The online Asian American discourse often involves accusations of "Stockholm Syndrome," which infers that particular Asian American writers and other public voices suffer from a kind of white worship as a result of being under white supremacist or colonialist oppression. However, this stark relationship doesn't seem to properly describe the relationship we have with liberal, multicultural institutions such as the New York Times, which conscientiously includes Asian American voices. We consider whether Munchausen By Proxy is a better analogy to describe why such institutions seem to promote tropey Asian American narratives of our own lack of authenticity, not seeing ourselves in media, and feeling chronically trapped 'between cultures.'

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REFERENCED RESOURCES:

Why Are Asian American Kids Killing Themselves? https://planamag.com/why-are-asian-american-kids-killing-themselves-477a3f6ea3f2

The Banality of Empathy: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/03/02/the-banality-of-empathy/

'Parasite' Won, but Asian American Are Still Losing: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/10/opinion/parasite-oscar-best-picture.html

Why Is Asian Salad Still On The Menu: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/opinion/sunday/why-is-asian-salad-still-on-the-menu.html

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