The person who told me I used it offensively didnt really explain why to me. I've avoided saying the word for years straight now. I still don't know how to say the word ethnic appropriately.

I can't help but think I might have said it with a colonial perspective

Btw, why is it perfectly fine here?

  • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
    ·
    4 days ago

    Off the top of my head I would define "ethnic" as a "traditional thing done by a minority group" with a focus on the minority group as an other. A workaround is simply to avoid the word and use a word like "traditional" and/or the adjective form for minority group in question.

    • "Cornrows are an ethnic hairstyle," is offensive.
    • "Cornrows are a black hairstyle." I don't know if "traditional" is a good fit here because I don't know much about cornrows.

    Btw, why is it perfectly fine here?

    The first paragraph with my edit

    Li Jie, a skilled embroiderer from southwest China's Yunnan Province, infuses intangible cultural heritage items such as traditional embroidery and silver ornaments with modern fashion elements, creating ethnic costumes that captivate consumers and breathe new life into traditional clothing.

    My hunch is that the article was written in Mandarin and translated. And translations can have problematic words and phrases.

    ---

    Ninja edit

    Why Do American Grocery Stores Still Have an Ethnic Aisle?

    This international hodgepodge strikes many shoppers and food purveyors as antiquated. But doing away with it isn’t as easy as it might sound.

    [...]

    “I buy Finnish crackers. Why are they not in the ethnic aisle?” she said. “An Asian rice cracker would be in the ethnic aisle.”

    • Sulvor [he/him, undecided]M
      ·
      4 days ago

      I would define "ethnic" as a "traditional thing done by a minority group"

      Not trying to jump on you here but I think associating ethnicity only with minorities is a Western/American brainworm that reinforces "whiteness" as the default, and to an extent "superior". I feel like it connects to viewing minorities as "exotic"/other-ing them. I know you're not saying it this way and if anybody else has thoughts about this I'd love to hear them.

    • Jabril [none/use name]
      ·
      4 days ago

      Ethnicity is just a group or subgroup with distinct cultural features. Nothing to do with minorities or majorities aside from how being in either group influenced their particular customs. There are majority ethnic groups and minority ethnic groups

    • ProfessorOwl_PhD [any]
      ·
      4 days ago

      "Cornrows are an ethnic hairstyle," is offensive.

      I think you chose a bad example for this - afaik cornrows are specifically an African American thing, which would make them an ethnic hairstyle - a hairstyle specific to people of African American ethnicity. I know that your point was using it as a replacement for black is offensive, but the specific example ended up making a sentence that has its own valid meaning.