Banana, coconut, and Twinkie

The terms banana and coconut are often used pejoratively, with different applications in different countries. Twinkie is an American version of a similar concept, based on the brand name of an American snack cake. An actual banana is also used as a symbol of racial abuse, most often in sport in the UK, Europe, and Australia.

As terms

United States

In the United States, all three terms are used 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", and is mainly applied to people from East Asia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and some other parts of Southeast Asia. The latter is derived from the American snack cake known as a Twinkie, which has golden-coloured sponge cake covering a creamy white filling. The term coconut is used similarly, but referring to darker-skinned Asians, such as those from South Asia or sometimes 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 European, Anglo, Christian European-American culture.^[2]

Other countries

In Australia, the term coconut is a derogatory term used against Indigenous Australians (usually, although not always, by other Indigenous people)^[3] to imply a betrayal of their Aboriginal identity;^[4] a lack of loyalty to their people because they are perceived to be "acting white" (like a coconut, brown on the outside, white on the inside).^[5] This is analogous to the American usage described above, and similar in meaning to the American term Uncle Tom, also used in Australia, by which people are criticised for "acting white".^[6][7][8]

Coconut is used similarly in the UK^[9] and in South Africa.^[10][11]

Banana as a symbol

In European, British, and Australian sport, an actual banana has long been used as a form of racial abuse,^[12] originating in Europe and England in the 1980s,^[13][14] and continuing into the 21st century.^[15] The intention of the act is to imply that the target is a monkey or close relation.^[16]

In the mid-1980s, West Ham player George Parris was subjected to much racial abuse, including having a banana thrown at him. He picked it up and ate it, making a gesture as if to say "Thanks! I needed that!".^[17] In 1983, American basketball player Patrick Ewing had a banana peel thrown at him on the court, as well as a sign being held up saying "Ewing is an ape".^[18]

Two examples illustrate how the act is being treated more recently, compared with the 1980s. In 1988, when a banana was thrown at Liverpool player John Barnes during a game against Everton, he casually kicked it away and no actions were taken,^[19] although a photograph of the incident became famous.^[20] In a 2014 game between Barcelona and Villareal, when a banana was thrown at Barcelona player Dani Alves, he picked it up and started eating it. This was intended as an act of defiance and to show that the act was a stupid one.^[19] His action was widely supported by the football world, with many players and supporters posting photos of themselves eating bananas as a show of support;^[21] even Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi posed for photographs of himself sharing a banana with Italian coach Cesare Prandelli. The perpetrator was identified and detained by police,^[22] and Villareal was fined 12,000 euros.^[23]

In 2016, a spectator threw a banana at Australian Football League player Eddie Betts during a game in Adelaide, South Australia,^[24] which he later said had tainted his enjoyment of bananas, and affected him deeply. He has since become a prominent anti-racism advocate in Australian sport.^[25]

In September 2022, Tottenham and Brazil national football team forward Richarlison had a banana thrown at him as he was celebrating a goal during a friendly in Paris against Tunisia.^[26][27]

See also

• American-born confused desi
• Boba liberal
• Internalized racism
• Jook-sing
• Race traitor
• List of ethnic slurs § Twinkie

References

Further reading

• Chow, Kat; Demby, Gene (14 September 2014). "Overthinking It: Using Food As A Racial Metaphor". Code Switch. NPR.
• Penaksovic, Kristin (Spring 1992). "Confessions of a Banana". Yisei Magazine. Harvard University. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2020.

This page was last edited on 31 March 2024, at 01:43