My story is typical of a first-generation British-born or raised Chinese (BBC) person. My parents left Guangdong and Hong Kong and immigrated to England in the early 1960s to seek a better life. I was born, raised, educated and spent the first decade of my adult working life in England. The atypical part is I, subsequently, immigrated to another country to start a new life with my husband (another British Chinese who was, already, a long-term resident of the United States.) America is where I’ve made my home for the past eight years. But, perhaps, I’m not so different when you consider the general Chinese diaspora around the world.

When I celebrated my 40th birthday, I became extremely introspective and, truthfully, more than a little depressed. Psychologically, it was a big milestone for me, releasing multiple thoughts and emotions -- Who am I? What is my purpose and contribution to my community? What have I achieved? How do I bring up my children? What does life have in store for me for the second half of my life?

Am I successful? I look to my likeness in the public eye and around me and make comparisons. I haven’t drawn the limelight to myself but, in quiet ways, I’ve been successful. I feel good about the successes in my career and in my marriage; moving and adapting to another country; going back to studying after thirteen years of work and achieving a Master’s degree; and getting pregnant and giving birth to two wonderful children when the odds, health-wise and age-wise, were stacked against me.

Now that I’m in my 40s properly, I feel I’ve resolved many of the hang-ups and anxieties that affected my teens, 20s and early to mid-30s -- identity crisis; rebellion; education dilemmas; early career choices; relationship heartaches; unpredicted marriage and unexpected infertility. With age and experience come new found self-confidence, patience, sensitivity and openness. I’m more tolerant of my parents’ thinking and I’m open to walk a step in somebody else’s shoes. Now I’m not afraid of talking about things which matter to me through my personal stories and views.

For the foreseeable future, my purpose is my self-development and happiness. This may sound selfish to some, but I’m conscious I want to be fulfilled and fully present in my life, so I can provide a happy and inspirational environment for my children. I want to be an example to my family and, if I can share my voice with others, I consider it a bonus and blessing. Is that being a role model?

Seeking my Likeness

A negative consequence of being a mother is that I’ve become more uncertain of the world my children will inherit. I want to be positive though and raise my children to have optimism in their future and pride in their Chinese identity and roots. I want to point out to them the successes of people in their likeness to give them confidence in seeing others achieve their dreams. These days, I’m aware of Chinese actors, celebrities and entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, China and America, but who are the home-grown, prominent Chinese in Britain? Has anything changed since I was growing up and seeking others in my likeness?

Definition of a Role Model

It was American sociologist Robert K. Merton who made the distinction in the 1950s between people who become role models because of their actions and others because of their specific talents, such as sports or music. Nowadays, Merton’s distinction has blurred and people are role models because of how they live as well as for their particular skills.

Who were my Role Models?

Growing up my life revolved around helping out at my parents’ restaurant, looking after my younger siblings and studying. My escapism was reading and, like many schoolgirls throughout the decades since Jane Austen wrote “Pride and Prejudice,” I wanted to be “Elizabeth Bennet.” To me, she was a strong female role model in the male-dominated world of the late 18th and early 19th Century England.

I had my schoolgirl crushes on 1980s pop stars, but they were hardly role models, rather the focus of my burgeoning hormones! The closest I came to having role models in the public domain was as a university student in the mid-1980s. I admired the work of Bob Geldof and Midge Ure on “Live Aid” to raise money for famine relief for Ethiopia. Student political activism was robust at the time and I was drawn to the heroic figure of Nelson Mandela imprisoned on Robben Island. He was the symbol of freedom for the world-wide anti-Apartheid movement of the 1980s. I remember singing loudly to the beat of The Special A.K.A’s “Nelson Mandela” at university gigs and discos, and standing in all weather protesting outside companies, which supported South Africa in its Apartheid regime.

Though I looked, I wasn’t aware of any British Chinese people in the media during the 1970s and 1980s, apart from David Yip. As a British actor of Chinese ethnicity, he caused somewhat of a stir in the Chinese community as the star of “The Chinese Detective.” I, also, remember “Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery show” even though he’s American, but, at the time, one of the few Chinese faces on British television.

Role Models are Ordinary People

I’m not surprised when people say their role models are ordinary people in their lives and communities with something in them they like and admire and not celebrities in the media. Certainly, it was those around me and closest to me – my parents, aunts, uncles, older cousins and my parents’ friends – who were my role models. I saw them work hard every day and their example, tenacity and survival stays with me and drives me, so I never give up, even at my lowest point. I was brought up to work hard and simply get on with my life, so many can argue we don’t need role models; we don’t need to have attention drawn upon us; we just need to be ourselves and get on with things, and that’s exactly what my generation of BBCs chose to do.

