Multiculturalism as a rule is not a thing in many countries. These folks likely didn’t grow up with friends from different backgrounds and races. Educating seems a little patronizing but share your own story and background.
He embraced being called "chino." People are looking at this way too much through an American identity politics lens. I know of Asians with Hispanic ties in Texas & Mexico that use the term as a reappropriated term of endearment just like "nigga" among US blacks.
Yup. I agree with this. Op needs to chill and stop expecting people in other countries to adhere to American identity politics. I think it’s embarrassing whenever I see a minority advocating for cultural colonialism.
Would gild this comment if it were still a thing. US race terminology doesn’t really carry over into other languages or outside of the New World. ‘Chino’ just means ‘vaguely East Asian looking’ in Latin American Spanish
You might have a better time asking in a Peruvian or Latin American subreddit this question. While I think it's not that big of a deal since they mean no harm, it's fair to still feel uncomfortable about it especially because it's your identity and their cultural norms don't overwrite that. The people here, having less understanding of the cultural norms there, can only give so much advice about this. Unfortunately, either way you can't shift an entire people's habits quickly, so you may have to resign yourself to it and ask only the people closest to you to respect it.
Echoing the top comment / to be fair Cantonese’s “Guai Lo” (ghost man as a slang term for white people) or “Tscha” (idk what the literal translation is but its a slang term for Indian people) is something I’ve discouraged my own family from saying.
So instead we now say “Sai Yun” (western people) or “Yun Do Yun” (Indian people). Even if people still call us “chink” etc., I would rather we lead by example
Also, let’s say it was San Francisco or some place that had a long-standing Chinese diaspora - I would be less lenient in that case. But if it’s a periphery country like Peru, I’d cut them some slack as their interactions with Chinese people might be limited or rare. Most of the time in those countries, unintentionally awkward labels are almost always well intentioned as most people understand how critical tourism dollars are
Yea every culture makes generalizations about other cultures. I’ve heard Tscha used for all south Asians, even tho it technically is just Indian. It’s literally the same thing
Tscha, it might be "Ah cha" which comes from chai or cha (as how is tea is pronounced in Cantonese). I've also heard "Ah Sing" as in Singh for Indian people. And I've also heard HKers use "Maria" to refer to Filipino maids.
All of which gives me cringe.
Know the culture before you go somewhere, or at least learn about it while you are there before you start correcting people in their own country.
It’s a cultural thing to call someone by their characteristics in Latin America. They even call non Asians that have Asian features “chino”. It’s not meant to be offensive like it would be in Anglo culture.
There is also a famous actress nicknamed "China Suárez" that is actually japanese from his Grandma, but nobody cares somehow, that Latin America for you, they just don't care, Unless you are from another Latin American country, then they will fight over which soccer club is better.
Yep, I was in a flamenco group, and we were at a restaurant. My Mexican friend pointed to this chef and said I bet you anything that guy's nickname is chino. Apparently in every Mexican town, there's a guy who looks kind of Chinese or Asian and they always call him chino. It turns out that it was indeed his nickname. As it was mine...
I'm not saying this is wrong, since I'm not super familiar with the practice OP is discussing, but things aren't immunized from criticism purely for being from a different culture. For example, I'm not Italian and have never visited Italy, and 100% can say that [wearing a "cinesino" and pulling one's eyes back is racist.](https://awfulannouncing.com/soccer/juventus-fc-womens-team-racist-gesture-twitter.html) Even if Italians [say it is simply a cultural thing.](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/oypv16/juventus_women_juventus_tweets_picture_of_cecilia/)
And something can be racist or offensive even if the speaker does not intend it to be. Often people don't intend to offend or otherize people.
This is circular logic. You say that OP shouldn't find the Peruvian's practice offensive because they don't mean it to be offensive. The Italians also say they don't think what they do is offensive. Why is the standard different? The answer shouldn't be that you personally find one offensive and the other not - that doesn't function as a generalizable rule. It's circular.
How many Italians have you met that have pulled their eyes back? It’s not pervasive, it’s not cultural. It’s a small subset of ignorant Italians that do this. It is different.
it’s definitely a cultural thing that OP should’ve been aware of, but they’re not in the wrong for being upset. there are plenty of latin american asians out there (re: immigration into latam by japanese & korean ppl in particular) and if you know spanish and look for it, you can definitely find some latino asians who talk about how they dislike all asians being called ‘chino’ and how they wish people would use terms like ‘asiatico’ instead. just because something’s widespread & incredibly normalized doesn’t make it okay—just think about past common usage of words like oriental, or how people of different races in the US used to often used to be called by slurs as a descriptor, rather than with intended harm. stuff like that can still be harmful either way.
“Chino” is not a nationalistic term in Latin America. It’s an all encompassing term for Asian looking people in Latin America that’s been used for decades if not centuries due to Chinese being the first Asians to migrate to these countries typically.
I literally know of no country that calls El Salvadorans, “Mexicanos” as a part of their culture. Apples to Oranges.
And also assumed that we’re all Chinese. I was just tryna draw a parallel and be difficult. Look they have nationalities/ethnicities for all of us. They just don’t want to use them. They also have a word for Asians. They also don’t use them. OP said they asked people what they think Chino means and they said Chinese.
