After reading ‘Mother Tongue’, by Amy Tan, I did notice quite a few legal issues and questions. One of the most noticeable legal issue I’ve noticed within the story can be seen on Page 3, Paragraph 4, Sentence 3, “I started writing nonfiction as a freelancer the week after I was told by my former boss that writing was my worst skill and I should hone my talents toward account management.”

Now, some may ask, “how is this a legal issue?” Well, if Amy Tan found it necessary, she could’ve sued her boss for direct racial harassment because her boss at that time made a comment that backs the stigma in society where Asian Americans are mainly are often seen only for their exceptional potential in math oriented careers and nothing else and are often discriminated due to this. This is further backed by Amy later in the story, when she states questions brought to her such as, “Why are there not more Asian Americans represented in American literature?”, “Why are there few Asian Americans enrolled in creative writing programs?”, “Why do so many Chinese students go into engineering!” Those are all questions that employers in countless companies and positions still has yet to answer.

Nevertheless, making comments, especially as a authoritative figure, telling someone from the Asian American decent, that writing is their worst skill and they should focus their talents towards account management, that is overall harassment in the workplace and yes, they can be sued for such a reason.