FACT: “Oriental” Is A Racist Word

I’m imploring everyone to join me in banning the word “oriental” due to its racist implications on the people it is used to label and because of its harmful implications on our society. “Orientalism” historically captures Western Europe’s views on the “East”, a giant expanse of the earth including the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. Use of this term allowed control of how the “East” was viewed by the West, and how people from the “East” were viewed and regarded. The narratives associated with this term continue to hold true today, continuing to label us as the “other” to what is mainstream. “Orientalism” describes us as exotic, feminized, sexualized and foreign. As we became exoticized, our culture, art, foods, medicine became productized for Western appetites and Western capitalism. As a result, our worth —when or whether we are trendy or valuable — slipped out of our hands and into the control of Western narratives. This makes being an acupuncturist of Asian descent ironically complicated and difficult.

Influential Point, a grassroots online platform committed to advancing health diversity, equity and inclusion in global healthcare, started a petition back in July to remove the word “oriental” from the professions of acupuncture and East Asian Medicine. When I asked Dr. Tamsin Lee, founder of Influential Point, how the petition came to be, she explained that “as an Asian American, I always felt uncomfortable with the o-word in the profession.” She even mentions it deterred her from pursing her career path initially. I can really relate because I hesitated in choosing my acupuncture school for the same reason. Dr. Lee did not let racism stop her. She says, “acupuncture and East Asian medicine changed my life. It allowed me to stand on my own two feet and walk again after being paralyzed, so despite the fact that this profession had a racist term, I decided to pursue it.” I don’t think mine and Dr. Lee’s feelings and experience are so isolated. Dr. Lee addresses this when she explains to me that, “throughout my education, I always wanted to connect with others that might have been feeling the same about the o-word. At the time, I didn’t have the language to describe what I was experiencing but now I know what I was experiencing was a daily violent attack.” She even accounts a conversation with a BIPOC patient who helped her come to the conclusion that, “words can empower or oppress us. This word oppresses people.”

I’ve seen a lot of positive support from my immediate community (because you are all amazing)! At the same time, some of my colleagues have received pushback, with comments ranging from “why is this a bad word?”, “Geez, are rugs racist now?” to “What do you expect schools and organizations to do? This will be expensive, difficult and time consuming to change”. Dr. Lee who has likely been dealing with the brunt of the negative comments makes a very important point that, “they use various excuses as a means to distract others from the fundamental purpose of this petition and that is to make this profession safe for students, practitioners and patients. It’s not safe right now because it’s defined by a xenophobic term that is rooted in a history of violence in the United States.”

What is perhaps even more disappointing about unsupportive reactions to the petition is that many members of my own community (people of East Asian descent), are not standing up against the racist o-word. It can be discouraging when you don’t feel support from who you consider to be your own people. Discussing this with Dr. Lee, she reminds me of how complicated our internal struggles are by saying, “one thing is the different lived experiences of Asians. Asian immigrants have a vastly different experience than 1st, 2nd, 3rd generation Asian Americans. As Asians, we’ve also been conditioned to believe in the model minority stereotype and we don’t learn our Asian American history in school. The power and privilege that some Asians have been given comes with a long list of conditions, and one of them is to stay silent. We’ve been conditioned to believe that if we speak up and use our power and privilege to fight for our basic moral and ethical values then we won’t have the opportunities that our parents or grandparents have worked so hard for us to have.”

Dr. Lee and IP have been met with a lot of positive support. Some have expressed discomfort with using the o-word but didn’t feel like it was their place to say anything because they’re not Asian. This made Dr. Lee realize that Asian acupuncturists, should do more to be in the forefront about this issue as the medicine comes from our cultures. Dr. Lee adds, “for some, I get the sense they have just been waiting for someone to actually bring this issue to light. IP has received emails and DMs from folx that have added brackets to their title to acknowledge their solidarity. One person actually threw out their degree in the trash!”

When schools and organizations label East Asian Medicine (Chinese Medicine, Korean Medicine or Japanese Medicine), “oriental”, it makes it difficult for people to accept our medicine as something to be taken seriously; it becomes something to “other” and something “different” from what is accepted as “normal,” “mainstream,” or “standard care.” We are instead labeled “alternative”. There are real consequences to this attitude. Insurance companies are less likely to reimburse our services, making it difficult for patients to pay out-of-pocket for ongoing treatments. During a pandemic the media portrays herbal medicine as frivolous, when it could actually save lives. Recklessly using a label that is racist harms all of us: acupuncturists, herbalists, patients, people of Asian descent, people affected by other types of discrimination, those affected by medical racism, and all people of color. Some people seek East Asian Medicine because they feel they have not been treated with proper care in other healthcare settings. As acupuncturists, we must be aware of this, address any internal biases and do better for our patients. There are over 5,000 acupuncturists where I live in New York State, yet the petition to remove the o-word has only recently broke the 2,000 mark on signatures. Sign and share this petition.

Words Can Be Harmful. Racism Kills People.

