I agree with the posters who say that this piece has nothing to do with Michael Chang. Rather than blasting Chang for apparently confirming the stereotypes about Asians and Asian Americans, why not blast the media for perpetuating these stereotypes in the first place? Why not challenge the sports commentary that surrounds Chang? It's like the commentary on black vs. white quarterbacks that sometimes surface. White quarterbacks are lauded for their strategy, their smart playing, etc while black quarterbacks are lauded for their athlecticism and physical abilities. Both these characterizations reproduces the brain vs brawn stereotypes about whites and blacks.

The author's perception that Chang is the "model minority," works hard but lacks inherent power or talent, is not manly enough, etc., says more about his own internalizations of racial stereotypes and his fears about being perceived as another Michael Chang. Quit blaming Michael Chang and do something to challenge the perception that one Chinese American person can be representative of a diverse group of people.

Agreed. If these stereotypes weren't so WIDELY accepted and perpetuated by Western society in the first place, Mr. Hsu wouldn't have any cause to be ashamed of his Chinese background.

The sad fact is that ANY Asian-American, on account of his/her appearance, will never be seen as merely American. While things are still incredibly stacked against African-Americans and Hispanics, they at least are be able to label themselves as just plain "American" without the questions of "Yes, but where are you FROM?" that most Asian-Americans have to deal with. We will most likely forever be seen as "apart" from the Eurocentric society in which we grew up, even if many Asian-Americans know very little about their own cultural backgrounds.

Complaining about Asians or any ethnic/racial group being stereotypically insular is complaining about an (unfortunately) inevitable sociological pattern: minority group is labeled as "foreign" to or "below" the reigning majority group, so minority groups are forced to set up communities that center around their cultural/spiritual/whatever needs. Is there actually someone to blame in this particular instance?

In the United States, I am too Chinese to be American. In China, I am too American to be Chinese. It seems Asian-Americans cannot embrace one without shunning the other. I am grateful that in my personal realm, I will never submit to these rigid categorizations of me from those who know nothing about me.