 YELLOW SKIN.
EYE SHAPE, reference to:
Misnomer (all human eyeballs have the same shape). The distinctive “Asian” feature is known as an “epicanthic fold” of the eyelid but is found in all races. Not all Asians have the fold. It is unclear what evolutionary advantage is conferred by such a feature. Eyes aren’t “slanted” or “slitty” and such terms are racially derogatory. The relevance of discussing the fold, which might call to mind racial stereotypes, must be explained to the reader or viewer. A discussion of why some Asian women seek plastic surgery to change the shape of their eyelids, for example, is relevant. Whether an Asian basketball player has a reduced field of vision is not. See CHARLIE CHAN; CHINAMAN; CHINK; DIALECT; FU MANCHU; GOOK; RACISM, scientific; SLANT; SLOPE; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
Refers to an inhabitant of the Philippines, the former Spanish possession and American colony. Filipino American refers to those who share its heritage and culture. Some Filipino Americans, often younger, prefer Pilipino because Tagalog (pronounced tuh-GAW-lug), the leading dialect of the Philippines, lacks an “F” sound. The Philippines, claimed by Spanish explorers, was named after King Philip II of Spain (1527-1598). See COLONIALISM; IMPERIALISM; PHILIPPINES; TAGALOG; “WHITE MAN’S BURDEN.”
Avoid. Pejorative for “Filipino.” See PHILIPPINES; TAGALOG; “WHITE MAN’S BURDEN.”
FOREIGN-NESS, Asians and their:
While “African American” and “Asian American” are parallel phrases, their cultural emphases differ. “African American” is a coinage that grew out of the civil rights movement of the 1950s. It emphasizes a link to sub-Saharan Africa (broadly, non-Arab Africa) and an evocation of the past. American blacks, long separated from slavery, may have never seen Africa or know anyone who has. By contrast, Asian Americans, because of restrictive immigration laws before 1965, may be only one or two generations distant from an Asia that is present in immigrant parents and grandparents. The emphasis in “Asian American,” therefore, is on “American” and belonging to the nation. Most Asian Americans are stung when asked: “Where are you from? I mean, originally?” See ASIAN EXCLUSION ACTS; COLONIALISM; DIALECT; IMPERIALISM; MODEL MINORITY, myth of; RACE, biological basis of; RACE, scientific; RACE, sociological construct of; WALTER-MCCARRAN ACT; “WHITE MAN’S BURDEN”; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
Origin almost certainly Japanese. There are references to the cookies in Japanese literature and history, including an 1878 image of a man making them in a bakery. China and Japan do not have a tradition of dessert following a meal.
Caution. Stereotype. Created by mystery writer Sax Rohmer in 1913 and popularized in 1930s and 1940s films. Fu Manchu was an evil genius. He was portrayed by many actors, including Warner Oland, who also played Charlie Chan. Rohmer described him this way: “Imagine a person, tall, lean, and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic eyes of the true cat-green.” He is also “the yellow peril incarnate in one man.” Later Asian and pseudo-Asian villains — like Flash Gordon’s nemesis, Emperor Ming the Merciless, and James Bond’s Dr. No — were variations of Fu Manchu. See also ASIATIC; CAUCASIAN; CHARLIE CHAN; COLONIALISM; EXOTIC; IMPERIALISM; INSCRUTABLE; ORIENTAL; “WHITE MAN’S BURDEN”; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948). Known as the Mahatma (“great soul”) and the father of modern India, M.K. Gandhi served as president of the Indian National Congress and helped lead a nonviolent movement for independence from Britain during the first half of the 20th century. He was assassinated in 1948 in a conspiracy by fanatical nationalists who accused him of betraying Hindus and favoring Muslims during the Partition of 1947. No relation to Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi. See COLONIALISM; HINDI; HINDU; INDIA; ISLAM; MUSLIM; SOUTH ASIA; THIRD WORLD.
GOOK: Avoid, a slur. See CHINAMAN; CHINK; EYE SHAPE, reference to; GOOK; INSCRUTABLE; SLA