shared stories that happened to friends, family, and acquaintances.

This chapter will focus on three central themes: guilt and shame, career choices, and the model minority stereotype. Under the theme category of career choices the topics of professional careers and gender roles will be highlighted. While these themes are central to the study, separating them was often quite challenging as many participants had experiences and opinions about the ways in which they influenced the transition from secondary to post-secondary studies.

This study had three major findings: South Asian youth are not aware of the model minority stereotype; they received input, either directly or indirectly, from family and community members regarding their career and educational choices; and parents and children were willing talk about and negotiate when issues about educational and career paths came up. However the degree of input that families and the community had on the participants in the study varied depending on the individual. For some South Asian youth parents and community pushed strongly for certain career and educational paths as is evident in some of the narratives presented in this chapter. For example, Sonia’s father put significant pressure on her to attend medical school. Others were not pressured by outside forces such as the case of Neha’s friend who felt that his parents would not accept his decision to drop out of an engineering program. Some

57 58

participants were quite resistant to the advice of their parents and the community, while others were quite open to the advice that they are given. All participants ultimately made their own career and educational decisions. Moreover, from the narratives it is obvious is not a cultural trait. When questioned, participants had various definitions of success but very few mentioned professional degrees or salaries. Participants mentioned other factors, such as quality of life, as influences in their career and educational goals.

The narratives presented in the following section highlight the ways in which South

Asian youth navigate the pre- and post-secondary educational institutions. More importantly, the narratives highlight some of the ways in which parents and the community interact with and affect the educational choices that South Asian youth make. As first-generation immigrants who spent a significant amount of time in the Canadian educational system, the youth in this study were armed with education, skills, and fluency in English, which allowed the majority of them entry into post-secondary institutions. The findings below detail their sometimes emotional struggle to balance their needs and those of their parents, their encounters with the model minority stereotype, and their journey toward career paths.

After examining narratives about the model minority in the South Asian community, this chapter considers the ways in which guilt and shame affect career choices for South Asian youth.

Although the topic of career choices, in particular, was not a main focus of my original proposal, after I began to examine my data, I found that the number of times the topic of career choices was mentioned by South Asian youth was striking. It is possible that because of their age group most participants were spending significant amounts of time and energy establishing their careers. In fact, many were at academic crossroads, which entailed making decisions about graduate or professional school, or returning to school after a brief hiatus. Similarly, other

59 participants were looking for work, changing industries, or establishing themselves in careers for the first time. More significantly, participants often discussed psychological stresses that they or other South Asian youth encountered as these decisions were being made. Furthermore, many participants discussed the influence that family, friends, and the greater South Asian community had over these decisions. Therefore, the three main themes I will be using to organize the results and analysis of the present study are guilt and shame, the model minority, and career choices.

Section A: Guilt and Shame

Many of the participants in the study were able to relate and give examples of the way in which guilt and shame had played out in their education. In particular, events that involved their parents were often mentioned as examples of guilt and shame reinforcing the idea that at least for the participants in this study there was a familial component to the emotions. At the same time, participants did not seem to be overburdened by the emotions; they were still able to make independent choices about career and educational goals.

Many participants had not thought about the terms guilt and shame in depth before coming to the interview. Some looked up the terms so that they would be better able to participate in the study. For example, both Vishva and Sara looked up the terms before they came to the interview. What was noticeable about those participants who had looked up the terms guilt and shame knew there was a difference between the terms. Whereas those who hadn’t were more likely to say that they were the same thing. Participants varied in their ideas about guilt and shame being separate emotions. Six of the fourteen in the study believed that guilt and shame are the same emotion, while the other 57% thought they were different emotions. This finding is consistent with the literature on self-conscious emotions, which says it is often difficult for individuals to distinguish between them. In the second half of the interview, many participants put their definitions of guilt and shame into the context of the rest of the interview.

As a result, many used educational experiences to illustrate their definitions. In fact, a number of them used examples of situations that occurred within their families that had to do with education to illustrate how they experienced guilt and shame. For example, Neha said:

I think guilt is….I think guilt is….knowing that you’re disappointing somebody. If my mom and dad had since the time I was born said I was going to be a doctor

and I didn’t [become] a doctor, then I would kind of feel guilty. Shame I think is being embarrassed of, like if I was embarrassed about being a teacher.

Although Neha was not embarrassed about her profession as a teacher, she could imagine that if her parents had insisted on a different career for her she might feel guilty or shameful.

Along the same lines, Sandy, who did not feel guilt or shame in connection with her career choice, gave her career path as an example for guilt and shame.

Guilt, okay well guilt is like if your parents told you to go into Computer Engineering and you decided to go into Computer Sciences you feel guilty. Oh shit maybe if I had gone into Engineering I might be more successful than if I was in Computer Science, but shame is when you disappoint them. I would say like if you do something really bad like if you get pregnant or something, that’s shame. So I guess if people know about it or see it there might be more shame. Like if it is just within the family then it might not be so bad. Like when I moved out, that was shameful because then everyone knew; but, then they [my parents] had to say [to members of her extended family and the South Asian community] that no no no she is still living with us.

Sandy’s previous example is very interesting considering that she and her parents had the very discussion that she describes. Her father, in particular, strongly encouraged her to apply to an engineering program; instead, she chose to become a computer scientist. At the same time, she says, “I guess if other people know about it or see it there might be more shame. Like if it is just within the family then it might not be so bad.” This statement shows that Sandy has a collectivist understanding of guilt and shame. According to her, once news or information travels outside of the family, only then would it be cause for shame. This response indicates that despite the fact that Sandy has spent the majority of her life in Canada she has a cross cultural understanding of guilt and shame. For her, if a situation occurs but the information says within the family then shame will not occur. Similarly, the three sisters in Shame know which one of

62 them is the biological mother of Omar but since the information is staying within the family the biological mother does not have to feel shame around her sisters.

Jay also shared an academic moment that caused her guilt and shame, which she experienced during the last few years of high school. She says:

Being a Tamil child, I have been [experiencing] very guilt induced moments in my life. My parents play a huge role. I’m a horrible math student, I hate math, I don’t like it and I don’t get it. And it sucks because my dad is an engineer and my mom works for [a financial institution] and can do crazy math things in her head, and it is so frustrating because they don’t understand that I don’t understand. In grade 12, they got me a tutor and I really did work my butt off, and I still didn’t get that high of a mark, so it was upsetting for me after putting in all of that work, but they could see that no matter how much work I put into it, I was just not going to get it, I’m just not good at it. So when I would bring home past report cards and my math marks weren’t that high, it was very embarrassing. You feel very guilty because your parents obviously wanted you to do well, but you don’t know how to explain to them that you can’t. So that definitely was a big thing growing up for me.

Jay’s comments are particularly interesting because she specifically uses the term guilt.

However, according to the literature surrounding emotions what she is actually describing is shame. Jay feels responsible for a problem that she has no control over. She herself says that she was studying hard and “working her butt off,” but was unable to get the marks that she wanted. While she seems to define guilt and shame as separate emotions, from her narrative they actually appear to be quite similar. What I also found fascinating was the constant reference that she was making to her parents throughout the narrative. She makes comparisons between her mathematical ability and her parents’ mathematical ability and seems to implying that her inability to do math somehow reflects upon her parents and speaks to a collective idea of success and failure and in tern guilt and shame.

