The following conversation occurred between me and two 'white' former colleagues of mine:
C: Do you like fried rice?
Moi: Hmmm, yeah. Not my favourite though.
C: Do you like pop?
Moi: What's that? (I knew the meaning from previous visits to Mississippi and reading The Help)
C: It's soda.
Moi: Not really.
C: Do you like watermelon?
Moi: Yes
C: laughed so hard, they were almost crying.
C1: We got to be careful. Isn't that racist?
C2: She knows we are joking
Before I play the victim here, I had just been challenged to a dancing competition, to which I responded that it will be unfair of a black (even as tone deaf as I am) girl to compete with y'all. So I guess they were trying to get back at me. Unfortunately, I was clueless.
I really wondered why my likeness of watermelon was so funny. I am reading Chimamanda's Americanah and she makes reference to the 'like of watermelon' puzzle. Still wondering, but Wiki explained. It is an American Blacks (sub-classification of blacks by Chimamanda, i.e. not Non-American Blacks) stereotype.
Checked: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon_stereotype
Moral: colour of skin doesn't really determine much more than the colours of clothing that will flatter you and even that differs from person to person.
Cheryl Tweedy Cole Valen.... can dance but Michelle Williams can't.
C: Do you like fried rice?
Moi: Hmmm, yeah. Not my favourite though.
C: Do you like pop?
Moi: What's that? (I knew the meaning from previous visits to Mississippi and reading The Help)
C: It's soda.
Moi: Not really.
C: Do you like watermelon?
Moi: Yes
C: laughed so hard, they were almost crying.
C1: We got to be careful. Isn't that racist?
C2: She knows we are joking
Before I play the victim here, I had just been challenged to a dancing competition, to which I responded that it will be unfair of a black (even as tone deaf as I am) girl to compete with y'all. So I guess they were trying to get back at me. Unfortunately, I was clueless.
I really wondered why my likeness of watermelon was so funny. I am reading Chimamanda's Americanah and she makes reference to the 'like of watermelon' puzzle. Still wondering, but Wiki explained. It is an American Blacks (sub-classification of blacks by Chimamanda, i.e. not Non-American Blacks) stereotype.
Checked: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon_stereotype
Moral: colour of skin doesn't really determine much more than the colours of clothing that will flatter you and even that differs from person to person.
Cheryl Tweedy Cole Valen.... can dance but Michelle Williams can't.
