[~Ami~]

I know alot of us hear some off the wall stuff when talking about adoption or where we are adopting from. I just told someone at work today that I am adopting from Vietnam. I was then told someone else has adopted oriental children. I knew the person well and know she didnt mean it how I took it (all I could think was rug or vase). I am not usually a pc person but wonder if anyone else hears this when talking about their adoption?

[Celesyee]

Hi Ami,

I'm a 3rd generation Chinese American born woman. I was born and raised in San Francisco and one of my college degrees is in Asian American Studies so I'm pretty hard core and get offended by the term "oriental." I used to correct and try to educate others about the derogatory term, however, I now live in Hawai'i, where the term is used by other Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Polynesians, without any hesitation. I basically had to change my way of thinking to understanding that different people, geographic locations, generations, etc. understand and use words very differently. So now I only stand my ground when the words or other derogatory words are used when discussing one's ethnic background.

Best of luck in your adoption journey!

[Lissa]

I tend to enlighten people nicely that the term is not PC. Most people do not mean to offend.

[jenniem]

Please don't flame me (just trying to educate myself)- I'm not sure why oriental is so offensive? I can't say I have ever used the word. I generally use Asian when I don't know the country someone is from- is that correct? Not trying to be offensive

[Celesyee]

Asian is now preferred over the deragatory exclusive term Oriental. The actual meaning of oriental is "eastern" which is from the US (or the west). Some people argue that from this point it is ethnocentric to describe locations from the US because from China, Japan, or Korea the east would be the US...meaning "Americans" (I use that term loosely to describe those living in America..not Caucasians).

Also, "the orient" does not pertain to all Asians. In the 1960s and 1970s Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders formed unions for the purpose of protests, rallies, and to have their rights recognized. Hence the term Asian Pacific Islanders.

The real problem with Oriental is how historically Europeans viewed the regions east of the Mediterranean as exotic, romance and intrigue. Oriental vases, oriental rugs, oriental medicines. I as a Chinese American women do not want to be mistaken as a rug, ornament, vase, or any other object.

But as I stated in my post above, a lot of it depends on the persons age, era, location. I live in Hawai'i where there are a lot of Polynesians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders yet Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are still labeled as "oriental" in our state.