Cohousing-L Mailing List: Diversity and the term "Oriental"

[Angelapk (Angelapk]

I hesitate to even send this e-mail, but here goes. Please know that I send 
it with good intentions and no ill will.

As a person of color who just purchased a home in cohousing, I have read a 
number of the recent e-mails about diversity with great interest.  As someone 
who has a very strong network of friends and professional colleagues from 
diverse backgrounds one of the biggest drawbacks of cohousing is its lack of 
racial, ethnic, and income diversity. I believe in cohousing and am excited 
to be living "in community," but in addition to having friends from afar who 
are diverse, I would ideally like to live in a community that as diverse in 
these important ways.  I'm impressed by many of the efforts that have been 
made to diversify cohousing across the country and think we should share 
lessons learned to improve further.

But the reason why I am writing is to react to the use of the word "Oriental" 
on this listserv in describing people of Asian or Pacific Island descent.  
While many people continue to use this word to describe individuals, cuisine, 
and furnishings, I have to agree with Frank Wu, the writer of "Yellow: Race 
in America Beyond Black and White."  Wu writes that "Oriental" is an 
adjective that should be limited to the description of rugs. 

While Asian/Pacific Islanders are not unanimous in feeling this way, a very 
large number -- and virtually everyone in my network -- is deeply offended by 
being called "Oriental."  When I describe this to others, I usually tell them 
that in 2003 most people would never call an African-American a "Negro" but 
people seem to have no problem calling Asian/Pacific Islanders an "Oriental." 
 I would equate the two terms in how they're taken.  So, if you wouldn't feel 
comfortable calling someone "Negro" -- and I know I wouldn't -- I suggest we 
stop calling folks "Oriental" too.

I don't mean to be the PC police.  I am simply sharing my perspective in the 
hope that it might be of interest to some of you. I'm sure some Asian/Pacific 
Islanders have no problem with the term, but it's so deeply offensive to so 
many people that I think we do no harm in eliminating the use of the word, 
except in historical references.  I believe language is an important part of 
inclusion.  And, if this listserv aims to be inclusive and open to discussing 
diversity, I think we should be open to sharing these thoughts.

Thanks for reading and kudos to all who make this listserv possible.

Angela
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