I’m sick of the ‘model minority’ designation, and so are other Asian Americans. It’s time to define our own identities

People who don’t know its history think the model minority myth assigned to Asian Americans has positive connotations. After all, on the surface, it is tied to success and achievement which are usually considered desirable. But, most of us who sit under this given identity don’t see it as beneficial or liberating. We find it a constricting and confining designation put upon first-generation Asian immigrants decades ago that feels in so many ways harder to wear in the here and now. After waiting patiently for so long, we are finally...