model minorityn.
/ˌmɒdl mʌɪˈnɒrᵻti/, /ˌmɒdl mᵻˈnɒrᵻti/, U.S. /ˌmɑd(ə)l məˈnɔrədi/, /ˌmɑd(ə)l ˌmaɪˈnɔrədi/ Originally U.S.
A minority racial or ethnic group whose members are considered to be particularly successful or thriving within the dominant culture or society, esp. one that is stereotyped as demonstrating greater educational or professional attainment than other minority groups. Also: a person belonging to such a group.Chiefly restricted to the United States, where it is mostly used with reference to Asian Americans.Perhaps not a fixed collocation in early use.
ΘΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun] > other specific types of company
rabblement1536
rabble rout?1589
quorum1596
besorta1616
flying squadron1670
alliance1703
minority1837
umma1885
lads1888
minority group1919
flying squad1927
milieu1927
focus group1938
visible minority1940
enclave1945
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun] > other specific types of company > member of
minority group1919
minority man1926
1950 Gaffney (S. Carolina) Ledger 29 Apr. 6/3 Five thousand Cherokees died on ‘the trail of tears’ when they were forced to reservations in Oklahoma—1,000 braved almighty wrath to become today a model minority in a democracy they love.
1996 D. Furutani Death in Little Tokyo ix. 56 I was tired of being a model minority.
2012 MELUS Summer 46 Asian Americans (like their Jewish counterparts) are de facto ‘model minorities’ who achieve ‘probationary whiteness’ by way of hard work, perseverance, and traditional family values.
2021 Chicago Daily Herald (Nexis) 26 July 9 Chinese Americans and the AAPI [sc. Asian American Pacific Islander] community as a whole are consistently damaged by the myth of us being a model minority when the truth of the matter is that we share many of the same exact challenges and pain points as our counterparts in Black and brown communities.
Compounds
As a modifier, with the sense ‘of or relating to a stereotypical view that a specific minority racial or ethnic group is more successful or thriving within the dominant culture or society than other minority groups’, esp. in model minority myth.Chiefly restricted to the United States, where it is mostly used with reference to Asian Americans.
Π
1972 Honolulu Advertiser 14 Jan. (Morning Home ed.) a10 (headline) Seattle AJA [= Americans of Japanese Ancestry] group disputes its ‘model minority’ image.
1987 Asian Week (San Francisco) (Electronic ed.) 11 Dec. The model minority myth is deceptive and dangerous... To the majority of Asian Americans who aren't making it, the myth tells them, ‘It's your fault’. To blacks, Latinos and indians the myth tells them Look at Asians. They made it. Your culture is inferior.
2017 L. Shimotakahara After Bloom xii. 157 All that model minority crap made Rita want to vomit.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
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n.1950