# Did you know that "banana" was a slur to Asian Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 19, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568 "2017-01-19T20:09:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/21 "2017-01-20T00:02:10Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Is “GYPSY” different than “Gypsy”, as in the Romani? Nope. Gypsy is generally considered a slur for Romani. Yes, the term was sometimes used for other groups, too. I seem to remember Irish Travellers were also called by that name. Still almost always derogatory, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/22 "2017-01-20T00:03:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I didn’t know it was “white on the inside, yellow on the outside.” I just thought it was offensive because bananas are yellow. Makes sense, though. I used to refer to people as “Unripe Bananas,” until I started getting shit from the Martians. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/23 "2017-01-20T00:24:30Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Is “GYPSY” different than “Gypsy”, as in the Romani? I put it in all caps since our usernames default to that. Sorry for the confusion; I objected because of the term “gypsy”. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/24 "2017-01-20T01:02:30Z")
Gipsy Danger was the best Jaeger. Would “Gipsy Danger” be OK with its slightly different spelling? ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/25 "2017-01-20T01:06:49Z")
It’s a very common term in Singapore, where half of the youngsters magically acquire american accents. I’ve never thought of it as being a slur - yes, it’s kind of negative, but it doesn’t carry enough emotion for it to be a slur here in Singapore. More descriptive than anything. An equivalent would be… foureyes? You certainly wouldn’t use it as an insult, it wouldn’t carry any weight unless the person using it was a traditionalist Chinese person. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/26 "2017-01-20T01:12:10Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Just thank the Gods you didn’t have some other food products lurking around you office… Oreos, crackers, bananas, twinkies, brownies, apples. No one is safe. ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/27 "2017-01-20T01:15:02Z")
Any word you can imagine can be offensive to someone. I have made up words before that offended people…yeah, no shit. You can say “tree bandits” out loud in multi cultural public and someone will rage. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/28 "2017-01-20T01:38:49Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Thanks to the SDMB, I rejected someone’s request for a username that contained GYPSY. But I would not have known about “Banana” :eek: I have an Asian friend who changed her name to Gypsy… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/29 "2017-01-20T01:41:30Z")
> [@HeXen](#): > > Any word you can imagine can be offensive to someone. I have made up words before that offended people…yeah, no shit. > You can say “tree bandits” out loud in multi cultural public and someone will rage. What the hell do you have against [raccoons](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22tree+bandit%22+raccoon&biw=853&bih=557&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB973py8_RAhVL4oMKHXEBA3AQ_AUIBSgA&dpr=1.5)?!? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/30 "2017-01-20T01:53:30Z")
Yes. Without reading any posts in this thread: As a riff on this phrase: Oreo = Black on the outside, white not he inside (Black person who “acts white”) Banana - Yellow on the outside, white on the inside. (Asian person who “acts white”) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/31 "2017-01-20T02:02:09Z")
I think I’ve read or heard “banana” used in that context. Either that, or I’ve heard enough variations of “some color on the outside, white on the inside” that I wasn’t surprised that banana was used that way. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/32 "2017-01-20T02:06:51Z")
Or Beefsteak Nazi: Brown on the outside; Red on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/33 "2017-01-20T02:39:33Z")
And by “Asian” we mean “East Asian”, of course. No one would use with someone from India or Pakistan. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/34 "2017-01-20T03:07:04Z")
I knew it. Of course, I’ve been married to an Asian-American for almost 35 years. As with all of the cute derogatory names, the level of offensiveness is directly related to who says it, and in what context. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/35 "2017-01-20T03:23:16Z")
I had a cat named Gypsy. (She was named after a character on _MST3K_) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/36 "2017-01-20T03:42:09Z")
How about calling environmentalists watermelons? You know, green on the outside, red on the inside. Trump’s buddies love that one. Which is odd considering the whole Russian thing. You know… ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/37 "2017-01-20T04:02:16Z")
And a mention for Watermelon. – (Also .Kiwi, Crustie, vegetable) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/38 "2017-01-20T04:11:44Z")
I’ve heard of it, but since I live in East Asia, that would be expected. I’m not really connected with any Asians in America so I don’t know how common it is, but it seems to be more of and intragroup insult. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/39 "2017-01-20T04:48:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yes. Without reading any posts in this thread: > > As a riff on this phrase: Oreo = Black on the outside, white not he inside ( **Black person who “acts white”** ) I’ve always loved that expression. I was often taken to task by family because I don’t “act black.” It made me think of an awards show. "And the winner is… Jimmie Walker for “Best Performance by an African American as a stereotypical black person.” “I’d like to thank my public school teachers, who never corrected me when I mispronounced the word ask…” Back on topic, unless the OP is Asian as well, yeah, there was no insult - it’s an intra-ethnic slur, as a non-Asian couldn’t be expected to judge how Asian he’s acting; indeed, it’d be considered insulting to say “Ya know, you don’t act Asian.” (Which is the ironic thing - the slur calls someone out for not adhering to the same stereotypes the people using it would be offended by if mentioned by an outsider.) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568/40 "2017-01-20T04:49:35Z")
I had heard the term Twinkie, but never banana. My ex-wife, a dark skinned Mexican American, was often called a coconut by Hispanicneighbors and relatives who thought her education and ambition made her too big for her britches. Most non whites seem to have some sort of “white in the inside” phrase for fellow ethnics who are too assimilated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-banana-was-a-slur-to-asian-americans/777568.md?page=3)