Understanding the use of “twinkie,” “banana,” and “FOB”: Identifying the origin, role, and consequences of internalized racism within Asian America

Abstract

Where does internalized racism come from? How is it sustained and perpetuated within the Asian American community? What is the role and consequence of internalized racism within the Asian American community? This article reviews the existing literature to map the origin, role, and consequences of internalized racism among Asian Americans. Research on internalized racism must examine more than individual behaviors, otherwise it falls victim to conceiving of individuals as “racial dupes” (i.e., an individual who has been deceived into supporting existing racial hierarchies and systems of racial inequalities). However, the research should also veer away from an over emphasis on individual agency and resistance because doing so ignores the larger structural systems of inequality that exist, via colonial mentality and racialization, which influence individual behaviors. Future research on internalized racism must engage both perspectives to hold accountable the connection between broader racialization processes and everyday interactions driven by internalized racism.

A social network perspective on the Bamboo Ceiling: Ethnic homophily explains why East Asians but not South Asians are underrepresented in leadership in multiethnic environments.

“…EAs who primarily socialize with ethnic outgroups are sometimes frowned upon by other EAs. For example, pejorative terms like “banana” and “Twinkie” (EA on the outside, White on the inside) are used to disparage EAs who primarily socialize with Whites (Trieu, 2019). Indeed, EA cultures’ prioritization of ingroup relationships is sometimes accomplished at the expense of outgroup exclusion (Yum, 1988).…”

Demystifying and addressing internalized racism and oppression among Asian Americans.

“…The PFS also reinforces IR and sets the stage for intraethnic/intraracial othering, creating distance between those who are more acculturated against those who are less acculturated, even among family members (Pyke & Dang, 2003;Trieu, 2019). Less acculturated AAs are accused of being fresh off the boat (FOB), whereas those who try to assimilate and fit in are accused of being a "Twinkie" or "Banana" (e.g., Yellow on the outside and White on the inside).…”

“…This is problematic because healthy child–parent attachments are the cornerstone for individual and family well-being and identity formation. The acculturation gap between immigrant parents and children may increase family vulnerability to conflict, distancing, and child–parent othering as youth may experience pressure to fit in and assimilate, and perceive their parents to be too foreign (e.g., falling prey to and reenacting othering toward their parents due to the PFS; Pyke & Dang, 2003; Trieu, 2019). This distancing runs counter to traditional Asian teachings of filial piety and respect for parents, known as xiaoxun in Mandarin Chinese (Hwang, 2016).…”

Understanding queer Asian in/visibility via stereotype application.

“…These forms of oppression include racism, colonialism, sexism, femmephobia, and heterosexism, among others (see Supplemental Figure 1). These systemic forms of oppression shape cultural beliefs about what identities and features of individuals are "good" and valued, and accordingly devalue those who do not hold those identities (Ghavami & Peplau, 2013;Mukkamala & Suyemoto, 2018;Trieu, 2019). In this way, systemic oppression shapes cultural stereotypes, which often reflect negative beliefs about members of marginalized groups (Mukkamala & Suyemoto, 2018;Semrow et al, 2020).…”

“…In the present study, we focus on the intersection of Asian identities and gay and lesbian identities. People of Asian origins account for one of the largest visible minorities in Canada and the United States, and Asian people in Canada and the United States have been historically targeted through the means of stereotyping and prejudice (Choi et al, 2017; Padgett et al, 2020; Trieu, 2019). Asian individuals living in North America come from a wide variety of diverse cultural and ancestral backgrounds, though they are often reduced to the single all-encompassing category of Asian (Azhar et al, 2021).…”