East West - The Asian American Lifestyle Magazine

Update on 4/12: This bill has now passed in the Senate and is on its way to Gov. Janet Napolitano's desk.

By Sonu Munshi

Madeline Ong-Sakata will never forget her father's words to her as a child: “You are Chinese American, remember that.” Ong-Sakata, now editor and publisher of the Asian SUNews in Arizona, would promptly reply, “Daddy, I am American-Chinese!”

In Ong-Sakata's hyphenated world, a third term, “Oriental,” generally associated with eastern exotica and people foreign and inscrutable from a western viewpoint, would sometimes creep in.

“Being referred to as one made me feel like I was not American,” she says.

A meeting with members of the Asian/Asian Pacific American Students' Coalition at Arizona State University, who said the term bothered them, prompted Ong-Sakata to spearhead Senate Bill 1295 in February to replace each reference to “Oriental” in official state literature with “Asian.”

“I figured the time has come to do something now before another generation of our youth has to feel inferior,” she says.

Washington State and California have already passed similar bills.

The Asian American Journalists Association, a national non-profit professional organization, has lent its support to the bill. “Removing this antiquated and derogatory term for Asians will enable Arizona to extend the same respect and honor that is granted to other racial and ethnic groups who express preferences for the terms by which they are regarded,” the association stated.

Philadelphia-based trial attorney Tsiwen M. Law, a leading advocate for the Asian American community who has taught Asian American studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, hopes for a formal recognition from the Arizona government that “Oriental” is no longer acceptable terminology.  He says the concept of "oriental" was constructed to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration to the United States, with the term helping to add skepticism about people from China.

Jeri Kishiyama Auther, a member of the local Asian Chamber of Commerce, hopes the measure will get passed in the House and Senate and be on Gov. Janet Napolitano's desk for signing by April’s end.

She says making a change in the state documents is an important first step. “If you change it within the state statute, people's perceptions will ultimately change, even if not overnight.”

Perceptions have hurt ASU kinesiology senior Sophia Swangaroon, a licensed massage therapist. She testified before the Senate about how her industry's reputation can be frustrating. “Because of the 'O' word, people tend to associate it with the 'late night' business,” says the 25-year-old, of Thai-Vietnamese descent.

Echoes Ong-Sakata: “Oriental rugs and art is OK, but oriental massage? What picture does that put in your mind?”

But not everyone thinks negatively of the term. In fact, Swangaroon says the problem is that many people, including some in the Senate, have no idea it is offensive to Asian Americans.

Arizona resident Jeffrey Lim, 24, could be counted as one. “My experience with this word comes from folks (non-Asians) using the word to describe food, clothes or a market,” Lim says. 

Or New York City resident Yiying Lee who thinks of “Orient” as an old-world term rather than something derogatory. “I guess some people think of it as implying submissiveness or prostitution and other situations that the Asian world was known for when the West met the East,” she says.

Lee adds that even if she does hear someone use the term, she just dismisses the person as being a bit backward. “Personally, I think there are a lot more pressing issues to concern myself with.”

That reality can hurt those like Auther, who says not everyone can understand, but still, it's important to educate people.

“I happen to be an American of Japanese ancestry,” she says. “Just call me Asian American.”

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