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.. inner battles of the self begin. It is a widespread belief that Asian Americans are the “model minority” -- the quiet, obedient, straight-A descendants of the ones that came before them. It is also a common theme that girls have stricter rules to follow than their male counterparts. Michael Nguyen, a Vietnamese American junior studying architecture, lived at home with his family before transferring to the University of Florida. Being the youngest of three boys, he was not faced with a gendered set of rules put forth by his parents. “I don’t think my parents ever told me I couldn’t do something because I was a boy. I could do whatever I wanted to when I lived at home,” he says. “Even if I asked to do something crazy like backpack across all of Asia, my parents would hesitate at first, but then they would let me go ahead with it if I really wanted to. “They would even encourage me after a while,” Michael says, “I guess it is because I’m a guy and they don’t have to worry about me getting pregnant.
How parents think and do, and how they pass on their beliefs in forms of instruction to their kids is influenced by an unwritten book of stereotypical societal guidelines. “It would be great if my parents, or society even, could just learn to trust me and other females out there to make our own decisions,” Amanda says. “We can think for ourselves, you know.” kristinanguyen
“...Girls have stricter rules to follow than their male counterparts.”
issue 02
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