punkypink (imported) wrote: Wed Oct 26, 2011 12:04 am
Asian as a substitute for oriental is incorrect. There are many ethinicities in Asia. Oriental is far more indicative of my ethinic and racial identity. Asian would indicate my regional identity. In this case I am referring to my ethinicity. I do not say Chinese because most people tend to mix Chinese as an ethinic identity with Chinese as a national identity (i.e. from China).
So Oriental it is.
I too agree with W. C. Fields, "when I use a word, it means what I want it to mean. It is a question of whether the person controls the word or the word controls the person. "
However, for clarity. Although I would not deny anyone their choice of of appropriate category, classification terminology. P.C. or not.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oriental
The term "oriental", with connotations of exoticism,
at one time referred to the people, culture, and nations of the Near East. More recently it has been used more to refer generically to the people, culture, and nations of the Far East. Even more recently, in some places it has come to be considered objectionable or offensive, particularly in its noun form. While "the Orient" has become a somewhat dated term, "oriental", particularly as an adjective, still sees frequent use.
One complaint has been its frequent use by some to denigrate Asian people and people of Asian descent, which many feel has given the word itself a bad connotation. Others object to the term being used as a blanket term for people of Asian or East Asian descent, since that ignores the varied and often disparate cultures and histories of that area, thus emphasizing the sameness or indistinguishability of those cultures and peoples (and in reverse, imputing on the user a lack of awareness and concern for the cultural difference within Asia). A third reason given is that the term is so vague that it is never clear which countries are included within the term. Most users, however, do not employ the term with any malicious intent whatsoever, and view it as a convenient and innocent generic term in the absence of more precise information, equivalent to the frequent use of the term westerner in Asia.
Major objections to the term are fairly recent, and so it still sees frequent use, often by people unaware that objections to it exist. As awareness of the cultures in Asia has increased, its usage has decreased. Its occasional replacements, such as "Asian" and "East Asian", can also be seen as offensive by others. It can still be found in the mainstream media, though less frequently than in decades past. When used to describe Asian foods and other products, it raises fewer objections, and this remains one of the most acceptable ways of using the term. The atmosphere of sensitivity surrounding "oriental" suggests that it should be used with caution.
Or should the moderators deliver a ruling on what we call those sorts of gentiles?
Moi
Don't ever call me an Occidental!
members here.
at one time referred to the people, culture, and nations of the Near East. More recently it has been used more to refer generically to the people, culture, and nations of the Far East. Even more recently, in some places it has come to be considered objectionable or offensive, particularly in its noun form. While "the Orient" has become a somewhat dated term, "oriental", particularly as an adjective, still sees frequent use.