tic, cultural, religious and other ties. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was common to refer to ethnic groups as “races,” e.g. “the Hungarian race.” See also CAUCASIAN; RACE, biological basis of; RACE, sociological construct of; RACISM, Scientific; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
ETHNICITY, mention of:
Caution. Ethnicity (the character of a group, such as language) and race (a group distinguished by genetically transmitted physical appearance) should be reported only when ethnicity can be attributed to a reliable source to the story and their relevance can be explained. Some news organizations do not mention race or ethnicity because of the danger of suggesting stereotypes. Race, however, is often necessary to the physical description of a fugitive (“Asian male, mid-30s, 5-foot-6, medium build”). See ASIAN, various uses of; CHARLIE CHAN; CHINA DOLL; DIALECT; DRAGON LADY; EXOTIC; IMMIGRANT; ILLEGAL ALIEN; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066:
A war measure following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Signed Feb. 19, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it led to the internment in camps of thousands of people of Japanese heritage, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens. A divided cabinet recommended the measure to Roosevelt, despite an affirmation by the Office of Naval Intelligence of the loyalty of Japanese Americans. The order was designed to combat sabotage, but Americans of German and Italian heritage were largely exempt. Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and imperial Japan formed the Axis. The Supreme Court repeatedly affirmed the constitutionality of the order, but Congress, in 1983, called it “a grave injustice.” See also ANGEL ISLAND; INTERNMENT; PEARL HARBOR; SEPTEMBER 11, 2001; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
Avoid. When describing women of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage, it often implies a departure from a white norm. Swedes, for example, are not described in the United States as exotic. See CHARLIE CHAN; CHINA DOLL; DRAGON LADY; FU MANCHU; INSCRUTABLE; ORIENTAL; PACIFIC ISLANDER; YELLOW PERIL; 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,” theref