【Text/Observer Network Zhang Zhaodong】
"Asians make up about 7 percent of the U.S. population, but the percentage of Asians at all levels of the U.S. East Coast to the West Coast is significantly overrepresented."
With the hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics, figure skating has attracted more and more attention. But the focus of the U.S. media is off the field, and they feel that there are too many Asian-American players in the sport... The New York Times reported on February 9, "They (Asian-American players) changed the sport, and until the 1990s, the sport was almost all white." ”
This remark caused dissatisfaction among many American netizens, bluntly saying that the New York Times was racist, "The word 'significantly over-proportioned' is very interesting, is it the statement that 'there are too many Asians'?" "When the proportion of whites is too high, I haven't seen you report it."
Screenshot of the New York Post Twitter
According to The New York Times, at last month's 2022 American Figure Skating Championships, Asian faces covered multiple competitions such as single skating, pair skating and ice dance, and their names spread across the adult and junior categories. Among the 6 players participating in the beijing Winter Olympics figure skating competition, 4 are Chinese players, namely Karen Chen, Liu Meixian (Alysa Liu), Chen Wei (Nathan Chen) and Vincent Zhou. Madison Chock, an American contestant in the ice dance program, has a Chinese-Hawaiian father.
"In the U.S., people don't usually associate Asians with sports." The New York Times wrote, "But figure skating is now clearly an Asian-American sport." Asians make up about 7 percent of the U.S. population, but the percentage of Asians is distinctly overrepresented at all levels of ice rinks and competitions from the U.S. East Coast to the West Coast. ”
"Gradually, they changed the sport, and until the 1990s, the sport was almost all white." The New York Times described the changes asians brought to American figure skating, "they introduced music from Asian cultural traditions in the competition, cemented their position in the sport, and overcame the dangers of hatred on social media in the atmosphere of anxiety caused by anti-Asian atrocities, firmly expressing their roots in culture." ”
Asian players on the American figure skating team Source: Sports Weekly
The New York Times also analyzed why Asians have an overwhelming advantage in figure skating. Some believe that Asian skaters dominate American figure skating because of their slender and thin body shape or the strict requirements of their parents, and these views are shared by some Asians. But experts bluntly say it's stereotyped, with Christina Chen, a lecturer in sports sociology at California State University, Fullert, saying, "In figure skating, every race has the physical conditions to succeed." Factors such as cultural acceptance, social pressures or opportunities, structural forces, and institutions make asian-American success possible. ”
"Figure skating is an expensive sport, and East Asians, as a group of immigrants, have the highest average household income in the United States." The New York Times wrote.
On February 10, Chen Wei of the United States won the gold medal in the men's singles of figure skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics
Asians have long been underrepresented in American pop culture. So for the Asian American community, it's a very exciting experience to see people who are similar to themselves become top athletes.
But the situation of the top Asian figure skaters was not satisfactory at first. Tiffany Chin was the 1985 National Figure Skating Champion, the first Asian to win the award. She told The New York Times that during her figure skating career, she was often referred to as "China Doll" by commentators and journalists in the American media, and that articles at the time often referred to her as having a "porcelain complexion" and an "oriental roots," as well as a "siamese cat" and "unemotional." "Exotic beauty".
Naomi Nari Nam, another Asian figure skater who won silver at the 1999 U.S. Championships, said she was also given etiquette classes by coaches so she could learn how to interact with predominantly white sports officials and referees who determined her fate at the figure skating field.
In recent years, Asian figure skaters have become more comfortable expressing their identity and cultural roots openly. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Chen Wei wore a costume designed by Chinese-American designer Wang Weiwei, and the soundtrack was a biopic film by the famous Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin.
The same is true of Chen Kaiwen, who has been learning Chinese dance since she was a child and will also incorporate elements of traditional Chinese culture into her performances. This season, she has been competing in the Liang Zhu Violin Concerto as a soundtrack. "It's a Chinese classic," she says, "and my ethnic and cultural background has had a huge impact on me personally, even in skating." These things have always inspired me and made me proud of who I am and who I am today. ”
Chen Kaiwen Infographic
The New York Times report sparked controversy, especially the phrase "significantly over-represented Asians" in the article caused dissatisfaction among many netizens.
"The people who write this should never write about race and culture again, pick another topic." That's a bad way to say (the proportion of Asians is significantly overcrowded). ”
"They don't say hockey/curling is white-dominated, they just say American."
"It's a serious racism to hate Asians because they're good at skating and other sports."
"The New York Times, I've never seen you say that whites are overpopulated."
"'Significantly over-proportional'? This terrible choice of words highlights a problematic invisible bias and double standards when we look at 'Americans'. ”
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