Neha shared a very insightful story about a friend of hers who went into a professional program but found that it was not for him; and after several attempts, he switched to a more compatible program. However, Neha goes on to describe the dilemma and difficulty that her friend had in admitting to his parents that he was never going to be an engineer:

When I was in school, I actually had a friend whose parents wanted him to do engineering, and he went into engineering. He failed his first year, tried again, and failed his second year. It wasn't his thing. It's not that he wasn't applying himself, it just wasn't his thing and he was doing badly. But he came back [from the summer break] and went into multimedia. On his third time around he came and he switched the degree and said, you know, engineering is not my thing. Doing multimedia, do the internal transfer, but he didn't tell his parents he switched. They still thought, that he was [going to be] an engineer. So then it was almost graduation and they still thought he was engineer and we were like-- and we went up to him and said, you're not graduating with the Faculty of Engineering. And he did [tell his parents]. And this is a 25-year-old man who was crying in front of his parents saying I'm not in Engineering.

From the different narratives it appears that participants had various levels of pressure to pursue certain careers. For example, Neha’s friend appears to have put the pressure on himself.

By hiding his career choices from his parents it gives the impression that he thought that one career trajectory was better than another. According to Asher (2000), young Asian-Americans often internalize messages from home, school, and broader society and “come to see themselves as choosing financially promising careers such as medicine and business, over other interests such as theatre, journalism and teaching” (p. 8). Unfortunately, the previous example given by

Neha is a perfect example of some of the emotional consequences that South Asian students face once they internalize these messages. Along the same lines, Vishva, like Neha’s friend, had entered an Engineering faculty at an Ontario university and had withdrawn before completing the program. After a few years, he enrolled in a college course on Customs and Immigration.

During our discussion, I asked him if he had ever experienced any guilt or shame with respect to his educational choices:

Not guilt but shame because….what happened was that all my sisters are doing their degrees and stuff, and one of my sisters is going to become a doctor. So sometimes my parents are like, you are like the man of the house kind, so you are the only boy so you know you need to have a degree. It’s like, you have to have a degree, you have to. You need to be successful but you need to match them [his sisters] or be above them but you can’t be lower than them. Kind of the idea of the male has to be above the women.

As the previous quotes demonstrate, guilt and shame are felt by the South Asian youth in the study with respect to their career choices. What is even more interesting to note is the repeated mention of academic success in relation to the subjects of mathematics and careers heavily based on a strong math and science background. What these questions and responses demonstrate is that the particular aspect of the model minority that seems most salient for South

Asian youth are those ideas linked to academic success. According to Chen and colleagues

(2006), Asian Americans’ experiences of racism can result in psychological stress, and this stress is often related to racial identity. The results of this study are consistent with the findings by

Chen et al., that for some South Asian students, academic or career failure is linked to psychological distress. However, the participants in the study cannot all be lumped into the same category. The following chapter expands on the notion of how the model minority stereotype is experienced and internalized through career choices by South Asian youth in Canada.

Section B: Career Choices

Many participants and I spent a great deal of time discussing career choices. The notion that professional careers were preferable to non professional careers came up repeatedly. Since all the participants had attempted some type of post secondary schooling, we discussed the transition from secondary to post secondary studies. In general the idea that parents are forcing their children into certain careers is not a blanket statement that can be made about the South

Asian community. Both, parents and children seem to be involved in a negotiation to determine what career and educational paths children should take. However, when parents and their children had different understandings of the Canadian educational system the discussions often became more complicated. In other words, for those participants whose parents did not receive their schooling in Canada those discussions often became much more challenging. In particular, many South Asian parents were invested in the idea of professional careers being the most appropriate career choice. Lastly, the notion that professional careers were a better choice for

South Asian youth often caused the most emotional distress for participants in the study.

According to Bhattacharya (2000), school adjustment of South Asian youth is strongly influenced by the messages they receive from their primary socialization agents. In other words, if both parents and educators are in agreement about what constitutes student success, students are more likely to continue on to post-secondary education. All of the participants in the current study have completed or are working towards post-secondary studies. Overall, they agreed that students need at least some direction from their parents regarding career choices. When I posed the question, “ Do children need direction from their parents with regards to career choices? ”

Eight of the fourteen participants agreed with the statement. In fact, one participant said that they “strongly agreed” with the statement, and the remaining five stated that they “somewhat

66 agreed” with the statement. This finding is also consistent with other studies that also found that

South Asians have a strong sense of belonging to their family (Tran et al . 2005). This strong sense of family is likely a contributing factor to the way in which the participants felt about parental influence with respect to career choices. It should be noted that none of the participants disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, despite the fact that they themselves indicated that they and their parents had very different views on what professional and career choices they should make. This response also supports the idea of South Asians having a collectivist culture where individuals are more likely to emphasize group goals over personal ones.

At the same time, when I asked the participants, “ What would your parents say if I asked them this same question?” they indicated that they believed their parents agreed more strongly with the statement than they did . According to the respondents, seven participants felt that their parents would have said “strongly agree” to the previous statement. Nav said, “they would say strongly agree, if there was a higher option, probably that one. If there was something higher, like, if it’s one to ten, they’d say 12. They’re like, is there a very, very strongly agree?” Six of the fourteen participants estimated that their parents would have agreed and one participant felt that their parents would have somewhat agreed. Similar to the participants, no participants indicated that they thought their parents would disagree or even strongly disagree with the original statement. Please see Table 2 for a table illustrating the data.

While this idea of parental input into children’s careers might not be unique to the South Asian community, what is also interesting to note is that parents often did not have a complete understanding of the Canadian educational system. In fact, according to Bhattacharya (2000),

South Asian parents often lack the knowledge and direct links to the Canadian educational system, which often caused friction between parents and children with respect to career choices.

For example, Nav, who was educated equally in Canada and in India, was able to share some very insightful observations about how the educational systems in Canada and India vary greatly from one another. Another participant, Sandy believed that her father’s insistence on medicine being the most appropriate career choice was based on the profession in South Asia rather than how the profession is in Canada. This misunderstanding of the way in which the Canadian system worked manifested itself as parents insisting on “professional careers,” which they thought would bring about success in terms of job security and income. In turn, Nav felt that the reason why some South Asian parents might put pressure on their children to pursue certain occupations is because of the way in which the transition from secondary to post-secondary education is structured in most South Asian countries, which is very different in Canada. He says:

Another reason behind that mentality is, especially in India, from what I have experienced, there are three different streams of education. One is science, business, and then arts. So those are the three streams and you get into one and you come out of there, and at the end of the four years or whenever you’re done.

Whereas over here, you can start off with something, but at the end of four years, you might just come out with something completely different.

So for them, they have this mentality that you get into one stream and that’s the end of it. There’s not that many options, whereas over here, there’s so many different options that we didn’t even…I didn’t even know when I went to university. It was like you can do this, you can do that. So that’s where a little of their thinking comes about. They have a definitive path.

Nav’s previous comments are particularly insightful when put into the context of his unique educational path. Nav was born in Canada and attended kindergarten here, but spent the next ten years in India. When he returned, he was 14. At 25, he had approximately ten years of schooling in each country. According to him, the Indian and the Canadian educational system are very different, but after spending almost equal time in both, he could see both sides of the issues.

