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July 10, 2000
WORDS'
WORTH: ORIENTING
MYSELF TO BEING AN ASIAN
Rugs are Oriental; I am Asian.
Language is always evolving, and in these politically-correct times, we need to be more sensitive and aware of the terms we use to describe each others' culture and heritage.
| "Oriental" is considered by Asians to be a derogatory term because it reflects centuries of a western-centric view of the world, which assumed that civilization and knowledge flowed from Europe |
Here's one of most helpful the explanations from the "Ties-Talk" Japanese American discussion list, tracing the word back to the collapse of the Roman Empire: "Although some people view 'Occidental' as the opposite of 'Oriental,' meaning the white Europeans, the term originally meant eastern Europe or western Asia... What was left of the Roman empire was split into two, the Occidental Empire and the Oriental Empire. This is how I believe the terms got started. 'Orient' is a Latin term for 'east' and 'occident' is a term for 'west.'"
The accepted rule is that "Oriental" is a word for inanimate objects from Asia, but not for people. If you're describing people from Asia, use the word "Asian" -- or better yet, take the time to discern beyond the racial distinctions and find out what country or heritage people are from. Asia is an awful big place, and there are many discrete cultures and traditions from Chinese and Japanese to Korean, East Indian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Thai.... and within each country, different cultures thrive in different regions.
There's a natural inclination to simplify the world and file people under broad categories. But few people would without a thought lump Italians and Swedes or French and English together culturally and ethnically, just because they all happen to be Europeans. For some reason, it seems easier to assume that all Asians think alike and act alike just because they look alike (of course, we don't all look alike either, but that's another column).
No one calls Eastern Europeans "Occidentals," and "Oriental" today is considered by Asians to be a derogatory term because it reflects centuries of a western-centric view of the world, which assumed that civilization and knowledge flowed from Europe to the rest of the world. The cultures of Asia, of course, in particular China, are much older and were refined long before Europeans wandered to other continents.
In addition, the
word "Oriental" is confusing because the word is used to describe the
"Middle East" as well as the "Far East" (two more words used to indicate
geographic locale relative to Europe). Hence, rugs from Persian are today
still called "Oriental rugs." At the same time, a Vietnamese shop owner
might put a sign reading "Oriental groceries" above his door.
That bring me to another point -- that these evolving terms for ethnic
groups in the United States sometimes are evolving even within the ethnic
groups themselves, not just with Americans at large. Many Asians, especially
older Asians, still use "Oriental" to describe themselves. Partly, that's
because for years that's what they were called by society at large, and
on legal and official forms. In fact, my memory of US government forms
when I was a child is that they gave me the choice of checking off my
race as "Mongoloid" -- as if all Asians had roots in Mongolia.
My childhood memories may be fuzzy, but I'm sure glad that term didn't
stick around.
This week, I received an e-mail from a Singapore-based Web site asking for me to link to it. I visited the site, and though I don't mind some of its products -- it sells Asian jewelry, crafts, home accessories and clothing -- I was saddened by its name and its entire promotional emphasis. The site is called "Good Orient Company," so it's immediately clear to me they're not reaching out to Asian customers. Its home page declares that Good Orient offers the "greatest selection of exotic hand-picked goods from Asia." And, its "Chamber of Commerce" page, where the company explains its business, is written in a shockingly Western Imperialist tone:
"After establishing its territorial boundaries in the realms of cyberspace, the company became a thriving settlement mainly through its trading activities of exotic merchandise originating from the various colourful cultures of Asia. With this victorious conquest of cyberspace, patrons can now visit our cyber colony 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Our expanding fleet of cyberjunks are constantly sailing the far reaches of the Asian landscape, some uninhabitable, bringing home a vast array of fascinating goods. Our range of items will continue to expand which will eventually include products from every major country in Asia."
It's possible the operators of this Web site are not purposefully racist, but I'm afraid the tone of the editorial content (and some of its products, such as a Chinese hat with attached "pigtail" that I came across) are offensive to me.
Since my interest in "Oriental" terminology was sparked before I ever received this e-mail, I was saddened to find that the same attitudes that prevailed a hundred years ago and more can still be packaged and presented today, on the Internet.
I began thinking about "Oriental" after I recently had lunch with a black woman and a white woman. Our conversation was all about the many ways our diverse ethnicity and beliefs are addressed in contemporary American society. We spoke about inter-racial relationships and race in the workplace. We spoke about how even though we consider ourselves liberal people, we have all chosen the incorrect terms for some groups because preferred words change -- sometimes changing back to earlier terms.
I once spoke to an organization of "Native American" college students, and was gently informed by one of the students that "Indian" is the preferred word.
My friend Julie said she experiences a similar sense of embarrassment -- and liberal guilt -- over the words "Hispanic" and "Latino" (not to mention "Chicano"). Some people prefer one term over the others, and although there are specific meanings for each (Hispanic relates to Spanish roots; Latino to Central and South Americans and Chicano to people of Mexican heritage), the difference might be a matter of generations.
Jean, the other lunch companion, said she is of the generation that prefers "black" to "African-American." She came of age in the 1970s, when "black pride" made black culture a mainstream force in America, after taking the baton from the Civil Rights marches of the '60s, when "Negro," a word that sounds stilted and uncomfortable today, was the accepted and polite term.
Given the variety of terms and the current penchant for political correctness, we agreed that the rule is to simply be sensitive to all terms for all groups, and not be embarrassed to ask when we meet someone, so we can address each other with the words we feel most comfortable with.
NOTE: You can read the thread from the Ties-Talk Archives about the word "Oriental" online.