This petition calls for new packaging for "The Noodle Game" by Bananagrams, and for all stores who carry it—such as Target, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart—to remove it from shelves until inoffensive design is implemented. 

I'm a Korean American woman, graphic designer, and author who writes about race, trauma, and identity. When I came across "The Noodle Game" at Target, I was appalled. I don't see a problem with the concept of the game, which is picking up noodles with chopsticks. However, the packaging is highly insensitive to Asians living in the west.

On one of the panels of the Chinese takeout box is a photo of two white children in martial arts costumes, among text that tells kids to become a noodle ninja. This is not creative celebration of Asian cultures but mockery that Asian children will internalize and non-Asian children will mimic. Target knew enough not to display the problematic panel on their website, which leads me to believe they understand the issue many will have.

Imagine an Asian child being asked to play this game with non-Asian kids who don't know better than to copy what they see on the box. Asian American children already face prejudice, racial mockery, and sometimes violence due to stereotypical depictions like this. Large corporations such as Target need to do better. 

I'll provide free artistic consulting to make this product suitable for shelves: 

• Include a more diverse group of children playing the game, with at least one Asian child. 
• Rather than martial arts costumes, have the kids dressed in casual American attire.
• Eliminate martial arts poses. Martial arts have no connection to picking up noodles. 
• Remove the pandas—or at least don't depict them sparring. Pandas also have no connection to noodles. 
• Remove the bamboo. A regular Chinese takeout box would be fine. Throwing as many random Asian symbols and stereotypes together is offensive. 
• Instead of "noodle ninja" consider "noodle master". 

Please sign and share this petition far and wide. Too often, racism against Asians is unchallenged, and this directly affects the kids.