Subaltern Strategies and Agency: How South Asian American Youth Rework the Model Minority Stereotype

ABSTRACT This study examines how South Asian American youth, as epistemically marginalized or “subaltern” actors, navigate racialized school experiences. It focuses on how South Asian American boys employ the model minority stereotype through finessing , a strategy of agency that counters exclusionary labels like perpetual foreigner and nerd while securing academic and social recognition. This practice illustrates how marginalized youth tactically leverage and negotiate dominant racial scripts to maneuver the educational system and assert control over their positionalities.