I have recently been disappointed to see even some of my once-respected white male teachers react poorly and irresponsibly to POC acupuncturists’ concerns on cultural appropriation and micro-aggressions in our field. This is not just disappointing, it is alarming. Acupuncture school is such an unsafe place for Asian people. (I’m betting it is unsafe for other POC as well.) In my experience, well-meaning white teachers and inexperienced students sometimes tried to correct me on my own culture due to their own ignorance or lack of exposure. Some people will disagree with me. Others will say this is ironic or unacceptable but from my experience, it is strategic and widely accepted. It makes me think about how they might benefit from this attitude and the o-word. Despite President Obama’s signature on a bill to remove the word “oriental” from all federal laws in 2016, in a LA Times opinion piece, Dr. Jayne Tsuchiyama, Doctor of Acupuncture, irresponsibly wrote in 2016: “As an oriental, I am bemused. Apparently Asians are supposed to feel demeaned if someone refers to us as orientals.” Her words give any white supremacist ammo to continue oppressing us and others. This is because those who think it’s OK simply have not learned the history of the word and the history of Asian Americans in the US and/or do not have the capacity to think about the larger picture critically. While I’m briefly saddened for the ignorant, I am angered and frustrated daily by the impact of such recklessness. It is harmful to everyone when the o-word is used with the implications its connotation carries. Those inflicting them and those receiving them can act like micro-aggressions are no big deal, but the fact of the matter is that they play into the determination of real life experiences: whether someone gets a job offer, a raise or promotion, proper treatment in a healthcare environment, a fair mortgage rate, a traffic ticket, an arrest, accused of a crime they didn’t commit or much much worse. Being silent and complacent is harmful to everyone.

I’m Ashamed of Dr. Tsuchiyama’s Words

I’m ashamed because she is East Asian, like me, and an acupuncturist, like me. I am ashamed because East Asian American women often look “all the same” to many people and I don’t want anyone to see her and think of me.  I’m angry because I have worked too hard every day of my life to fight these words and their impact, and she so self-righteously and irresponsibly has encouraged them to be printed in the LA Times and her words continue to be used as a reference to support racism in the field of East Asian medicine. I am embarrassed because she closes her opinion piece with comments about how acupuncturists have bigger problems like getting coverage from Medicare and Medicaid and how the influence of big pharma affects how people regard East Asian Medicine. What she fails to connect is that bias against East Asian people is also bias against our medicine. Allowing people to label us with the o-word also gives up our power and control to those with influence and power to decide whether our East Asian culture and our medicine is trendy, beautiful, exotic, based on science or valid and in the same breath, and exploit our medicine to serve their motives while erasing our heritage and ancestry. How often is East Asian Medicine portrayed as mystical, exotic and magical so that people can think it is not scientific? Not only does this affect us as Asian people, but it allows many people who fall into the trap of the model minority, Orientalism, to become pawns against other people of color. This is why I feel Asian communities need to wake up to what is being done to us in this country and stop accepting the use of the o-word. During my doctoral studies, we often discuss how our profession is not given adequate recognition, leading to our inability to get reimbursement, but no one points to the bias against our medicine due to its roots in China or East Asia. The United States has had a history of robbing East Asians of dignity and power: the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), Japanese Internment camps (1942-1945), and the model minority myth during WWII to use us against other people of color. The biases and stereotypes behind these systems oppressing East Asians still exist today. There have been over 2000 anti-Asian American hate crimes reported so far amidst the pandemic where #45 has openly declared the novel coronavirus as “Kung flu” or “The China Virus”. It’s pretty safe to assume that the numbers are underreported. There was an 89-year old woman who was set on fire in Brooklyn and the NYPD did not consider it a hate crime. The anti-Asian sentiments of the past are still very much living in our country and in its people today. Unfortunately, these sentiments on top of all the other racist and patriarchal ideologies are held by those with disproportionate financial, political, and social power. I hope that by today, Dr. Tsuchiyama has a different perspective from what was published in 2016. Consider this a call in.

Rugs Are Not Racist, But You Might Be Upholding A System That Is

When I graduated from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, I had just finished 4 years in a Master’s program studying every second of my waking life and could not bear to hang the diploma up because it contained the o-word twice. Once in the name of the school and a second time in the degree. While Pacific College officially changed their school name January 1, 2020 to Pacific College of Health Sciences they announced that the name change was because the school’s offerings have expanded outside of East Asian medicine. There was no mention about the use of the o-word. The degree I hold is titled “Master’s of Science in Oriental Medicine”. This still needs to be addressed. This move by the school feels more like erasure than it does responsibility, support or solidarity. I studied tirelessly to pass all four of the national board exams (NCCAOM) and I don’t display that certification proudly because it contains the o-word.

