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almostwitty.com
almostwitty
[lj_uk]
08 March 2012 @ 03:47 pm
How would you describe this person?  
Poll #1824998 How would you describe this person?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All. Participants: 17

Let's say that you're in a situation where you need to describe an individual who may well come from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia - generally someone from that corner of the world. Which *one* of these words would you use?

View Answers
Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Filipino/Indonesian
3(17.6%)
Oriental
8(47.1%)
Far Eastern
1(5.9%)
East Asian
4(23.5%)
Other (please specify in comments)
1(5.9%)
 
8 comments | Leave a comment
 
 
8 comments —
( 8 comments — Leave a comment )
::Raeyn::Lillith::Allriendrae::raeyn on March 8th, 2012 11:55 am (UTC)

I'd say Asian, but that's the polite term in American. Oriental is, I think, considered racist.
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almostwitty.comalmostwitty on March 8th, 2012 11:56 am (UTC)
Alas, in the UK, Asian is generally considered to mean the India/Pakistan subcontinent. Oriental doesn't quite have the same sting over here - it's considered more of an old-fashioned term, I think.
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::Raeyn::Lillith::Allriendrae::raeyn on March 8th, 2012 12:06 pm (UTC)

Yus, I've been here long enough to know the meaning of Asian here. *chuckles* I just need to remember to switch back to American when I go there later this year; it's been almost five years, so I'm sure to be rusty! :)
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almostwitty.comalmostwitty on March 8th, 2012 12:08 pm (UTC)
It's confusing when I go back and forth :)
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Fortune depends on the tone of your voicebopeepsheep on March 8th, 2012 12:19 pm (UTC)
UK usage of Oriental is varied and it's definitely not always considered racist. WMOS, MOS, BOS and other similar groups seem quite happy with it, and not really in a "reclaiming the word" kind of way.
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wemyss: true bluewemyss on March 8th, 2012 01:24 pm (UTC)
I am assuming, in the query, that:
One does not actually know that the individual in fact comes from a specific country. Obviously, were one to know that a person is Japanese, one shd refer to him (in whatever mad circumstances that required one to note this commonly irrelevant fact) as Japanese.
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Maxhawkida on March 8th, 2012 05:58 pm (UTC)
I'd probably flounder with stuff like, "You know, the guy with the dalek on his desk? Dark skin, really short hair?" etc... I might say "Asian looking" but really I'm rubbish at telling the difference between people from those places and sometimes people of that descent get irritable as being described as from there when they've never left Britain.
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almostwitty.comalmostwitty on March 9th, 2012 05:50 am (UTC)
True, but this is part of a huge discussion with some "Oriental" actor friends of mine who are trying to work with Equity to figure out how to get more "Oriental" faces on screen, but they're locked in dramatic internal warfare (never work with actors!) about a unified term with which they could call themselves.
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