According to him, South Asian parents who were not educated in Canada had a difficult time with the flexibility of the Canadian educational system. Furthermore, he mentions that in

Canada there are more options than there are in South Asia, which is another issue which I think impacts the discussion that parents and children have with regards to career options. All of the professions that were previously mentioned such as engineering, medicine, and accounting seemed to be “safe bet” professions that parents knew about because they were familiar to them in both South Asian and Canada. Regardless of geographical context, these occupations seem to provide a middle class lifestyle which makes them safe and by extension more acceptable. As the next section will show, this was often a major point of discussion during the secondary schooling years, especially leading up to the decision on what to study at the post-secondary level.

Professional Careers

During the course of my interviews, one main theme that occurred repeatedly was the idea that “professional” careers were preferred to “non-professional” ones. The two professional careers mentioned most frequently were medicine and engineering. In fact, 80% of the individuals interviewed mentioned medicine as a preferred career choice for South Asian youth.

When I asked Christine about her parents’ views regarding career choices, she responded:

It would have been one of the “professional careers,” So, something like accounting, doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, an engineer — although I've never thought about engineering, really. But, I mean, the unspoken assumption was that it would be one of those careers. But I don't know where that came from, because I don't remember my parents ever saying that to me.

As is evident by this quote by Christine, certain occupations were seen as more acceptable to both her and her parents, despite the lack of explicit discussion indicating such. In fact, during

69 the interview Christine paused for quite a while and thought about where these ideas had come from and ultimately concluded that she had no idea where she got the notions from because her parents had never said anything to her. However, from the discussions with my participants it seems that in those families where professional careers are not explicitly stated as preferred the participants indirectly got the idea. As some of the following narratives will show, participants often indirectly got the idea that certain professions were acceptable because of the praise that other family members and colleges got once they entered those professions. By contrast, Matti had parents that insisted she become a professional; however, unlike Christine, Matti’s parents put an emphasis on careers based on formal training in math and/or science. She stated:

I think they always said, "Do the sciences, do the maths, be an engineer, be a doctor" and I think they were disappointed that I took the business route, but they were at least happy and thought Ok, she can at least make ‘money' because to them business equals money.

Matti also revealed that her sister wanted to enter into a profession which was not seen as

“acceptable.” Her parents had very strong opinions about which careers their daughters should not pursue:

It's so complicated. It's so layered. When my [older] sister was in university, she wanted to go into social work. [My dad said] You're my first daughter and I can't have this happen" and so he was super disappointed. She graduated and she really tried to prove herself so much. Now my parents are OK with it, but at that time they said, "You [Matti] can't be a teacher. You just can't be a teacher." My dad hated it. He said, "This is not going to make you any money. I did not come to this country for you to be a teacher."

The notion that Matti’s parents “did not come to this country for her to be a teacher” is a really importation one because I think it speaks to the way in which parents do not have a complete understanding how careers in Canada are different than those in South Asia. Generally speaking in Ontario, teaching is a middle class occupation and the Ontario teacher’s pension plan is reputed to be on of the best in North America. However, the comments that Matti’s dad makes it

70 appear that teaching is a profession which is not worthy of the sacrifices that he made to immigrate to Canada. On the other hand, some participants had parents and other family members who specifically mentioned that the medical profession was held in high esteem.

Vishva, a 25-year-old Retail Investigator, shared an insightful story about the first member of his extended family to become a medical doctor. He says,

She went to the University of Toronto the Life Science faculty. I think she found it hard and then she went to Poland I think that both her and her younger sister are in Poland studying so she finished and now she is coming back. We found out like a couple of weeks ago [that she completed her MD] it was huge; huge everyone is so happy because I think she is the first doctor in our extended family. Family from Germany, London all around the world, everyone is talking about it. For her, she will feel very prestigious very proud and her parents too.

As these quotes highlight, parents and extended family can attribute a great deal of status to the medical profession. Furthermore, participants mentioned that either directly or indirectly, they received the message, from their parents or the community, that medicine is a preferred choice of occupation. The example that Vishva provides helps to understand how some South Asian youth are receiving messages without their parents having ever had a conversation about it. It is not hard to imagine that anyone in Vishva’s family who is thinking about post secondary studies would not assume that medicine is a preferred occupation. If no one else gets a party and the cousin who becomes a doctor gets a party, then the message is very clear. Earning a medical degree is special. I strongly believe that these indirect messages about whose education and careers are important is the way in which South Asian youth, such as Christine, that do not have parents directly suggesting professional careers are still getting the idea that those professional careers are best.

For example, according to Sandy, a 26-year-old Portfolio Risk Analyst, her father put pressure on her to adopt a professional career in medicine or engineering. When I asked her,

“What do your parents want you to be?” she said:

A doctor or an engineer, when I did not take any science courses, grade ten biology was my last science course, they understood that I couldn’t become a doctor so then they were like okay become an engineer. I was like I don’t even know the definition of engineer, what is an engineer? So I told them that I was not going to apply to engineering. My dad was very insistent, he told me to apply for engineering and then he asked me why I didn’t apply to science. I had to tell him, I only had one science course [in high school]. I don’t like science and it’s also not type of job I want. Why do I want to be on my feet the whole day and work 14 hours [a day] and be on call and not get to spend time with my family? I mean doctors don’t make that much money. As an investor, in real estate or in banking you can make lots of money.

She went on to say that although she completed her post-secondary schooling, years later her father was still “holding onto hope” that she would become a doctor. She said:

Well to this day after getting a degree, after getting a job and he is like “see you could have gone into medicine, do you see this boy, he is 28 he just graduated and now he is a doctor!” He is still holding onto the hope that I will become a doctor one day. I don’t know how to...how to break it to him.

Sandy recognized that her parents would have preferred her to become a doctor; however, she chose to follow her own career path. Unlike her older brother, she chose to pursue a career that she believed would bring her personal satisfaction and increased work-life balance.

However, the idea of comparison seems to come up repeatedly with many of the participants. Along the same lines as Sandy, Sara completed her degrees a few years ago and is now working in her chosen field. However, Sara’s mother occasionally brings up the possibility of Sara attending medical school. In the following quote, Sara describes her mother’s behaviour but also attempts to understand why the South Asian community has often put such an emphasis on certain professions. According to Sara:

You know how sometimes you’ll see or you’ll hear those ads on the radio and you’ll see South Asian shows which are like you can become a doctor and they have this like random American school. My mom sometimes she points that out she says you can become a doctor still!

I think that with the South Asian community there seems to be a narrow mindedness about certain professions unless something leads directly to a job something more tangible a regulated profession like medicine and engineers. Well psychology is a regulated profession but it’s not like doctors or engineers.

I believe that Sara’s comments are quite insightful when it comes to understanding the insistence on professional careers that some South Asian parents push for. The idea of an education which leads directly to a job can possibly explain the reason why medicine and engineering are repeatedly mentioned as preferred careers. Considering that all of the participants in the study are first generation whose parents have migrated to Canada it does make sense that those professions would be preferred as a safer bet.

For the most part, the South Asian youth I spoke with were eager to tell me their stories.

