Ash Chen
IB Lang & Lit
Mr. Varvel

Overthinking It: Using Food As A Racial Metaphor

Overthinking It: Using Food As A Racial Metaphor is an online article written on 14 September 2014 by Kat Chow and Gene Demby. This article discusses the metaphorical usage of food to refer to racial identities and appearances in popular culture. In recent years, there has been a phenomenon on the Internet where people increasingly employ food terms to refer to racial betrayal. Such examples include Twinkie, egg, coconut, banana, Oreo, and etc.

This article is targeted towards an occidental audience as these slangs are used solely in the English language. And among those people, this article is intended towards a younger audience due to the extremely colloquial script and the trendy nature of the topic. The purpose of this article is to inform its readers the prevalence and the racial connotations different food terms. Through this article, the authors are also trying to discourage the mass from using these terms to refer to people. Thus with regards to the purpose, this article also addresses individuals who utilize these terms to mock others.

The first impression this article leaves its readers is a very colloquial tone, which connotes a casual atmosphere. Next, in the first paragraph of the article, the authors mentions a famous example in which even a state-run media outlet in China makes use of food terms with racial connotations to mock Gary Locke, the Chinese-American