Banana, Coconut, and Twinkie
Banana, Coconut, and Twinkie are pejorative terms, primarily used for Asian Americans who are perceived to have been assimilated and acculturated into mainstream American culture and who do not conform to typical South Asian or East Asian cultures.[1][2]
Banana and Twinkie refer to a person being perceived as 'yellow on the outside, white on the inside', while Coconut is used to refer to darker-skinned Asians, such as those from South Asia or the Philippines.[1][2] Any of these terms may be used by Asians and Asian Americans, as well as non–Asian Americans, to disparage Asians or Asian Americans for a lack of perceived authenticity or conformity, and by non–Asian Americans to praise their assimilation into mainstream white, Anglo, Christian European-American culture.[2]
References
- Wren, James Allan (2016). "Banana, Coconut, and Twinkie". In Fee, Christopher R.; Webb, Jeffrey B. (eds.). American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. pp. 74–76. ISBN 978-1-61069-568-8.
- Tu, Dawn Lee (2011). "'Twinkie,' 'Banana,' 'Coconut'". In Lee, Jonathan H.X.; Nadeau, Kathleen M. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Asian American folklore and folklife. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-0-313-35066-5.
Further reading
- Chow, Kat; Demby, Gene (September 14, 2014). "Overthinking It: Using Food As A Racial Metaphor". Code Switch. NPR.
- Penaksovic, Kristin (Spring 1992). "Confessions of a Banana". Yisei Magazine. Harvard University.