Would you categorize either as "Oriental?"
When Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" overtook the charts on May of 2011, it wasn't the expression of creativity that shocked the audience, but her overt use of the word, "Orient."
Defined by Merriam Webster,
Oriental: sometimes offensive : Asian; especially : one who is a native of east Asia or is of east Asian descent.
So, why is it so offensive to use this word against people like, say me? And in fact it is considered so offensive that in the states of Washington and New York, the word "Oriental" was banned from all legislature. Jeff Yang explores this age old question in an NPR article.
To be quite honest, the word "oriental" actually isn't a slur (believe me, there are worse things you could be called), but it's offensive because it is more indicative of the time period.
Oriental was predominantly used in the early 20th century, a time associated with the subordinate status of Asians, from exoticism to the old stereotypical geishas. Professor Wu states that the word "oriental is like the word negro. It conjures up an era." It brings up the 1952 Asian exclusion acts, racism that prohibited Asian immigrants from attaining citizenship. As a result, the word "Oriental" is considered racist. Using the word implies the same thoughts and opinions felt during the mid-1900s.
At the same time, the word, according to Jeff Yang, is just inaccurate. "Orient" translates to just "the East," and that term for the Asian region is incomplete for two reasons. First, only in a flat world does it truly make sense to be calling the Asian region the "Far East" because in the context of our spherical world, if you keep going east, it eventually becomes the west. In other words? It's really outdated. Second, "Oriental" also effectively leaves out completely the Indian subcontinent, whereas, the term "Asian" includes the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, the term "Oriental" is not only inaccurate but also ignorant of current times and geography.
So, while Lady Gaga was just trying to prove the necessity of being our own individuals, maybe next time she can prove the necessity of being politically correct individuals.
I didn't realize that this term was offensive because of the time period it cam from. I assume "Asian" is the more politically correct term when referring to people. However, is it politically correct to refer to objects from Asia in the 1900s as oriental?
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned how Indian people aren't necessarily considered "Oriental," yet are Asian. Are groups like Turkish, Iranian, Israeli, and other middle eastern people put under this category? Do we call these people Asian today, or Middle-Eastern?
I think our society places too much emphasis on the offensiveness of words. Words are just sounds. They are ways to represent ideas. Its a method of communication. The fluidity of language is demonstrated perfectly in the use of the term "faggot". Formerly only a word to describe a bundle of sticks, society warped it into a term for homosexuals, and how society is beginning to use this word to refer to anyone negatively, regardless of their sexuality. We are offended by specific words because that is how we are taught. From when we are little, we are told that certain words are inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the specific words are not as important as the intentions behind them. If someone actually is espousing racist stereotypes but does so using clean language, is that any better than someone fighting those racist stereotypes but using offensive language? Communication is a two way street. You can never shield yourself enough so that you never hear anything that might make you uncomfortable. The only thing you can actually control is how you respond to that language. If you recognize that it is not an endpoint, and just a vehicle for meaning, then you can see through the trivial points and actually stop racism. While racist language might be correlated with racist opinions, eliminating the first will certainly not stop the second. We have to remember why racism is bad in the first place beyond being just a societal taboo. Racism, even in its broadest definition, eliminates people's agency by homogenizing them into a larger group. I can be as polite as I want, but the ugly head of racism is only severed once I stop assuming that the mexican I'm interviewing for a job can't speak English. Let's trade band-aid solutions for real ones.
In addition, how can you know what isn't offensive? Everyone has different opinions on this. Some asians think the word "Oriental" is fine and "Asian" might be offensive to them. "African American" might not accurately reflect someone's identity. It's impossible to have prior knowledge of how every single person in the world wants to be referred to. People are murdered, denied human rights, and have their lives ruined every day due to racism. If you feel like a activist by correcting someone for using some outdated language, wake up and actually do something.