Most were very candid in sharing details of discussions that they had with their parents regarding career choices. The majority of the participants had been told at one point or another what was considered an “acceptable” profession in their community. However, the method by which they received these messages varied greatly. Recently, mainstream media have been focusing their attention on the phenomenon of Tiger Mothers as an explanation to the idea of the model minority. These Tiger Mothers are Asian mothers who push their children to succeed more generally in the field of academics, but more specifically in areas that the mothers deem appropriate (Kolbert, 2011). However, as the previous narratives show, sometimes it is mothers, sometimes fathers, and sometimes neither parent is explicitly pushing. Sometimes students are receiving messages about what is and is not an acceptable profession through other socialization methods. It is entirely possible that with those students who are not receiving messages explicitly from parents, schools and the media may be playing a large part in influencing South

Asian youth to think that certain careers are more acceptable. As Christine points out, she did not have her parents tell her directly what they wanted her to do, but somehow she got the idea that certain careers were more acceptable than others. On the other hand, almost all participants spoke about the ways in which parents might not have made suggestions for careers but did make suggestions with respect to what courses they should take with an emphasis on mathematics and sciences. If one follows that line of thought to its logical conclusion, it would lead to a career such as engineering, or health care, professions that most participants indicated was preferred.

Migration for South Asian youth seemed to allow greater independence and autonomy in making career choices. South Asian students are showing signs of resistance against familial pressures to study certain fields and to enter certain professions speaks to their character as independent thinkers. However, their willingness to engage with their parents despite that they might not agree with them shows that these types of negotiations in South Asian families are not zero sum games. Discussions often involve input and discussion from both sides and eventually come to a mutual understanding.

According to Zhou and Xiong (2005), assimilation outcomes of Asian immigrants are diverse and they “depend on the interplay between the individual, family, community and societal factors” (p. 1119). In fact, most children of Asian descent are aware of their inferior racial status. Furthermore, according to Samuel (2004), in her study of South Asian students in

Canadian post-secondary schooling, 100% of the participants in her study experienced racism at the university level. It is quite possible that the emphasis that South Asian parents place on their children entering into professions such as medicine and engineering could be a coping mechanism for workplace discrimination. It could be that parents encourage their children to pursue careers where employment is virtually guaranteed upon graduation after a practicum,

74 residency, articling, or internships rather than careers where career success is often based on networking. Lastly, a contributing factor in this behavior with their children might be parents’ own experience trying to find employment in Canada. If careers were closed to them despite having experience and knowledge in the field, parents might be more likely to encourage less risk taking and more certainty in careers and employment.

Section C: Gender Roles in Relation to Career Choices

Gender inequality within the South Asian community was a theme I asked all the participants during the interviews. Several participants, when asked, felt that in general, their peers, both male and female, had equal levels of opportunity and attained equal levels of academic achievement. In terms of key findings, the participants who saw a strong link between gender and career expectations within the South Asian community were male and female.

Participants mentioned professions, such as teaching, being female dominated and therefore not acceptable for a South Asian male to focus on for a career. When some of the female participants questioned their parents about the double standard many parents were happy to have daughters in career paths which were compatible with raising a family with small children.

However, some participants strongly felt there were differences in terms of career choices, educational achievement, and personal freedom between South Asian men and women.

In particular, Sonia, a 24-year-old woman who had an interest in gender studies, commented on some of the ways in which she saw gender playing a role South Asian women were encouraged or discouraged from pursuing particular occupations. As a school teacher, she had particular insights into the ways in which some members of the South Asian community see the role of women in education:

[Teaching is]a very successful profession but I think mostly with South Asians, what they tend to do is if a girl, especially, if she isn’t becoming a doctor or a lawyer or one of those careers, then there second best option is become a teacher, because that’s suitable for a girl. If you get married, if you have children, it’s just perfect, so that would be the second best career choice.

She continues on to say that “for a girl, especially in our community, I think it’s more acceptable if you don’t have a job or a career, as long as you’re educated.” Another participant, Jay, who was initially considering a career as an educator, was told by her mother that teaching was “a good career for a girl. You have set hours and you get vacations to spend with your family.” In line with those comments, Sonya, a young woman who just left her job in insurance to pursue a career in human resources, said:

Right now the fact that I’m completely unemployed, is probably acceptable, just because I am a girl and if say tomorrow I agree to get married, no one’s even going to bother asking for what I’m going to do as a career, because my marriage would take precedence over my career, so that’s why it’s important to do it [have a career] before you get married because I’ve seen my sister, she just went right out of university and got married, so now it’s kind of harder for her to jump into a career right, because she has the whole family thing going on.

Both Sonya and Sonia speak directly to the issue of differences between men and women of career choices and educational achievement. In particular they both mention they have been raised knowing that it is important to have an education but, a career is not necessary. In other words, in Sonia and Sonya’s families an education which leads to a professional career is not always necessary for success. Another option for success would be to get married. Despite the fact that marriage was not on the interview outline,

Sonya brought up the issue of marriage, which many other participants, both male and female, mentioned during the open-ended questions.

According to Vishva, who has three sisters, the differences in expectations for

South Asian men and women are linked to the ways that South Asian communities police young women. He said:

In my opinion is that probably because of the sexism, because [South Asian] males they have more freedom, they have more freedom than females like back home so I think that carried on here. Say I want to go out late night my mom will probably say where are you going, what time are you going to be back, who are you going with and stuff but, she’ll probably let me go after some. If my sister she wanted to do that she couldn’t, so that sexism. It drives them [South Asian women] to be more successful to gain that freedom. They [South Asian-parents] feel they have less control over the boys than the girls so I’m guessing they give the boys a little more leeway and that’s pretty much it. Probably the girls they don’t have as much options or leeway as the boys and so it’s like okay if I study and do this and I’ll get a job I can go here and do that and do you know go and do whatever I want once I get a degree.

Vishva makes an interesting point about how South Asian women are monitored more closely than South Asian men and how that might be feeding into an increased investment in education.

Nav, a young Punjabi Sikh man, indicated that within his particular community, teaching is an acceptable profession for young women. However, he felt that this might not be true of other

South Asian regional or ethnic groups. He added,

I guess it depends what part of India you’re talking about as well. Our parents, if a female from our family become a teacher, they’re actually satisfied. They’re like, “Oh, that’s actually a good job and this and that.” For them, they don’t mind that. They’ll still consider, as you say, it’s still considered a profession. But even in, like, as a teacher, I would say they still have a preference more towards teaching science and math, those kinds of courses. That’s regarded as better than English or Arts and stuff like that.

It appears that ideas regarding gender with respect to career choices play into a larger set of expectations, which South Asian women are especially subject to. The males in the study were aware of this double standard and acknowledged the unfairness of the situation. The women knew that they had other career options which were considered acceptable for them, such

77 as teaching which would not have been an option if they were men. However, I am not trying to say that parents always encouraged their daughters to pursue occupations which would allow them to put their family first. Matti’s parents were not happy about her becoming a teacher and

Sandy’s father really wanted her to become an engineer. The participants, who acknowledge that growing up they knew that men and women had different career expectations were aware that not all South Asian families shared their views. For example, As Nav said previously said “I guess it depends what part of India you’re talking about as well. Our parents, if a female from our family become a teacher, they’re actually satisfied.” According to Hussain and Bagguley

(2007), in terms of university entrance, an increasing number of South Asian women are applying to and receiving offers of admission to universities. However, from the statements of the participants in the study, it does appear that South Asian women are subject to particular cultural and social factors that differ from the experiences of South Asian men.

