If you have at all paid attention to the recent Olympic games, you are most likely familiar with the impressive successes of Asian American athletes such as snowboarder Chloe Kim and freestyle skier Eileen Gu. The fame that these women have amassed has made them “It Girls,” serving as spokeswomen for the Olympic games. However, this apparent praise does a good job of masking the hate and scrutiny that female Asian American athletes face on a consistent basis. Asian American female athletes are required to achieve a substantially higher level of achievement than their white co-athletes in order to achieve the same level of respect. According to author and cultural critic Jeff Yang, “Asian American women are seen as worthy when they can deliver, and then disposed of otherwise.” They are in constant conflict with the illogical ideology that their ethnicity keeps them from being a “true American.” Based on the personal perspective of Sung Choimorrow, the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, “Asian American athletes are only all ‘American’ when it comes to winning medals for the country.” If Asian American athletes fall anywhere short of perfection, they are subject to becoming essentially disowned by their nation. However, oftentimes female Asian American athletes are not fully respected even if they do achieve remarkable feats. In the words of author and cultural critic Jeff Yang, “it’s like Asian American female athletes can’t win.”
Eileen Gu, waves to the crowd after competing in the freestyle big air finals of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
The restricting stigmatism faced by female Asian American athletes causes many to struggle to feel fully embraced in America. Even athletes who win at the Olympic games are subject to brutal harassment and criticism both in the media and in person. For example, Eileen Gu, the accomplished daredevil freestyle skier was accused of “betraying her country” by Tucker Carlson of Fox News, referencing the fact that she switched from the U.S. team to the China team. On a similar note, figure skater Zhu Yi was widely mocked across the United States for falling during an event; likely influenced by the fact that she gave up her U.S. citizenship to compete for China instead. Not only are Asian American female athletes who compete for their ancestral nations frequently scrutinized, but Asian American female athletes who compete for the United States as well. Chloe Kim, who has taken home two gold medals in the halfpipe for the United States, has stated that she has been tormented online daily; leading her to fear for the safety of herself and her parents. No matter much female Asian American athletes may accomplish, they struggle to escape a suffocating historical prejudice.
Suni Lee, Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. team.
This historical prejudice has been exasperated in recent years by the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Americans ignorantly attribute the beginnings of the pandemic to Asia, and, subsequently, Asian American individuals, who in reality have no connection to the origins of said pandemic. Americans use Asian Americans as scapegoats for the frustration they feel regarding the detrimental implications of the pandemic. This frustration frequently amounts to full-fledged hate, leading to an increase in the number of hate crimes directed towards Asian Americans in recent years. According to Stop AAPI Hate, “there have been more than 10,000 reported anti-Asian incidents between March 2020 and September 2021.” The extent of this hate has no limits, as even accomplished Asian American Olympians have experienced horrific harassment and abuse. For example, gymnast Sunisa Lee was standing outside with a group of other Asian Americans while on a break from filming “Dancing with the Stars,” when a passing car peppered sprayed her and bombarded her with racial slurs. Additionally, Asian American golfer Danielle Kang has reflected on instances in which she has been told to “go back to China,” or has been asked if she eats “dogs for dinner,” solely based on her ethnicity. Kang stated that she has faced these illogical stereotypes for her entire life, and that they have often been coupled with violence such as physical fistfights.
Devising solutions to combat increasing hate towards Asian Americans is a weighty endeavor. There is no simple way to combat the hate, especially when it is rooted in irrational reasoning. Once someone convinces themself that a certain individual/group of individuals is responsible for their own misfortunes, it is difficult to break this mindset. Despite these difficulties, there are steps that can be taken to gradually break down this widespread hate; including making Asia the host of multiple Olympics. In the words of Cynthia Choi, the leader of the Stop AAPI Hate coalition, “when we think about the Olympics, it’s really incredibly powerful to have taken place in Asia three times in a row … having Asian Americans and Asians representing the United States in these games is more than symbolic.” Having the Olympics games in Asia is a good start to promoting acceptance of the Asian community in the post-pandemic world; but it is only the beginning. The United States government needs to expand the crackdown on Asian hate crimes as a method of deterrence. As a society, we need to spread the reality that Asian American individuals are not at all responsible for the origins of the pandemic, and that acting otherwise is simply absurd. While this article focused on the scrutiny and discrimination faced by female Asian American athletes, it is symbolic of the hate faced by Asian American individuals as a whole (particularly in the post-pandemic world). As a nation, we need to do better in supporting our Asian American athletes, and ordinary individuals, alike.
Works Cited
Press, Associated. 2022. “For Asian American Women, Olympics Reveal a Harsh Duality .” U.S. News. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-02-12/for-asian-american-women-olympics-reveal-a-harsh-duality (February 15, 2022).
Griffiths, Laurence. 2021. Town & Country Lee Poses with Her Olympic Gold Medal. Hearst Magazine Media. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/sporting/a37168432/sunisa-suni-lee-usa-gymnast-olympics/ (February 15, 2022).
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