Is the term

Question: (Tobermory is currently somewhat smitten by a Chinese lady from work...) I believe you are right that the correct term is Asian, although I find myself more attracted to Chinese than to Indian women for example. Are there any people of Chinese/Japanese/Thai/Fillipino descent that have an opinion on the use of the word "Oriental" ? Thanks for the advice, Bonsai Bobby but I don't think we'll go there. This may not be going anywhere but it's been a little crush for months and right now I'm not thinking about much else but her. ...and if "Oriental" is for things and not people, why is this so. There is still an Orient Express in existance so is the truth of the matter that the word "Orient" smacks of British Colonialism? Because the word itself is surely a very beautiful word, is it not? Surely The Orient is an area contained within Asia. Rugs and vases may well come from this region but so do people. Does anyone listening identify as Oriental? If not: why not, please? There are for example Persian rugs and Persian vases and at one time, there were Persian people too; only now I think that has become Iran, so they are Iranian instead. Myself I am a Westerner, an Englishman, a Yorkshire Tyke and these days feeling vaguely European to boot. Does my love for the word "Oriental" make me a bad person? OK, so I did look up both Occidental and Oriental. This was interesting because it seems that the views of Brits and Americans differ on the use of the word. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental Thank you for that Freebird: finally made contact with someone (your husband) who identifies with the word "Oriental". I am glad of this: I hate too much political-correctness for its own sake. Thanks Juni: seems that opinions vary widely on this.

Answer: I don't think so, but it sounds a bit silly. It's like when you say someone is different because he/she comes from East, it's somewhat like what you say "exotic" when you talk about ppl from tropical islands...

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