Through the “My Banana Story Movement”, Asian Americans students at the University of Illinois reflect on their identity.
The Banana Story movement is a photo collection of various students holding a banana to their head, in reference to the unhealthy pressures faced by Asian Americans to conform to social standards.
According to student leader of the movement, Alex Wen, the purpose of My Banana Story is to raise “awareness about the struggle for social acceptance” faced by many Asian American students.
In partnership with the Asian Pacific American Coalition, the organization responsible for the movement, Paradox, held a workshop on February 25 at the University of Illinois’ Asian American Cultural Center in which students discussed the race-related implications behind the usage of the term banana.
To learn more about the Banana Story movement, visit USA Today