With regard to career choices, participants felt there was a great deal of emphasis placed on professional careers; however, not all participants received the message explicitly. Lastly, gender seemed to be a factor in what was considered acceptable and unacceptable in terms of professions for some participants, especially with respect to the field of education. However, the common thread that ran through the various narratives of the participants was the idea that certain career expectations were placed on them because they were South Asian students.

Section D: Model Minority

The majority of the participants had not previously heard of the term model minority prior to the study. Nevertheless, many had enlightening examples and observations about the way in which they understood the term in the context of education and career choices. For example,

Sara stated, “[I] had an idea of how I might define it but I didn’t actually look it up. I was thinking like basically a minority that would embody a typical role model for the rest of the community. So someone who is smart, successful and family oriented.”

To better facilitate a dialogue with my participants, I provided a brief description of the term from the literature. When defining the term model minority for my participants I told them that it was a term coined to talk about certain groups of immigrants who mainstream society sees as being really successful. I also mentioned the media support for the term with lot of articles about the success of Asian students entering university, low crime rates and good family values.

However, what was interesting to note was that once the term was explained, many individuals had a great deal they wanted to discuss regarding the topic. In fact, as I started to describe the term many participants had a look of recognition and jumped in before I got to the end of my explanation.

The initial perception of my participants about the model minority stereotype was surprising: none of them had heard of the term model minority . What was most surprising is that even those individuals who are working in education were unaware of the term. That is not to say that they were ignorant of stereotypes about South Asians in Canada, only that the term was unknown to them. Nevertheless, most of the participants, when prompted, not only knew the stereotypes, but also were able to mention specific aspects of the model minority. However, from their responses, it appears that South Asian youth have various understandings and levels of

79 acceptance of the model minority stereotype. Respondents fell into three different categories: a) they believed that the positive aspects of the model minority applied to South Asians, b) they believed that the positive aspects applied to certain members of the South Asian community, and c) they found the term problematic.

In general, the respondents who believed in the positive aspects of the model minority stereotype were the most problematic and at times their comments bordered on offensive.

According to Asher (2002), “it is important to understand the sociopolitical forces underlying the model minority stereotype, which co-opt Asian Americans in perpetuating and reifying it” (p.

269). In taking up the notion of the model minority stereotype, these individuals not only imposed it on South Asians, but also generalized both positive and negative aspects to the broader idea of Asian. Their responses help to illuminate the ways in which South Asians both perpetuate and reify the stereotype. Jay, who recently graduated from high school, talked about the model minority stereotypes she encountered in her secondary school:

Growing up there was this stereotype that all Asians are good at math. I felt awkward at times, at school it was okay but we would make fun of people and say you are Asian, why aren’t you good at math. There were people at my school Tamil or Chinese, who didn’t put in the effort [and], I think that effort has a big deal to do with [it]. I mean some people are just naturally smart, they just get things like that other people put hours of work into it and they do extremely well. And then there are some people who have the potential to do well but they just don’t try so I can’t, I don’t think you should base a stereotype on what culture you come from or anything like that.

Jay was particularly sensitive to this issue since, as will be mentioned in more depth later, math was the one subject she struggled the most with during her secondary schooling.

Furthermore, the previous quote shows that Jay received explicit messages from her peers that as someone who is Asian, she should be good at math. However, what is even more interesting is

80 her use of the term we . Jay lumps herself into the group of people who has high academic expectations for individuals who are South and East Asian. According to Museus and Kiang

(2009), Asian students in the United States feel substantial pressure to conform to the model minority stereotype. When I asked Jay about the term model minority , she did not know what it was; however, what her statement indicates is that despite not knowing what the model minority stereotype was, she had internalized it and was also willing to perpetuate it. According to

Museus and Kiang (2009), “there is evidence that Asian Americans experience substantial pressure to conform to this stereotype and that this pressure can constitute a stressor that functions to impede Asian American students” (p. 6). As will be discussed later in the chapter,

Jay discusses the difficulty she had with mathematics in high school and the way in which her less than “model” performance in that subject was a constant source of stress and guilt for her.

Another participant who believed in the positive aspects of the model minority was

Sandy, who also believed that having an Asian accent was sufficient justification for individuals not to be promoted to management-level positions. According to her, some accents are not professional. I found that, when pressed, she had a difficult time connecting the negative aspects of the stereotype with the “positive” aspects of the model minority stereotypes. Sandy is actually exposing the negative aspect of the stereotype and ‘buying’ into the idea that these accents are not professional. She was unaware of the underlying rationale behind this stereotype — that you can infer someone’s (in)abilities from the way they speak English. The notion that in Canada,

South Asian students are good at math and science has a downside. Unfortunately, individuals who believed in the model minority stereotype did not see the downside. The model minority stereotype espouses the false belief that some individauls are more suited to math and science.

This also leads to the false notion that those same individuals have a deficit in other areas, such

81 as language ability, critical thinking, and creativity. In other words, many individuals do not understand that, while often praised for pursuing technical fields, you can be ridiculed for trying to express creativity or an interest in English Literature. Furthermore, these same arguments have often been the basis of justification for companies to hire South and East-Asian workers into entry-level positions, but also to keep them out of senior management positions. It appears that, when convenient, some South Asian youth see themselves as part of a model minority; however, they are not above using the same stereotypes on other groups. The question also needs to be asked, “What are the implications for other visible minority groups?” Dei, Mazzuca,

McIsaac and Zine (1997) discusses the impact of buying into a meritocratic world-view on students who are pushed out of secondary schools in Canada. In particular, they the impact that this world view has on black students, who disproportionably drop out of secondary schooling in

Canada. According to them, focusing on individual success and failure “diverts responsibility away from the structures of schooling and relocates it exclusively within the domain of individuals and their primary group relationships.”

On the other hand, the second group of participants had experiences that contradicted the idea of South Asians being a model minority in Canada. These participants felt that the positive aspects of the model minority applied to them. Some participants, while aware that there were expectations about South Asians with respect to education, had other lived experiences that did not correspond to the model minority ideal. Neha, an elementary school teacher who grew up in a predominantly South Asian suburb of Toronto, spoke about South Asian gangs, which she remembered from high school:

I don't know whether it was the time I went to high school but that whole late '90s, 2000 area there was a lot of crime rate with South Asians. And like it got to a point where we had security in our school, like security guards just walking around the hallways and everything. It got out of control where like it was weird

like Cedarbrae and Woburn 7 and like all the [gangs], were constantly after each another.

According to Kibria (1998), many researchers are finding that a socio-economic divide is characterizing Asian Americans where some are middle class and others gave very low incomes and high poverty rates. It turns out that the two groups are interacting in an interesting way.

