The embodied model minority myth: Thinness as Asian American racialization

This article proposes the term “embodied model minority myth” to describe the way in which Asian Americans are racialized as “naturally” thin. The article explores the history of Chinese cuisine in the United States to illuminate how the connection between thinness and Asian Americans was created. It argues that during the Cold War, Chinese Americans leveraged newly emerging health discourses that focused on negative nutrition and reducing one’s weight in order to transform their community into a model of ideal American citizenry. They did so by portraying their ethnic cuisine, and by extension their bodies, as inherently healthy. The article presents, as a case study, the career of Joyce Chen (1917–1994), often deemed the “Oriental” or “Chinese” Julia Child, the first woman of color and first Asian to host a nationally syndicated cooking show in the United States. The article focuses primarily on cookbook, Joyce Chen Cook Book, exploring how the book utilized newly emerging public health discourses to tie together “Chineseness,” authenticity, and healthiness. The article asserts that it is this connection that ultimately grew into an association between Asian American racialization, thinness, and healthiness.