Why did it become un-PC to refer to people from the far East as "Oriental?"

My parents always told me I was an Occident, but that’s not what I thought they meant
 
Oriental just narrows down to the race of people that applies to countries like China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and places like that. Since if you just say Asians thats actually less PC IMO. Asia has plenty of races like Middle Eastern, Indian, Filipino and so on.
 
Probably for the same reason it became not ok to refer to black people as negros. If the term was used to describe them during a time they were openly and lawfully oppressed, them the term was used in a derogatory manner. Hence the reason they wouldn’t want to be referred to in such a way. It’s not that hard to figure out. Just try to put yourself in their shoes. Though, we still call their rugs oriental rugs, and have a movie called “Murder on the Orient Express.” But I think that kind of makes the point. Those are both positive things, whereas calling someone oriental was definitely a negative thing since they were hated by most in the western world at the time that was what they were called.
 
In the UK we still use oriental.

Asian is for Indians/Pakistanis/Middle East

Oriental for Chinese, Japanese etc

Theres an Oriental Society at my University, that's their official title

Do you guys in the US call Indians Asian as well?
 
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In the UK we still use oriental.

Asian is for Indians/Pakistanis/Middle East

Oriental for Chinese, Japanese etc

Theres an Oriental Society at my University, that's their official title

Do you guys in the US call Indians Asian as well?
Only orientals get called "Asian". Indians and ME don't get called Asian.

Yes, we've made ourselves retarded in pursuit of PC.
 
In the UK we still use oriental.

Asian is for Indians/Pakistanis/Middle East

Oriental for Chinese, Japanese etc

Theres an Oriental Society at my University, that's their official title

Do you guys in the US call Indians Asian as well?

Being British Born Chinese, I took umbrage when I was being labelled Asian after moving to the US. Asian is the same category as South Asians.

I tried to get myself labelled as Oriental during a department census, which nearly got my colleague in trouble for writing it down...had to step in and help her out.

Living in Singapore now, call me Oriental, not Asian please...
 
Go read Edward Said's "Orientalism", a classic in Post Colonial literature. It is the beginning of the term falling into disfavor in academics. Basically it discusses that the term "Oriental" as a western concept to describe "exoticism" of the non western "Other".

What I came to post.
 
Traditionally speaking, there was the Occident and the Orient. Occidental people, and Oriental people.

But somewhere along the line, it became no longer socially acceptable to refer to someone from the Orient as "Oriental." They must instead be referred to as Asian.

Asian = from Asia.
Oriental = from the Orient.

It's just too ways of saying the same fucking thing.

Not too long ago I saw an SJW type lose their shit because they saw a white person call an Asian person "Oriental." She acted like it was a fucking racial slur or something.
It's been a long time since Oriental was considered derogatory. It's not a new thing.
 
Who gives a shit, people being sensitive now about losing terms they can call people, who gives a shit about all this stupid shit
 
Shut up, honkey! :mad:

Does honkey apply well to italians?
If so i've no probblem with it :D

But to make a closer parallel, say that Mr. Cheng is "oriental" is like say that i'm "mediterranean"

And tbh i'm "mediterranean" as fuck

Don't be a bitch my friend, i thought asians were above that crap :D
 
And tbh i'm "mediterranean" as fuck :D


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There are outrage junkies who decide that certain terms are offensive every 5 years or so
 
Why is oriental racist? As an Asian, I've been asked this a few times, and I've always said it's not. Are westerners offended to be called occidental? Maybe because it's very close to accidental and that has a slight negative connotation but Oriental just means countries from the east.
 
Put the person first. Say “a person from the Orient” rather than “an Oriental (person)” Say “people from the Caucus Mountains” rather than “a Caucasian (person)” A person isn’t defined by their disability – they are a person before anything else.
 
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