Prashad (2000) also mentions the dichotomy of the very successful and unsuccessful immigrants within the South Asian community. In The Karma of Brown Folk, he explores the ways in which economically successful South Asians make sense of less-successful South Asians. He found that successful South Asians are claiming that unsuccessful South Asians are “spoiling things for us, they can’t even speak English, they can’t drive, I don’t know how they got here.” These kinds of statements evoke a very particular collective racialized identity where the behaviour of one individual reflects upon the whole group. It also invokes an almost apologetic or embarrassed tone. While I am happy to say that none of the participants in the study made statements along those lines, there was definitely an understanding that an unfavourable reading of one’s racialized identity could occur.

As a young South Asian man who currently lives in a predominately South Asian suburb of Toronto, Sunny had encountered individuals who often saw the community that he grew up in as dangerous. The reaction of those around him often made him uncomfortable and reluctant to engage in serious discussion regarding the crime rates in his neighborhood:

It’s like when you say what a model minority is and then you list those things, I would say I would disagree with the fact that the low crime rate…because it just sticks out. I don’t think that most people assume that. Every time I have a conversation with people who are not of my [background]…they ask me what my background is, and they say did you live in this [very South Asian] area where we had a lot of [crime]. I don’t take offence to

7 Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute and Woburn Collegiate Institute are both high schools in Scarborough, Ontario, where a majority of students enrolled are of South Asian descent, more specifically Sri Lankan Tamil.

it…again I am just like it’s fine and say no, and then I would usually crack a joke…do you want to buy something [illegal], or something like that. I think it’s either you are smart, or you failed at being smart, so you have to be something else. And so you got be a gangster, you got to prove your toughness.

The interactions that Sunny describes definitely challenge the notion of all South Asians as a model minority. The last portion of his last statement provides some interesting insight into the way in which South Asians are modelled as a group in popular imagination. He says, “I think it’s either you are smart, or you failed at being smart, so you have to be something else. And so you got be a gangster, you got to prove your toughness .” His statement speaks to the dichotomy that often forces South Asian youth to choose between the being a good or a bad minority, which seems to be one of the main mechanisms by which South Asians are modelled into an ideal racialized group.

Shankar (2008) found that South Asians often had to meet certain benchmarks to be considered part of the model minority. The benchmarks included the ability to speak English and a middle-class upbringing. In her study, she examined the ways in which South Asian high school students in California were either seen as Fresh Off the Boat (FOBs) or as model minorities. She also unpacked how at South Asian youth saw themselves and how school administrators saw them. Some administrators in her study suggested that South Asians who did not have the markers of the model minority were seen as Latino or Black. One educator explained, “the ‘brownness’ of Indians, suggests that if Desis 8 are not acting in model ways, they should be grouped with those who require reform” (p. 283–284). Prashad (2000) also mentions this very idea when he quotes successful South Asians who fear that as a result of an influx of working class and poor South Asian immigrants, South Asians will lose their status as a model

8 Desi is “derived from the Hindi word ‘desh,’ meaning motherland, is a diasporic term used by South Asians in America to refer to other South Asians” (Badruddoja, 2007).

84 minority and will start to be grouped in with Mexican immigrants. In order to understand why these categories of model and un-model come about, we need to understand that this stereotype has often been used to put down other visible minority groups. It places any success or failure that a visible minority student achieves as inherent to the group rather than a personal trait. South

Asian students are now allowed to succeed or fail without implicating all other South Asians students. Sunny and Neha’s statements on pages 82-24 are very interesting considering the fact that the literature mentioned has investigated this phenomenon in a Canadian context. It appears that with respect to this particular issue, South Asians in Canada and the U.S. are facing similar challenges. What is distressing to note is that because of this dichotomy, South Asian students are never allowed to just be students; instead, they are always seen as caught up in a bind. This bind may be one of the reasons why many of them experience a great deal of stress when it comes to career choices. As the model minority, they do not have the luxury of choosing any career path that catches their interest. Because they have certain expectations placed upon them, and if they decide to choose a different route, it could be quiet challenging academically, emotionally and professionally as the only South Asians in their school, family or company working in that field.

For example, Sunny indicated that he thought the model minority stereotype did not apply to all of South Asians; he felt that Sri Lankan Tamils did not fit the stereotype. In his predominantly Sri Lankan community, people often question him on the safety of his neighborhood. According to a Canadian study, South Asians in Toronto can be divided along a spectrum of advantaged and disadvantaged. For example, Tamil, Pakistani and Bangaldeshis who have settled in Toronto are known as groups “experiencing severe disadvantage relative to the larger [Canadian] community” (Ornstein, 2000: ii). According to Sunny, as a South Asian youth, his choices were to either prove his “toughness or his intelligence.” The question needs to

85 be asked — who is he proving these characteristics to? It appears as though there are at times several audiences that South Asian youth are conveying messages to, which include parents, peers, and educators. This phenomenon was also mentioned by other males interviewed for the study. However, no females mentioned this question of toughness but many discussed intelligence as part of their experiences in secondary schooling.

In contrast to those individuals who believed in the positive aspects of the model minority stereotype or who believed it only applied to certain South Asians, the last group of participants found the term problematic and spoke about some of the issues they have had. Kay mentioned how silence is utilized to maintain the model minority stereotype within and outside the community. She also discussed the way in which some South Asians “buy into” the stereotype, and also spoke out about the ways in which the stereotype can have a negative impact on other racialized communities.

I think people have bought into it…Yeah they buy into it. They don’t — I guess people aren’t aware of other minority groups or what is going on. And how us as a minority group, as them as a minority group can have an effect on another groups and their issues.

So it’s like we are — there’s a certain tendency to do that. And I would say — and again, it’s hard because you have the parents own generation which I think is totally different from what we would…and also South Asians, like if something goes wrong, they just sweep it under the rug or whatever. If your kid doesn’t get into the school you want them to, they don’t do the program, you can’t just stop talking about it.

So it’s like saying my daughter is doing a Co Op placement. They just talk about the part that fulfills that [model minority]. They don’t talk about the rest [of the situation] and so that’s what everybody thinks it is. I can look at my own family and I know all the stuff that doesn’t fit into that [model minority]. They just forget about it.

Along those lines, Sara said, “I’ve always heard South Asians…something like great at math, great at science but it not always true. It’s very generalized and the one thing I’m kind of against

86 is generalizing.” She also shared a story with me about her mother and the ways in which her mother explained to other “Aunties9” in the community what she studied in university and college. According to Sara, she attributes her mother’s emphasis on her B.Sc on confusion rather than a deliberate choice to silence her college diploma. She says:

They [my parents] didn’t know what PR was. It’s funny because I’ve heard my mom explain it to other Aunties and stuff and she was like what is your daughter’s degree in? And she’ll say that she has her B.Sc and yeah she is doing some course or something at Seneca. 10 It’s cute but she doesn’t really know how to explain it, I’ve tried to explain it to her but she doesn’t get it. Are you going to get a job with this? What is this ?

Similarly, Christine, who is an Arts Administrator, shares the sentiment of Sara that her parents don’t know how to explain Christine’s occupation and career goals to other members of the community. She says:

If someone asks....'cause that's the other thing: they concretize what I do through what they know. When I say that I'm an Arts Administrator and I do cultural management, “What does that mean?” It's just “Ok, she is an artist.” No! I haven’t even heard them trying to explain what I do to family, because I'm sure they don't quite understand it yet, and they don't really want to ask me or they don't ask me, and I don't really tell them, because I know that, again, it would go over their heads, or they would ask me why you want to do something so…abstract. The concept of working in the arts, as an artist, is not really something that has occurred to them, or something that they grasp.