During a recent NCCAOM (National Certification Commission For Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) and ASA (American Society of Acupuncturists) town hall meeting that was meant to address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in our field, a speaker asserted that it is racist to call a person “oriental” because the word is used to describe objects like rugs and art. DEAD ASS WRONG. Let me be clear: the rug is not racist, but using the word “oriental” to describe it is racist. It felt like a dagger in me during a talk that was supposed to be about DEI. It is possible that this was NCCAOM’s way of justifying the fact that they use the o-word in the name of their organization. It is possible that NCCAOM and ASA know about the petition (they definitely know about it) and would rather not respond respectfully with a name change because there are people in their organization would find it “time-consuming” and/or “expensive,” and trying to get Medicare and Medicaid coverage is far more important to them.  What NCCAOM and ASA are missing is that these are one and the same issue. I’ll say it again! Garnering mainstream appreciation for Eastern Medicine is a means for it to be reimbursed. I am left to wonder whether it is possible that NCCAOM and ASA benefits from being able to decide how East Asian people are viewed in the field of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Curiously, during this same town hall meeting there was an announcement about the annual contest they would hold for Acupuncture Medicine Day which was previously called Acupuncture and “Oriental” Medicine (AOM) Day. Strategic? NCCAOM and ASA have yet to make a public statement about it, but they as organizations, do not seem to support the petition. Dr. Lee contacted the ASA months before starting the petition to ask if there was anyone doing any work to remove the o-word. Her emails were met with silence all three times despite being a speaker at a town hall meeting in the past. To give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe there are internal struggles within the organization. However, while they work out whether we are rugs or people, I just don’t feel it’s fair or responsible for them to have discussions on DEI. The sudden push for DEI feels like a performative response to the recent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement when you consider all the racism within our field that has gone on unaddressed. Dr. Lee adds, “Furthermore, they never and still haven’t sent an email about the increase in anti-Asian violence that has been occurring since January 2020. I find this difficult to understand because we study, practice and profit off of Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and yet there’s been no dialogue about supporting these communities.” This generally shows a lack of support for the Asian community and the protection of Orientalism. It is upsetting and some would call it total f*ckery that I feel obligated to give this organization money because I want to stay nationally board certified, yet be burned by the word on my certification while trying to practice the medicine of my ancestors in order to inform me about why I am who I am in a country that upholds white supremacy. It is difficult to not feel certain ways about this. There is privilege in academia and I acknowledge the privilege in my choices, but it is still total f*ckery and I struggle with it personally.

CSOMA (California State Oriental Medical Association) and ABORM (American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine) are making moves to take the word out of their organization names. Though it may be costly and time-consuming, some organizations seem to believe it is all worth it in order to take action in our field against systemic racism and uphold our medicine to a higher standard.

How Do You Benefit?

To those who still have a problem with what I’m saying and don’t have a problem with the o-word, instead of letting me know you disagree and that you should have the right to use racist words to describe rugs, objects and medicine (sorry, I really don’t care to hear it!), I ask you to truly contemplate it. What do you gain from the word “oriental”? Does it make your life easier to not be required to talk about it or attend meetings about removing it from your organization or school’s name? How do you benefit from the use of the word? Does it help you to feel more valid when you pursue East Asian Medicine, take classes in Martial Arts, buy art, learn a new language, open a wellness center? Does it give you more control over how Asian people are viewed in the field of East Asian Medicine? How does it benefit you? What are you protecting? Racism does not work in mysterious ways. The ideology of racism is strategic and systemic, and is built around keeping certain people down. I write this all to say that Orientalism is piece of a larger history that is systemic racism and white supremacy. Racism targeted against any certain group hurts all of us. To those that feel uncomfortable about the spotlight that has been cast on racism, revealing the ugliness of its layers, I say, “good.” It means that you don’t feel good about what’s going on and that is a natural response to clear injustices in our society. Feeling uncomfortable means you need explore it. Allow that discomfort to be the beginning of why you choose to change. Sign the petition. —here’s that link again!

A Matter Of Respect

Some might read my words and feel I am being disrespectful. Redefine what that means after you’ve been called a racist word, pay good hard earned money for a graduate degree with racist words on your diploma and pay good hard earned money to have a board certification with racist words on your documents. I fully recognize that it was my choice and my privilege to go to a certain school to keep a national board certification but this is also what was available to me in a field that I am ancestrally connected to in a country that upholds white supremacy. Here is the thing, people make mistakes, but they should be acknowledged and corrected in order to stop harming others in a field where we are taught, do no harm. Now I ask, which is more disrespectful? When something is obviously harmful and continues to be upheld OR when someone who has been disrespected calls “f*ckery” on those who uphold harmful and racist notions?

Organizations, Schools and people who are still using the o-word, stop harming us!

Sign the petition if you’re an acupuncturist, a patient, someone who hates racism and injustice.

Disclaimers: This is not a call out to Pacific College, ASA, NCCAOM or Dr. Tsuchiyama —It is a call in. History speaks for itself. We have so much work to do. Let’s start talking about it.  

Thank you Dr. Tamsin Lee for providing your opinions and your continued work to protect the Asian community and the professions of Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine. Please follow the work of Influential Point on Instagram.

Written By Emily Grace Siy, L.Ac.

September 13, 2020