When people here say "Asian", primarily they mean east Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and southeast Asian (Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, etc).
People from the Philippines and Indonesia are more problematic to average Americans, who will often assume them to be Asian, Hispanic, or American Indian (depending on where in the US). Most Filipinos/as will self-identify as Filipino/a rather than Asian. According to the latest US census, they are classified under the category "Hawaiian Native/Other Pacific Islander". (The old category was "Asian/Pacific Islander").
People from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are even more difficult for Americans. People from India are often just "Indian", and the average American probably won't distinguish Indian from Pakistani, etc. Those more aware may say "South Asian". South Asians are supposed to check Asian on the census form, and although they are technically considered Caucasian, they aren't considered "white". More recently Pakistan has been grouped in with the next category:
"Middle Eastern"...which is very visible these days. Primarily it is used for people from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, etc. The term may also cover people originating anywhere from Morocco to Afghanistan. Average Americans may use "Arab" interchangeably with "Middle Eastern". Sometimes they will not be able to distinguish that term from "Muslim", which of course is a religious category, not a "racial" one. People of "Middle Eastern" descent are classified as "Caucasian", but are also not "white".
"Hispanic" is supposed to be an ethnic category, not a racial one (race and 'hispanic or not' are separate questions on the census), but the average American doesn't distinguish. They are most often not considered "white", although some are "Caucasian".
I guess it just shows you how difficult it is to group people by artificial constructs like race...
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probably more than you wanted to know
Date: 2005-07-22 05:19 pm (UTC)People from the Philippines and Indonesia are more problematic to average Americans, who will often assume them to be Asian, Hispanic, or American Indian (depending on where in the US). Most Filipinos/as will self-identify as Filipino/a rather than Asian. According to the latest US census, they are classified under the category "Hawaiian Native/Other Pacific Islander". (The old category was "Asian/Pacific Islander").
People from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are even more difficult for Americans. People from India are often just "Indian", and the average American probably won't distinguish Indian from Pakistani, etc. Those more aware may say "South Asian". South Asians are supposed to check Asian on the census form, and although they are technically considered Caucasian, they aren't considered "white". More recently Pakistan has been grouped in with the next category:
"Middle Eastern"...which is very visible these days. Primarily it is used for people from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, etc. The term may also cover people originating anywhere from Morocco to Afghanistan. Average Americans may use "Arab" interchangeably with "Middle Eastern". Sometimes they will not be able to distinguish that term from "Muslim", which of course is a religious category, not a "racial" one. People of "Middle Eastern" descent are classified as "Caucasian", but are also not "white".
"Hispanic" is supposed to be an ethnic category, not a racial one (race and 'hispanic or not' are separate questions on the census), but the average American doesn't distinguish. They are most often not considered "white", although some are "Caucasian".
I guess it just shows you how difficult it is to group people by artificial constructs like race...