The Invisible Rice Bowl of Asian Privilege

Privilege is a special right or advantage available only to a particular person or group of people. The term is commonly used in the context of social inequality, particularly in regard to social class, race, age, sexual orientation, gender, and disability. Two common examples would be having access to a higher education and housing.  Privilege can also be emotional or psychological, regarding personal self-confidence and comfort, or having a sense of belonging or worth in society.

In Chinese slang, the phrase 鐵飯碗 (tie fan wan), meaning "iron rice bowl" refers to a job which guarantees easy money for life.  By extension, it means someone whose socioeconomic comfort is assured.  In this post I use the term "Rice Bowl of Asian Privilege" as an analogy for those unearned advantages that a person has merely by being of Asian background.

In this post, I want to give a few examples of Asian privilege in Asia.  Note that as I am a Taiwanese-American living in Taiwan, some of these examples may be particular to Taiwan rather than to Asia as a whole.

1. When I am in public, I can see individuals which resemble me.
2. I can, without restricting myself to a limited pool of individuals, arrange to meet and be in the company of individuals who share my race, language and culture without additional effort.
3. When I am in public, I am not made to feel out of place because of my race or ethnicity; nobody draws unwanted negative attention towards me simply because of the color of my skin.
4. I am able to rent or purchase housing in an area that I can afford without additional stipulations.
5. I can sign contracts for things like bank accounts, credit cards, and mobile phones without being denied simply for the color of my skin.
6. I can be reasonably sure that I will not be overcharged when I go shopping.
7. I see people of my race, ethnicity, and culture in the media.
8. Conversely, my holidays are celebrated by the public at large.
9. I can hear my language widely spoken in public and people do not assume that I do not know the local language, or know the language poorly, because of the color of my race.
10. I do not feel intimidated when discussing my political views in public; I do not have to fear people talking down or correcting me because they see me as an "outsider".
11. I do not need a job or an advanced degree to remain in my country of residence.  I do not need to fear deportation based on the color of my skin.
12. If I obtain employment, I am not "herded into" a certain profession due to my nationality or skin color.
13. Conversely, when I obtain a job I do not need to worry that my peers will think that I only got the job because of my race, nationality or skin color.
14. I do not have to fear being mistreated by the police, my employers, my neighbors, or locals because of my race.
15. I have the right to remain "ignorant" about the cultures of others, without facing a penalty for my lack of knowledge.
16. If I am a cishet male and choose to date a cishet local female, I do not have to worry about being considered a "fetishist" or "creepy".