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The first obstacle that they faced due to the fact stereotypes impacts negatively on everyone, people at NASA were taking away their chances at getting better positions. In the movie, when Dorothy asked for the supervisor position, Vivian Mitchell who is a supervisor at white computer told her “The official answer is no, they are not assigning a official supervisor for the colored group” (Hidden Figures). This sentence means there is no supervisor position for colour people even they do a really good job. When Dorothy heard this she was upset and confused. She felt disappointed and angry because she was already working that of a supervisor; but they refused her because of her race. This has also happened to Mary. She was declined for an engineering position because she wasn’t qualified. They required her to graduate from University of Virginia, which is only a school for white people. Since she is black, she couldn’t get into that school. Therefore, she couldn’t become an engineer. Mary got very upset because she thought that she reached the requirement, and this qualifies for everyone. She got a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physical sciences just like most of the other engineers but they said it wasn't enough. She said “Every time we have a chance to get ahead, they move the finish line.” (Hidden Figures) This quote means there is no chance for colour people to reach their goals; as a result, they have to accept the stereotypes associated with them. Hence, the stereotype threat can limit their quality of life, and their opportunities.

Mary Poppins

Tish Lopez

English 98

Date

We Speak English Only Here: Amy Tan’s and Her Mother’s Language Struggle

According to AAPI, Asian Americans have the highest rate (38%) in having Limited English Proficiency (AAPI). Some people also think if a person does not speak a language well, his/her perceptions don’t develop as well and tie this to the stereotyped identity. Gradually, this standard become a stereotype threat, bringing many disadvantage to the stereotyped group. We can see a clear example of this phenomenon in Amy Tan’s short story “Mother Tongue” which describes her mother, Chinese immigrant who has a very limited English proficiency and her struggles in life. Tan’s mother faced the stereotype threat when people treated her badly because they thought she has limited perceptions due to her limited English speaking skills. The tragedy did not stop there; the limited English skill from of her mom and the stereotype given by the society also have an effect on limiting Amy Tan’s possibilities in life as she grew up, making her have poor performance in English tests during her education. Both Tan and her mother endured the pressure of this stereotype threat. Tan later spent many hours learning and writing books in English to disprove the assumption that the society made about her and to escape from the threat that the stereotype brought.

Tan’s mom was trying to live with in an area that considers her thoughts as poor as her English communication skills. This particular problem is called “stereotype threat” by Claude Steele in his article Whistling Vivaldi, and is also defined as “...the circumstances you have to deal with because you have a given social identity to get what you want or need in a situation” (Steele 3). What Steel is basically saying is that stereotypes suddenly set up a barrier, creating difficulties for stereotyped group. When living in a society with a given identity, you have no way but choose to live with it, to get through “the storm” from stereotype threat that the bystanders brought to you. In “Mother Tongue”, the mind of Amy Tan’s mother interacts with the life just like many ordinary people. She reads Forbes reports, listens to Wall Street Week,... things that even Tan could not understand. However, the only barrier between the mind Tan’s mom and the bystanders is the “broken” English, the appearance that people see when they interact with her. The bystanders quickly judged Amy Tan’s mother based on her language skills, forgetting and ignoring the knowledge that Tan’s mother learned about the world that cannot be shown. Following the judgments are the reactions and actions taken against Tan’s mother that she never deserved to get: the people at the stores and banks who pretended not to understand her and acted as if they did not hear her, the doctor at the hospital who did not take her concern seriously...these behaviors were too much and Tan’s mother had to ask for help from her daughter. Since when is English the social measurement of a person’s worth? If Amy Tan’s mother did the same thing by judging the perceptions of the waiters, the bankers, and the doctors based on their Chinese communicating skills, would that be acceptable?