Don't forget to check the box...

For some reason, it's always okay when Russell Peters does it. As all of us with a soft side for racial comedy know, Russell Peters treats blacks, whites, asians, and latinos the same--by mocking them. For everyone other than Russell Peters, it's only okay to do it if you are making fun of your own race. If an asian makes fun of a latino, it's not funny--it's racist. My question is, why do we make fun of our own race?

The question at hand stems from my current facebook status. To make a long story short, I was in a rush to class on Friday when I did not notice the disastrously curled up mat in front of the entrance to Dwinelle. Needless to say, I tumbled and walked away with a few regretful bruises. (I know, I know, embarrassing, much?) So, my facebook status now reads: Jenny is a banana. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside, and bruises easily!

I have never prided myself on being superrrrr asian, having been born here and not knowing how to speak Chinese very well, so I guess I like to joke that even though I am Chinese American, I am more American than Chinese. However, some others will say the opposite. Some find it acceptable to mock their "chinky" eyes or habitual bowl of rice in the morning. Hence, it's not a matter of one identity being more "acceptable" than the other. American Asians and Asian Americans alike, it seems no one feels inadequate in their upbringing. This would be different if it was considered more "acceptable" to be Americanized or vice versa, but everyone seems to be simply defending their cultural background no matter what it is. This is not an issue of strengthening one's minority status, especially from what I have seen living amongst one of the largest Asian populations in the country.

So why do we do it? It's not that we don't have other things to joke about. I could have just as easily joked about my persistent clumsiness than about a fruit of apparently 2 races (haha).

I would like to suggest an answer at this time. And please, if any of you have others, chime in. Remember taking standardized tests, ohh so long ago, at your public high school? What box did you check? Did you feel comfortable with the box you checked? If there had been more choices, do you feel there could have been a choice that better fit the "category" you deserve to be under?

I want to argue that it is this constant categorization our society has become accustomed to that has brought us here, and has brought me to joke about my existence being akin to a bi-colored fruit. We always have to fit into a category--whether it is race, a geographical region, or even a specific age group (has anyone seen the episode of Sex & the City where Carrie is horrified because she no longer fits into the 18-25 age group, but now has to check 26-35?)

Whether you are of a multitude of ethnic origins or are simply caught between American and Asian culture like me, it puts pressure on us to fit into a certain box, per se, or even to fit into a certain stereotype. The Asian American who eats rice everyday but does not speak their native language, or the Asian American who is ethnically Chinese but is obsessed with Japanese culture, etc. feels alienated. What we need to do is stop categorizing people, and eventually, maybe people will not feel the need to categorize themselves.