Made Ourselves Small

Asian Americans, especially Asian American women, live with so many societal expectations to live our lives while making ourselves as small as possible. Taking up as little room needed to get by. This expectation to make ourselves small show up in big ways - no Asian American representation in the media, in executive level positions in companies, or other prominently visible places - as well as small innocuous ways, such as moving out of the way for others when walking around somewhere public. Thankfully, the cultural societal tone is beginning to change, however there is still a long way to go. Have you ever found that you made yourself small? Is it conscious or subconscious for you? How do you feel when you find yourself doing that? What do you think is driving you to do that? What if you didn’t need to do that anymore? Or is it something you need to do to survive?

If you would like to explore these ideas further in therapy, please contact us to schedule a free consultation.