The silence stems from historical trauma carried by families post-Vietnam War, Japanese internment, and Southeast Asian refugee waves. Surviving first, healing later mentality persists, influenced by the model minority myth portraying Asian Americans as naturally successful and quiet. This myth, created to divide minorities, particularly affects young AAPIs who suppress emotions to save face. Stigma discussion reveals legacy of racism, classism, and colonization discouraging vulnerability as weakness.
Now, the silence didn't come from nowhere. After the Vietnam War, after Japanese internment, after waves of Southeast Asian refugees, many families carried trauma but never named it. Survival came first, healing came later, if at all. Fast forward a few decades, and many of us were raised with that same mentality. Don't complain, just work harder. That mindset is a part of the model minority myth, the idea that Asian Americans are naturally successful, disciplined, and quiet. But as Renahan writes, the desire to save face may result in worse mental health outcomes as young AAPIs suppress emotions to protect the family reputation.
So this myth was never ours. It was created to pit us against other minorities, especially Black and Latino communities, reinforcing racism while keeping it silent. So when we talk about stigma, we're really talking about the legacy of racism, classism, and colonization, systems that taught our families that vulnerability was weakness.