Asian six-pack

English

Proper noun

the Asian six-pack

1. (Ontario, informal, humorous) Three mathematics courses (calculus and vectors, advanced functions, and data management) and three science courses (physics, biology, and chemistry) taken during grade twelve, the last year of secondary school.
   • 2004 November 27, Jan Wong, “The Chinese are being UTS-ified”, in The Globe and Mail:

     As for sports, students of Chinese heritage at UTS tell this joke on themselves: What's the definition of an Asian six-pack? Answer: Three maths, three sciences. Ha ha -- everyone takes math and sciences.

   • 2005, Aletheia Chiang, “Fobs hudai - NOT”, in Debwewin Report‎^[1], Young People's Press, page 11:

     In another instance, I asked a friend what courses she was taking in her final year of high school.
     "Oh, I'm taking the Asian six-pack," she said.
     "What?" I asked.
     "You know, like three maths and three sciences."
     I laughed, but inwardly I thought about how stereotypical the joke was.

   • 2010, Sheena Ann Resplandor, Racialized embodiment: Subject formation and ethics of the self of Asian Canadian teacher candidates‎^[2]:

     The contemporary stereotypes such as the Asian six pack, builds upon the perceptions and racism that many Asians endured in the past by continuing it, revealing that it is still present today.

   • 2013, Sang-Eun Vivien Kim, East Asian International Students’ Experiences in High School Mathematics Classrooms‎^[3], page 7:

     As I spent my elementary, middle school and high school years attending public schools in the Toronto District School Board, I realized more and more the stereotype that exists of East Asian students being studious, good at math and science and being overall overachievers. This stereotype was especially clear during high school when I came across the term ‘the Asian six-pack’ being used for the three grade 12 math and three grade 12 science courses, all in the University-bound stream, that were known as the most difficult high school courses. The use of the term illustrates a common conception of Asians in the schooling system in Ontario, the model minority myth.

   • 2015, Seung Wan (Winnie) Lo, Towards a nuanced understanding of inclusion & exclusion: A Bourdieusian interpretation of Chinese students' higher education experience in Canada‎^[4]:

     Like maybe oh, you’re good at your Asian six-pack [3 maths and 3 sciences], maybe people asked you for homework but they don’t really - they won’t really get used to you- they won’t really know you.

   • 2016, Alvin Ma, Journeys of East Asian Kinesiology and Physical Education Students: A 2015 University of Toronto Case Study‎^[5], page 72:

     While ultimately ending up in a physiotherapy programme, Lisa’s original plan when entering her undergraduate programme was to pursue teaching. Instead of taking spare courses in high school, Lisa chose physical education as her “outlet” from the “Asian six-pack” of courses.