An Asian-North American Identity Crisis IAS 2580 By: Shirley Xu Lei Dong

“Banana” = Asian American, Asian Canadian, etc. “White” on the inside Meaning: Westernized “Yellow” on the outside Meaning: Yellow skin (Asian physical features)

Identity Crisis!!! CULTURE ? Language? 50% Canadian 20% Chinese 10% Banana 10% University Student 5% Feminist 3% Accounting 2% Exchange CUHK Mother Tongue: English Other: Chinese, French, slang/abbrv.

DE-MYSTIFYING A BANANA! STEREOTYPES 1.Another Asian 2.Good at Math 3.Speak, Read, Write, Chinese 4.Obedient and Quiet 5.Cannot speak English TRUTHS 1.NO Asian studies background 2.We think and act like Westerners 3.Identity Crisis and Shame 4.Fear for next generation 5.Injustice: European descendant

Coming to Peace with Bananaism: Insights

1.Globalization and the cross-cultural movement of people make the theory - “You are what you speak” – more complex 2.The Cultural Pie is continually been cut into smaller and smaller pieces (sometimes difficult to separate). 3.Blending of cultures provides language with new pathways to develop. (i.e. Chinglish, Engrish, Amerikaese, etc.) Coming to Peace with Bananaism: Insights

BANANA CULTURE!

References “Banana: A Chinese American Experience” “Just a Banana but getting Ripe”. Lisa Lee, Asian Week Mar e_id=9e257f3f1a60aa17b6609b33a232c64c e_id=9e257f3f1a60aa17b6609b33a232c64c

QUESTIONS?