The ‘other-race effect’ and how to fight it

Among my friends, we joke about it — here we go again! — after getting mistaken for another Asian American.

There was that time a woman praised me at a writing conference for someone else’s reading. That time a woman tagged my name on someone else’s photo on Facebook. That time a man emailed me about a topic discussed over lunch, confusing me with someone at the other end of the table.

No matter how often the mix-up happens, I always freeze for a moment, wondering if I should let it go or how I can delicately let them know they’ve mistaken me for someone who differs in age, height, personality and appearance. I dread the awkwardness, their apologetic smiles over the implication, intended or not, that all Asians look alike.

It can cut both ways. Studies suggest that people are less likely to remember a face from a racial group different from their own, in what’s known as the “other-race effect.” If someone has less practice interacting with another race, he or she may be less adept at distinguishing facial features, researchers say, and may categorize by race rather than individual attributes. “People tend to have more frequent and extensive interactions with same-race than with other-race individuals, particularly racial majority members,” notes Heather Lucas, a cognitive scientist at the University of Illinois.

Mistaken identity can be embarrassing in some instances, and much graver than others, as in the case of eyewitness testimony or online witch hunts.

Last week, Doris Truong, a homepage editor at the Washington Post, ended up in a fake-news conspiracy after Internet vigilantes noticed an Asian American woman at the Senate confirmation hearings for Rex Tillerson, the nominee for secretary of state.

In a video posted online, a woman checks her cell phone, which led vigilantes somehow to accuse the woman of taking secret photos of Tillerson’s notes, and in turn, to decide that she was Truong. Never mind that Truong doesn’t typically report from outside the newsroom. They flooded Truong with hateful messages, accused her of being a spy for China, called her “sneaky” and demanded that the Post fire her.

A few apologized, which heartened Truong. She writes, “I hope the ridiculousness of what happened to me … makes others think critically before sharing something that can be easily disproved. … And I hope people will give the woman who was at the hearing a chance to explain her actions before

questioning her motives.”

I’ve been thinking about these issues — in their forms ranging from the mundane to the extreme — sparked by what happened to Truong and by comedian Steve Harvey, who recently mocked the desirability of Asian men on his talk show. “‘Excuse me, do you like Asian men?’ ‘No. Thank you.’ ”

The United States is home to 18 million Asian Americans, and Asia is the most populous continent, with over half the world’s people. Our men come in a huge range of shapes and sizes, from actor John Cho to Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno to singer Zayn Malik and more.

Unfortunately, the slippery slope of assumptions can lead to profiling. All look the same, all act the same, all are the same.

Consider a Post analysis of U.S. Justice Department figures, which found that a black driver is about 31 percent more likely to be stopped than a white one.

Consider the Mexican “criminals” and the Muslim “terrorists” whom Donald Trump invoked on his presidential campaign trail. Consider the resentment against Barack Obama when he described white workingclass voters as “bitter” and clinging to “guns or religion” during his first presidential campaign. Consider the string of Chinese American scientists who have been accused of spying, their loyalty questioned until the government drops its charges. To me, it’s another iteration of the “yellow peril” stereotype, the faceless horde that threatens the West — untrustworthy, alien and ugly.

Harvey later tweeted that he didn’t intend to offend. To which chef and author Eddie Huang pointedly replied, “I want to know why you thought it was funny in the first place? Enlighten us.”

For a real apology, Harvey could have used his platform to help change perceptions of Asian men in the media. He should also take note: Research suggests that the more you spend time with different races, the more the other-race effect can be mitigated and reversed.

When we don’t, consequences follow. “People on the margins aren’t afforded the privilege of being complicated, whole human beings in America,” Huang writes; the privilege — the right — to be viewed as individual, regardless of your skin color, your politics or your differences.

It’s something we can all strive to uphold in the days ahead.

If someone has less practice interacting, he or she may categorize by race rather than individual attributes.