"Asian" in Western countries
"Asian" in Australia
On the 2006 Australian Census the following groups contain the word Asian in them
"North-East Asian"
"South-East Asian"
"Central and Southern Asian"
Main article: Asian Australian
Although in Australia Asian typically refers to East Asians,[citation needed] the Australian Census includes many more regions of Asia in its official definition. Defined by the 2006-2011 Australian Census, three categories have the word Asian included in their name: "Central and Southern Asians", "South-East Asians" and "North-East Asians". Russians and Middle Easterners are not considered to be Asians in the 2006-2011 Australian Census. Russians are classified with "Southern and Eastern Europeans" while Middle Easterners are classified with "North African and Middle Easterners". [2]
"Asian" in the UK and Anglophone Africa
Main article: British Asian
In the United Kingdom and certain parts of Anglophone Africa, especially East Africa, the term "Asian," though it can refer to the continent of Asia as a whole, is more commonly associated with the people and cultures of South Asia.[citation needed] This includes modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Those of East Asian origin, such as the Chinese or Vietnamese (referred to as Oriental in the UK and the Commonwealth), are usually not included in the term. This is reflected in the "ethnic group" section of UK census forms, which treat "Asian" and "Chinese" as separate (see British Asian).[3]
The term "Desi" is also often used by the South Asian diaspora around the world, including in the UK, US, and Africa, to refer to another South Asian person.[4]
Many Chinese South Africans dislike the label "Asian," which they associate with being Indian or South Asian.[citation needed]
The United Kingdom and Anglophone Africa are two places in the Western world where the word "Asian" is used primarily to identify people from the Indian subcontinent. South Asians are usually not seen as "Asian" by appearance in North America in much the same way that East Asians are not seen as "Asians" by appearance in the United Kingdom. Of course, in Asia, the word "Asian" has a more localized definition when describing people by face, and is more inclusive when describing Asians by culture.
"Asian" in Canada
Main article: Asian Canadian
The colloquial term "Asian" in Canada is similar in usage to that of the United States. Since about 1990, it refers to people from East Asia and Southeast Asia such as those from China, Japan, and Korea. It also sometimes includes South Asians. "Asian" is often considered to be a more polite (or, some would say, a more politically correct) alternative to "Oriental." This is partially due to the perception among academics that the term "Oriental" hearkens to a long-outdated, Eurocentric worldview, one in which Europe is Occidental (Western), and Asia is Oriental (Eastern). As a further subclassification, West Asia is the "Near East" (or Middle East) and East and South Asia comprise the "Far East." These terms are set geographically in relation to Europe, and hence are often considered controversial for their Eurocentricity.
"Asian" in the United States
Main article: Asian American
On the 2000 US Census Asian Americans includes
East Asian Americans
Southeast Asian Americans
South Asian Americans
For purposes of the U.S. Census, the term "Asian" is defined as "people who have origins in the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent".[5] Respondents can also report more specific ancestry, such as Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Pakistani, Laotian, Thai, Bhutanese, and so on, including "Other Asian". Someone reporting these ancestries but no race will be classified as "Asian". Turks, Iranians, Arabs of the Mashriq, Israelis, Central Asians, and the indigenous peoples of Siberia, are "Asians" in the continental sense, but are not currently classified as "Asian" in the U.S. Census.
United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind 261 U.S. 204 (1923)[6] was a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided that Bhagat Singh Thind, a native of India, could not be a naturalized citizen of the United States, despite the fact that a number anthropologists had defined members of the Indian subcontinent as being members of the Caucasian race. The ruling followed a decision in Takao Ozawa v. United States where the same court had ruled that a light-skinned native of Japan could not count as "white", because "White" meant "Caucasian"[7], establishing White and Caucasian to be interchangeable terms for a single people of whom neither Japanese Americans nor Indian Americans are included.[8] Although the restrictions on immigration and naturalization of East and South Asians were later repealed, the practice of classifying East and South Asians in an "Asian" category, but West Asians (whose immigration and naturalization was never restricted) in the "White" category probably has its roots in this period.
According to Sharon M. Lee in her 1998 publication, for many non-Asian Americans in the United States (in 1998) Asian American means Oriental, Chinese American or Japanese American. This is due to the Chinese and Japanese immigrants being the first immigrants into the United States. Today, with the increasing demographic of Korean Americans, South Asian Americans and Southeast Asian Americans the definition among United States citizens of who is Asian American is expanding.[9]
Facebook
Twitter