From the previous quotes by Nav, Kay, Sara, and Christine, it appears that for the most part,

South Asian youth are aware of the ways in which silence is used to maintain the model minority stereotype. What is also evident is that those in the study were also willing to challenge the way in which their parents and other members of the community were utilizing silence. It appears

9 The term “Aunties” is in quotations because within the South Asian community, individuals do not necessarily have to be related to one another to be given familial titles. In particular, when individuals are of an older generation, younger people usually do not address them by their names; instead, they are expected to add a familial noun to the name as a term of respect. 10 Seneca is an abbreviation for Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, which is a post-secondary institution located in Toronto, Ontario, that provides degree, diploma and certificate programs.

87 that when they were enrolled in courses that their parents could relate to, parents were content.

However, when students started to indicate interest in careers that were outside of their parents’ understanding and approval, friction occurred. What is positive to note is that many families were willing to discuss the issue. Parents and children talked about how their career trajectories and how their new goals were different than the ones they were previously working towards. For example Jay’s mother was concerned about her becoming a nurse and so Jay took her mother to visit with a family friend whose daughter had just gradated from a nursing program and describes how the discussion changed her mother’s opinion.

My dad’s best friend’s daughter is a nurse and she is finishing this year. I was talking to her about it and my mom was with us and she told us a lot of what nurses do and a lot of what they experience. There are so many aspects of nursing ummm public health and working in a hospital, working in a school. I think my mom was convinced by that.

While some parents actively engage others use different strategies to deal their children’s unfamiliar career paths. Both Christine and Sara use humor to talk about the ways in which their parents misunderstand the career choices they have made. Sara’s mother tells her friends that she is doing some course or something at Seneca and Christine’s parents misunderstand her role as an arts administrator. What does that mean? Ok, she is an artist. It could be that these professions are difficult to understand for parents because they are not known in South Asia, which makes these ordinary job titles such as administrator or public relations personnel seem almost mysterious to parents who have not encountered them before.

Additionally, Nav spoke about the ways in which his parents, especially his father, speaks to other members of the community about what he does. Nav was initially enrolled in an accounting program but switched out of that and is now focusing on Human Resources.

I know, my dad, even to this day, he’ll…if someone asks him, it’s like, “Oh, he did accounting.” I’ll be like, “No, Dad, how many times do I have to tell you?” He’ll be like, “No, you went in accounting before.” I’m like, “Yeah, I did but I’m not doing it anymore.”

The previous quote demonstrates the way in which parents are also committed to maintaining the model minority stereotype. According to Shankar (2008), the stereotype often “creates normative expectations for teenagers with little room for variation” (p. 268). These normative expectations can be used to explain the interaction that Nav has with his father. As someone who graduated with a business degree, Nav is not outside the concept of the model minority.

However, what appears to have complicated the matter is that initially he expected to specialize in accounting and had planned to become a Chartered Accountant. This news was well received by his father; unfortunately, when Nav decided that accounting was not for him and that he preferred a career in Human Resources, his father was not too pleased. It seems that a Human

Resources generalist is straying too far from the path of the model minority since it is not considered a professional career like accounting. As such, Nav is getting resistance from his father when he attempts to remind him about his career goals.

The overall goal of my study is to provide insight into the career and educational challenges that affect the South Asian diaspora in Canada so that educators, parents, researchers, service providers, and social policymakers are better able to meet the needs of this large and complex visible minority group. In terms of the broader literature available on the South Asian diaspora, this study is one of the few that examines the experience of South Asians within the

Canadian educational system. The study is also one of the first that specifically examines the relationship between South Asians and the model minority stereotype in Canada. It is important to note that despite the fact that participants might not have heard of the term model minority

89 they had a lot to say about the stereotype and the way in which it affected career choices.

Essentially the model minority stereotype is a reality for South Asian youth. However, it is not experienced the same way by all South Asians youth in the GTA and is complicated by ideas of gender, class and ethno-racial background.

Chapter 4 Conclusion

In general, the main implication of this study is to serve schools, students, parents, and the South Asian community by helping them recognize the academic and emotional needs of

South Asian students. One of the main implications of this study in terms of scholarship is that it aims to contribute to the small but growing amount of literature about the education of South

Asians in Canada. By investigating South Asian youths’ experiences with guilt, shame, and the model minority stereotype we can begin to understand some of the challenges that they face in school and home environments as they make career and educational choices. At the same time, an important implication for educational researchers is the understanding that while South Asian youth might not yet have the exact language to express it, they understand they are being stereotyped by mainstream Canadian society. I have tried to communicate not just the stories of the participants but also the ways in which they have navigated these challenges in an attempt to encourage other South Asian youth to speak out about familial pressures to pursue certain careers and stereotyping they experience in the educational system.

Along those lines, educators should be reflexive about their professional practice especially when dealing with South Asian students and their families. Furthermore, social service providers should also be aware that complex family dynamics can trigger self conscious emotions such as guilt or shame with respect to career and educational choices. Students making the transition from secondary to post secondary schooling might be especially sensitive about these issues and may feel quite hesitant to talk to someone outside of their family about their concerns.

Additionally, the South Asian community needs to understand that many youth are not receiving the type of support they need from schools to make informed decisions regarding career choices. While some participants were lucky enough to have mentors or teachers who took an interest in helping them choose a career, most students were left to figure things out on their own. For first-generation students, this lack of support combined with the model minority stereotype could make them feel anxious or embarrassed about asking for help or advice in an educational setting.

In terms of the broader educational system, first a basic awareness for educators, social service providers and educational administrators about the fact that South Asian students have different pressures on them compared to their white peers would be a helpful place to start.

Especially for those individuals working as guidance counselors and academic advisors, it would be prudent to ensure that they are equipped with tools address some of the unique issues that the

South Asian community faces. Ultimately, South Asian youth must not only find ways to navigate through the Canadian educational system but also learn to engage with educational institutions in order to bring about the changes which are vital to achieve equity.

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Appendix A E-mail text for recruitment

Subject: Research participants wanted for study on Guilt, Shame, Education and South Asian Youth Although South Asians are the largest visible minority group in Canada, there is very little research conducted about South Asian youth and the Canadian educational system. South Asians do not appear to have much of a voice in educational literature, which is why this is an area that desperately needs more attention. A common theme that has been found throughout the literature from the U.K. and the U.S. is the way in which South Asian students are negotiating their identities while growing up as first-generation immigrants. Therefore, my research aims to provide a Canadian context for understanding some of these first-generation challenges. More specifically, my study examines the ways in which guilt and shame are used by parents, families, and the greater South Asian community to encourage young adults to pursue certain educational trajectories. I’m looking for individuals who identify as South Asian, between the ages of 18 and 26, who would be willing to sit down with me for an hour or so while I conduct an interview about some of the ways in which guilt and shame have affected their educational and career choices, either in a positive or negative manner. All interviewees’ names and identities will be kept confidential. Furthermore, subjects may request a copy of the interview questions ahead of time if knowing the questions may facilitate comfort in the interview setting.

