Model minority myth: Can positive stereotyping ever be a good thing?

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"You're Asian, you must be good at music, you should be good at martial arts, you should be good at school."

Those are some of the stereotypes dentist Glenn Hoa heardwhen he was growing upas a young Montrealer of Vietnamese descent.

Hoa's experience exemplifies the stereotypes of themodel minority the idea that Asian communities are academically andeconomicallymore successfulthan other minority groups.

But what some call positive stereotyping, other people call harmful.

For HeraChan, an artist, organizer and McGill student of Chinese descent,the idea of the model minority dehumanizes Asians.

"It comes with this idea that we have in the West from media that somehowAsians are machines, they're perfect at doing things, and that everything they do is so mechanic that's why Asians are good at math, they're good at music," said Chan.

As part of the "Real Talk on Race" series, Daybreak host Mike Finnerty sat down with Hoa and Chan to discuss the expectations forthe model minorityfrom outside and within their communities;the lack of discussion on solidarity between Asian and Black communities;and, in light of Chris Rock's recent bitat this year's Oscars, the idea that Asian stereotypesare fair game for jokes.