I am Banana

Banana - this is a term real Chinese folks use to refer to us Chinese Americans.

Why do they call us "Bananas"? Simple - Like a banana, we are yellow on the outside (we look Chinese), but we are white on the inside (we act and think like white folks).

We are very conflicted about being called a "Banana".

Here's why...

When real Chinese folks, especially our parents, refer to us as "Bananas" we get really protective and defensive because we already feel so damn awkward about not being able to fit in with real Chinese people.

Dear real Chinese folks, You already know we are very insecure about our Chinese-ness. Why do you still need to call us out like that?! Why?! Look at us for godsakes! We look just as Chinese you guys and yet somehow we are still not good enough. We hear you say it all the time - "Dude, that ABC is a total Banana". What is it? We smell different or something? Even though we can barely speak Chinese, we both still share the same compulsive obsession with rice so throw us a frickin' bone.

When our White friends (and we have many since we are Bananas) learn about the meaning of "Banana", we couldn't be more ecstatic.

Dear White folks , we are very glad to let you know how "Americanized" we are. In our ABC minds, you knowing us as Bananas means you understand that we are exactly like you except that we are totally in love with tofu even though we are not vegan, we don't obsess about cheese like you guys, we are on average 1 foot shorter than you, and we are practically blind when there's a car windshield in front of us, et cetera, et cetera. I can go on for days about our differences, but yeah, we're exactly the same as you.....except for all the differences. EXACTLY the same.

Point is folks, We ABCs are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We are as yellow as we are white. We are initially very reluctant to accept this so some of us choose to be as Chinese as we can or as White as we can, but we eventually realize that we don't need to choose and embrace what we are...

A Banana.

So repeat after me my Chinese American brothers and sisters,

"I am Banana"....