About

The choice for the name Banana is meant to be an inside joke. For anyone who has ever been called a ‘banana,’ you know that it’s a nickname that has been given to many first generation Asians growing up in a western world, like us. It’s not meant to be derogatory, but celebratory. Birthed in Chinatown NYC, Banana strives to navigate through the blurred Eastern and Western boundaries and create a voice for contemporary Asian culture. We want to use the magazine as a platform to feature, celebrate, and join the conversation with Asian creatives in a journey to define our collective identity. 

Whether it is rediscovering your grandma’s herbal soup recipes, exploring current Asian beauty culture through an editorial, or commissioning original artwork to represent the dichotomy that can exist between two cultures, our content aims to cover all things AZN.

INTRODUCING ISSUE 007

INSIDE ISSUE 007:

• Cover Art and Story featuring Justin Yoon

• An exploration of the growing landscape of Asian representation in American reality television with an eight-part series featuring Crystal Kung Minkoff of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kim Chi of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Amrit Kapai of Family Karma, Tiffany Moon of The Real Housewives of Dallas, Aparna Shewakramani of Indian Matchmaking, Yu Ling Wu of The Circle, Derek Xiao of Big Brother and The Amazing Race, and Blake Abbie of Bling Empire: New York

• Photographer An Rong Xu shares original haikus and photography as a love letter to Taiwan

• Music journalist Eric Diep talks to music producer and DJ Demonslayer on 1980s Vietnamese New Wave in California

• An original boardgame concept from The New Yorker cartoonist Colin Tom

• ..and more!

Only 1,000 copies printed.

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