Asian = Oriental, etc.

[Douglas G. Wilson]

"Oriental":

About twenty years ago there was some talk about "Orientalism",
particularly by Edward Said, who wrote the book by this name. This may
contribute to the word's fall from grace.

"Mongoloid":

So what is the term for this "type"? In scientific writing, "Mongoloid" is
still used (there is no confusion with trisomy 13 or Down's syndrome here
because this is never referred to as "Mongoloid" in a scientific context).
In forensics, a hair found at a crime scene might very well be reliably
classified as "Mongoloid" by microscopic examination -- but never as
"Japanese" or "Navajo". A 10,000-year-old-skull found in central Asia is
trivially Asian, but its dentition might or might not be typically
Mongoloid, and the distinction might be of anthropological interest.
[Cavalli-Sforza's gene-frequency studies distinguish northern and southern
Mongoloid "clusters" (one might say "races"): I'm not sure whether the
southern one should be included in these contexts.]

"Asian":

I suppose "East Asian" would be OK in some connections? Certainly it
doesn't make sense to say "The Chinese and Japanese tourists felt
conspicuous in Hyderabad because of their Asian features." On the other
hand it is plainly absurd to assert "Chinese and Japanese tourists, because
of their Asian features, are inconspicuous in Asian cities such as
Hyderabad." I suppose "South Asian" and "Southeast Asian" can be used too.
(Or are the points of the compass considered Eurocentric? Europe is just
Northwest Asia anyway. (^_^))

-- Doug Wilson