If interested, please contact Sangeetha Navaratnam [email protected] 416 556 8503

Academic Biography: Sangeetha Navaratnam is an elementary school teacher and an M.A. Candidate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her research interests are in the fields of Sociology of Education, Anti-Racism, and South Asian Studies.

Appendix B Letter of Information

This study entitled “Guilt, Shame and Model(ing) minorities” is part of a graduate thesis for the Department of Sociology and Equity studies at OISE/U of T. Sangeetha Navaratnam is conducting this study under the supervision of Dr. Coloma.

This study is being conducted to examine the experiences of South Asian students in North America. You will be asked a series of questions by the aforementioned researcher, which will take approximately one to two hours to complete.

There are no known physical, economic, or social risks associated with this study. In terms of psychological risk, the focus of the study is guilt and shame within the South Asian community, which could cause discomfort or upset for some individuals. It should be emphasized that you are free not to answer any of the questions that you find objectable or make you feel uncomfortable. Furthermore, participation in this study is completely voluntary and you may withdraw from it at any time. Lastly, a list of resources will be made available to you should most services cater to racialized and South Asian communities.

The interview will be documented with a digital recorder along with handwritten notes taken by the researcher. Your personal data will be treated confidentially, and the researcher and her supervisor are the only individuals who will have access to this information. Your identity will be omitted from the study’s data and from the recorded interview session. Furthermore, any other identifying names will also be omitted from the final project so as to project your anonymity and the confidentially of the information being discussed. The researcher findings will be used to write a graduate thesis.

If you would like further information about the study, or have additional questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact either Sangeetha Navaratnam at (416) 556 8503, [email protected], or the University of Toronto Office of Research Ethics at http://www.research.utoronto.ca/for-researchers-administrators/ethics/

Name of participant:

______(Please print clearly)

Appendix C Interview Guide 1. Demographic Questions a. What is your country of origin? b. Sex? c. Age? d. Languages spoken? e. Religion? f. Level of education achieved g. Level of education of parents h. Living situation i. Occupation

2. In their career choices, do children need direction from their parents? a. Strongly Agree, Agree, Somewhat Agree, somewhat disagree, disagree, strongly disagree 3. If I had asked that same question from your parents (or the individuals who raised you), what would they say? 4. Should young students make their career choices independently of their parents? a. Why or why not? 5. What did you want to be when you were growing up? 6. What did your parents want you to be when you were growing up? 7. Did you have any influence by family, friends, educators, or the community while in school on deciding what to do when you graduated high school? 8. Can you rank, in order of importance, the influences on your post-high school choices? a. Close family, extended family, friends, educators, and the South Asian community 9. What did you do post-high school? (worked, more school, travelled, got married) 10. Would you change your occupation if you could? 11. While growing up, did you feel any particular pressure to be seen as ‘successful’? 12. Have you felt that you experienced any personal barriers to academic or professional success? 13. Did you experience any streaming in school? 14. Have you heard the term model minority ? a. Could you define it? b. Do you think that term applies to South Asians in Canada? c. Why or why not? 15. Success. a. How do you define it? b. Do you think of yourself as successful? c. Do you think that South Asians have been successful in Canada? d. Why or why not? e. f. Do you see any gender differences in success of South Asian students? Why or why not?

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16. How important to you is having a job with a high income? Why or why not? 17. How important to you is having a job in which you apply your education and training? 18. Can you define guilt and shame? 19. How would you differentiate between these emotions — if at all? 20. Do you have anything else that you would like to mention about any of the topics that we discussed? 21. Do you have anything that you would like to ask me?

Appendix D Consent Form

For Sangeetha Navaratnam of the Sociology and Equity Studies Department at the University of Toronto

Title: Guilt, Shame and Model(ing) Minorities

I have read and retained a copy of the letter of information concerning ‘Guilt, Shame and Model(ing) Minorities and all of my questions have been sufficiently answered. I am aware of the purpose and procedures of this study, and I have been informed that the interview will be digitally recorded.

I have been notified that my participation is voluntary and that I may withdraw at any point during the study, and I may request the removal or all or part of my data without consequences to myself. I have also been told of the steps that will be taken to ensure confidentiality of all information.

I am aware that if I have any questions about the project, I can contact either Sangeetha Navaratnam at (416) 556 8503, [email protected] or the University of Toronto Office of Research Ethics at http://www.research.utoronto.ca/for-researchers-administrators/ethics/.

I ______consent to participate in the study entitled “Guilt, Shame and Model(ing) minorities” conducted by Sangeetha Navaratnam. I have understood the nature of this project and wish to participate. I am not waiving any of my legal rights by signing this form. My signature below indicates my consent.

Signature Date______Participant

Signature ______Date______Principal Investigator

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Appendix E Debrief Form

Thank you for participating in the study “Guilt, Shame and Model(ing) minorities.” For your information, I have included the numbers of a few agencies that provide counseling services for South Asian immigrants and youth. If you are a current student at U of T, York or Ryerson, you should be advised that all three institutions provide counseling services for students free of charge. Lastly, if you are not a university student and would like to apply for post-secondary education but feel that you do not have the formal educational background for university, you should consider looking into the University of Toronto or York University’s Transitional Year Programs, which can help students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to undertake university degrees.

Across Boundaries Across Boundaires is a mental health centre that provides a range of support and services to people of color in the Greater Toronto Area Web site: http://www.acrossboundaries.ca/ Location: 51 Clarkson Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6E 2T5 Phone: (416) 787- 3007

Access Alliance Multicultural Health Centre Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services works to promote health and well-being, and improve access to services for immigrants and refugees in the City of Toronto by addressing medical, social, economic, and environmental issues Web site: http://accessalliance.ca/ Location: 340 College St., Ste. 500, Toronto, ON M5T 3A9 Phone: (416) 324-8677

Women’s Health In Women’s Hands Women’s Health In Women’s Hands (WHIWH) Community Health Centre provides Primary Healthcare to Black Women and Women of Colour from the Caribbean, African, Latin American, and South Asian communities in Metropolitan Toronto and surrounding municipalities. Web site: http://www.whiwh.com/ Location: 2 Carlton Street, Suite 500 Toronto, ON M5B 1J3 Phone: (416) 593-7655

University of Toronto’s Counseling And Psychological Services (St. George Campus) Web site - http://www.caps.utoronto.ca/ Location - 214 College Street, Main Floor Koffler Student Service Centre Phone: (416) 978-8070

York University’s Counseling and Disability Services (Keele Street Campus) Web site - http://www.yorku.ca/cds/

Location - N110, Bennett Centre for Student Services

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Phone: (416)-736-5297

Ryerson University’s Centre for Student Development and Counselling Website: http://www.ryerson.ca/counselling/ Location: Room JOR-07C, Lower Ground Floor, Jorgenson Hall 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3 Phone number: (416) 979-5195

University of Toronto’s Transitional Year Program: Website: http://typ.utoronto.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1or Location: 49 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2E5 Phone: (416) 978-6832

York University’s Transitional Year Program: Web site: http://www.futurestudents.yorku.ca/transitionyear/ Location: Bennett Centre for Student Services (third floor), 99 Ian MacDonald Blvd. York University 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3 Phone: (416)736-5000