Another argument is that role models can come from any ethnic group and I’ve proven that in the people I admired in my student days. I, also, had a great mentor and role model in my manager (a white man) in one of my first jobs after I left university. He shaped my view of the work environment through his example and skill as a manager, and has influenced how I make decisions in my working life. Recently, I got to meet up with him in New York City when he came over for a holiday. Seventeen years have passed since I last worked for him; yet, it still means a lot to me to hear him say he’s proud of what I’ve accomplished over the years. I have tears in my eyes as I write this, remembering my special day with him reminiscing over old times.

Choosing Stability over Fame

Research shows that BBCs do well at school and opt to go into finance, sciences, academia and research. Certainly, many of my peers sought jobs that stood for stability rather than fame. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/09/ncareer09.xml

There’s an argument that, as a minority, the British media doesn't find us interesting and the fields we are in are not “sexy.” We’re seen to do well academically; encouraged to study by our families and more of the second-generation have professional and managerial jobs. Are we just the boring, model minority?

I asked my extended family and my BBC friends why we don’t do more to create a visible image. Their responses confirm my view that our essential character tends to be modest and, thus, we avoid publicity. Here is a quote from a male cousin: “I think we’re generally a conservative bunch and happier that way! I have never been one to really gloat or shout out my successes.” And another from a female friend: “I think the Chinese self-effacing nature is still prevalent in our upbringing and continues as adults. Personally, I’ve never liked having the spotlight on me, which is why I much prefer to work ‘behind the scenes,’ even though I work in the media!”

Small Numbers means Small Numbers in the Public Eye

According to the 2001 Census by the Office for National Statistics, there are 247,403 people of Chinese ethnicity in the UK. This amounts to 0.4% of the UK population and 5.3% of the total ethnic minority population compared to the Indians, the largest ethnic minority, who make up 1.8% of the UK population and 22.7% of the ethnic minority population. Also, compared to the other minorities, the Chinese tend to be more widespread and decentralized. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=273

Given that Chinese people make up so little of the UK population and we’re generally media-shy, a case can be made that we’ll get less exposure as only a small number of potential Chinese role models are competing against the majority white English in the mainstream.

Why we need British Chinese Role Models

Granted that role models can come from any sphere and ethnicity, I believe there are still valid reasons why we need more British Chinese role models.

Firstly, not least to dispel the negative views, stereotypes and clichés of Chinese in the media. Personally, I’m tired of seeing our community portrayed only as takeaway owners/workers, illegal immigrants, triad members, pirated DVD hawkers, martial artists, geeks and gamblers. Yes, we have elements of all of that, good and bad, but it’s not the whole picture of who we are as British Chinese.

Globally, there’s a general negative and fearful outlook of Chinese generated from western media and academic debates on the rise of China as the next superpower. I regularly hear a stream of negative reporting on China – major recalls of toys made in China; tainted food exports and child labour being exploited to make Olympic souvenirs to name but a few – and I fear this may have a negative impact on the UK’s Chinese communities by association.

Secondly, although we have global Chinese movie stars and icons, such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, as role models they won't fundamentally improve the perception of Chinese people in the UK. Rather, their stardom serves to perpetuate the stereotypes of Chinese being martial arts experts, despite some major Chinese stars winning roles in non-martial arts movies in recent years. We need a wider range of home-grown, Chinese role models to present a more accurate picture of British Chinese people in mainstream society.

Thirdly, it’s commonly accepted that role models inspire people, especially young people, and having more British Chinese role models will give young BBCs better reference points as to what it means to be British Chinese in today’s Britain. For young BBCs, the British part of their identity is well represented in the media, at school, and in their daily lives, but for those who are isolated from other BBCs and, perhaps, they’re the only Chinese person in their class, seeing more British Chinese role models in the public eye may reassure them about their identity and inspire them to achieve their ambitions.

Fourthly, if we see more British Chinese in professions in which we’ve been underrepresented in the past, it becomes a reality rather than a barrier. When people see what can be achieved through the advances of those in their likeness, it raises their own aspirations and expectations, so in the future we may well see Premiership British-born Chinese footballers, distinguished Members of Parliament, ambitious Chief Executive Officers and top fashion designers.

Lastly, following on from my fourth point, having more British Chinese role models will not only help with individuals’ confidence, it will raise our confidence as a minority. The more positive we feel about our likeness being portrayed in the public domain, the more we may feel we can accomplish in the things we do everyday. We can dare to dream, to believe in the possibilities and, hopefully, encouraged by others’ successes, more role models will break through into the mainstream consciousness.

In part two of her article, Susan talks to four British Chinese who are making waves in their fields.

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