Fresh off the boat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fresh off the boat (often abbreviated as F.O.B., FOB, fobish, or fobbie) is a somewhat derogatory slang phrase applied to people of foreign nationality, who have arrived in a host nation as tourists, immigrants, students, or most commonly, as work permit applicants. The term is commonly applied to Eastern & Southern Pacific Asians as well as Middle Easterners in the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as to Pacific Islanders in Australia and New Zealand. It was originally applied to European immigrants to America who had just stepped off of a ship.[citation needed]
The term is commonly used when immigrants from a foreign nation have not yet assimilated the host nation's culture, language, and behavior. Note that assimilation to the host nation's culture is not a certainty, there are historical examples of a foreign nation assimilating a host nation (ex. Sinicization or Romanization). FOBs tend to be identified by their fashion, social preferences, behavior towards others, and — perhaps most commonly and distinctively — their accents.
In the sociology of ethnicity, this term can be seen as an indicator of a nature of diasporic communities, or communities that have left their country of origin and have migrated, usually permanently, to another country. A split can occur in such communities between those who have assimilated or acclimated in their host countries and those who still cling to their native culture. The usage of "FOBs" is often used by the former group, to differentiate themselves from the latter. Often, this difference is a result of a generation gap, where the sons and daughters of immigrants born and immersed in the culture of their host country develop an identity distinct from their parents or recent immigrants.
The term also has been adapted by immigrants themselves or others in their community who instead see the differentiation as a source of pride, where they have retained their culture and have not lost it to assimilation. In some instances, people who have assimilated or acclimated into their host country still identify themselves as a "FOB" to show they have not assimilated completely.
Contents |
[edit] In fiction
Fictional works that have explored the term and concept include
- Fresh off the Boat, a novel by Melissa de la Cruz, ISBN 0-06-054541-0
- The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, a novel by Maxine Hong Kingston
- F.O.B., a play by David Henry Hwang.
- "House of Tinder", a novel by Murali Balaji, ISBN 0-595-28310-1
[edit] Related words
- Boater - a variant with the same exact meaning as FOB.
- Fresh Off the Plane - Many immigrants currently travel by plane rather than by boat. Therefore, 'FOP' is a modern alternative to 'FOB'.
- Banana - Refers to a typical second generation Asian. A wordplay on the fact that a banana is yellow on the outside and white on the inside. This implies that a second generation Asian may look Asian, while thinking and behaving in Western ways.
- Coconut - Refers to South Asians, Latinos, and Southeast Asians who behave in a way that a stereotypical Caucasian would. A coconut is brown on the outside and white on the inside, often to referred to assilimated members of he aformentioned groups, often to the Western culture. Implication is similar to banana listed above.
- Freshie - Commonly used in Britain to describe South Asians.
- Fresh over the Border
- Fresh Off the Bihaengi - Korean variant. "Bihaengi" means airplane in Korean.
- Just off the Farm
- Just off the Jet
- Oreo - Refers to upper-class Africans. An oreo is black on the outside and white on the inside. Implication is similar to banana listed above. Often used by lower-class inner-city blacks against suburban middle-class or upper-class Africans.
- Twinkie - Refers to Asians acting like Caucasians. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside. Often used by Asian immigrants against Asians who were born and raised in the Western World, thus having personaility traits of a stereotypical Caucasian.
- ABC (American-born Chinese)
- BBC (British-born Chinese
- CBC (Canadian-born Chinese)
- EOF (English Only Filipino)
- ABCD (American-Born Confused Desi)
- ABCD (Always Being Caught and Deported)
- SOB (Still On the Boat)
- SOL (Shut Out of Luck) – often used by natives to refer to those immigrants who are about to be deported.
- Derivative adjective forms of FOB include fobby, fobbish and fobulous, a portmanteau of fob and fabulous.
- Derviative verb of FOB - fobbify, the process where many Asians, who were born and raised in the Western World, are undergoing these days in order to become more identified with their roots and fashion wise.
- OTB (Directly Translated as Off The Boat) - Commonly refers to a young immigrant from the soviet block, often found in the Brighton Beach, Brooklyn area. Common attributes an OTB include: driving a Nissan Maxima, wearing high end clothing (Versace), listening to euro-techno, and congregating at El Greco on the bay.
[edit] Pronunciation
There are currently two widely accepted (and sometimes disputed) pronunciations of the word FOB. The emphasis is on the "O" sound:
FOB(fŏb) can be pronounced with the same "O" sound as in the word "lob" (he lobbed the ball at me).
FOB(fōb) can also be pronounced with the "O" sound as in the word "cove" (they found a nice cove along the shore).
The general claim is that "only FOBs(fŏb) say FOB(fōb)" and vice a versa.
[edit] Offensive use
The term "FOB" has been used with offensive intent, often to those with a foreign accent or ethnic style of dressing. Depending on the person's attitude to the culture in question, he or she may or may not take offense at these statements.
[edit] Other uses
For Asian girls "Fresh off the boat" that like to wear lots of American Eagle and carry around Hello Kitty paraphenalia; e.g. That girl Debbie Yen is a FOB.
[edit] Non-offensive use
The term "FOB" is also used in a less offensive way of describing Asian American youths, as well as those in Australia and other countries, that display contemporary East Asian youth cultures. This behavior is part of a new trend of Asian American teens displaying their modern cultural roots (like listening to Asian music and watching Asian movies) rather than conform with mainstream Western culture. Thus the term "Fob" is used in a social context to describe a particular clique or subculture of teens. A few modern day "Fobs" may actually be American-, Australian-, etc, born Asians.
"Fob" is also used as slang term for these youths to refer to each other, such as American Blacks using the word nigger. The same can be applied to Iranian American youths, who use the term in the same non-offensive way as Asian American youths.
A modern stereotype of "FOB" people is that of Pacific Islanders living in Australia. Tongans, Samoans, Fijians, Papua New Guineans and Tuvalu are encompassed in the cultural FOB stereotype.
[edit] References
- Ludvig, Sämi. Cultural Idenity as Spouse From Fusion of Cultures?, edited by Peter O. Stummer and Christopher Balme. Reprinted by Google Books. Retrieved July 27 2006. ISBN 90-420-0044-9.
- Nakazawa, Donna Jackson. Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent's Guide to Raising Multiracial Children. p. 132. Reprinted by Google Books. Retrieved July 27 2006. ISBN 0-7382-0950-3.