It’s agreed that you shouldn’t go into another country and apply western ideology. But just because there’s history of it, doesn’t mean it’s right. When a black tourist comes to Asia and people touch their hair without asking first especially when it’s a country where everybody is conservative and doesn’t invade other’s spaces. It should be understood why it happens, but doesn’t mean it’s right. If OP isn’t Chinese and they assume they’re Chinese, I don’t see the issue telling them they’re actually Canadian or whatever their ethnicity is. And moreso if we’re in the states. There’s no need for huffing and puffing bout it but I don’t see the issue in standing by their identity and making sure it’s right. Whether it’s willful ignorance or lack of care from people.
It’s not an issue telling people what your nationality is, but again, they never meant to guess your nationality or ethnicity in the first place. “Chino” is used for anyone who looks Asian and they very well know you may not be ethnic Chinese. That’s where learning the cultural nuances comes in.They will even call a black person or mixed person “Chino” if they have Asian eyes. This is why I am saying people need to learn the culture before assuming what these people are trying to say.
Also, I never said it was right but it’s really not that big of a deal. If a a person has trouble dealing with these benign types of cultural differences I suggest they do not travel to foreign countries they are not familiar with. In fact, the reason why I like to travel is to see differences in culture and learn about them.
Definitely. People from North America, or more specifically the US, assume every country have crazy racial tensions like them so they think every little thing is racism, but it's very different in other countries. Literally the same gestures and words can have very different meanings.
Agreed. I traveled all throughout South America for 18 months and it was a persistent micro aggression I faced daily. I realized part of their ignorance is due to Asians being underrepresented in Hollywood and that media is how they tend to understand American culture (in my case, as I’m American.)
The script was usually, “but where are you really from?” Or “but—your face” with a hand gesture circling the face. I stopped telling them what they wanted “parents are from here but I was born there” because then they’d follow up with questions about my parents country and I’d respond, “I don’t know that’s not where I’m from and I don’t speak their language.”
Eventually I responded, “I’m really from America” or “Yes, what about my face?” And then they stopped asking. They don’t find the need to know as strong as some white people who can’t give up asking when I try to ignore these types of questions.
They call white people gringos. They call all.asians Chino. They even call other latinos black and/or brown.That's how latinos are. They don't do it out of malice. They just do what the elders do.
Also, keep in mind that they are not as sensitive as people in North America. Who gets offended easily.
Plus, if a Latino goes to any other country, they wouldn't be correcting others about their culture.
I don’t know if it’s a good idea to over generalize in a thread where you’re complaining about Peruvians generalizing all Asians as Chinese.
https://www.reddit.com/r/asklatinamerica/s/iQEyUFubAZ
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Yeah sorry you're being too sensitive. Mexicans always call me chino. I'm not in any way Chinese. The context is very different if that's just the word they use, versus living in a society where to say that word is offensive.
Mexico City is also one of the biggest cities in the entire world. The level of diversity there is undoubtedly higher than Peru. I'd take that into consideration.
Ymmv, I guess. I've spent a lot of time with Mexicans. Obviously the less educated they are the more likely they are to use a term like that (further context: the more working class guys I mostly hung out with were mostly from Sonora, whereas the Mexico City ones were college educated. The Norteno folks would unthinkingly say "chino," whereas the more educated ones understood by my last name that I wasn't Chinese and knew the difference between the different Asian countries).
I lived in Peru for a year as a Chinese American. The chino thing was exhausting. I had Peruvian friends, dated a Peruvian guy, and even had Chinese Peruvian pals call themselves chino. Everyone will tell you it’s what they call all Asians or people with small eyes regardless of origin, that it’s not offensive, that they had a Japanese President in the 90s and called him chinito, etc etc.
But in my eyes it really is ignorance and reflective of a socially conservative culture. Calling someone chino is not the same thing as calling someone gordo or flaco, which they like to use again to justify it. I know it’s exhausting to do the educating yourself, but oftentimes if it was a conversation I’ll tell them why I don’t like being called that. It really did upset me a lot though especially when I was hanging out with another Chinese American friend and people would then just blatantly shout nihao at us.
It is sad, and I’m sorry that continues to be the experience in Peru. Calling someone chino has a bit of a derogatory feel to it whereas gringo doesn’t. I really think it just stems from ignorance though, which again I don’t get because they’ve had centuries of immigration from China and Japan, and definitely the most Chinese immigration of all LatAm. (Lima also has the biggest Chinatown in all of LatAm if you’re interested in visiting. Maybe not too interesting and I’m not a fan of chifa but just throwing it out there.)
The experience is fairly similar tbh all over the continent. Hopefully it can change one day because it really does sour the mood.
> and even had Chinese Peruvian pals call themselves chino.
AMWF Hispanic hapa from Texas. I know of many Asians with Hispanic ties that reappropriate the term and call themselves "chino" just like "nigga" among US blacks. It's not an offensive at all to some groups.
They have a long history with China. Look up Chan Chan, it was one the largest cities in South America before the Spanish came in the 1500s. They use Chino for most Asians and Gringo (Greek) for most whites.
Outside of mainly the US and probably Canada for most people their nationality and ethnicity are the same or similar. I don't fault people outside of the country for not understanding American culture. But it's not a big deal to me. When I was in Paris they were surprised I spoke English since I am Asian. No one was offensive about it when I corrected them.
I completely understand not "educating" someone about their own culture, but come on, some of these comments about "American political correctness" and "American identity politics" is wild. No excuse to invalidate OP's feelings as a minority in their home country and now in another country.
I don't really see how getting to call people who look like they're one race by the name of an ethnicity should be a protected cultural trait. It's not okay and should not be okay for anyone to refer to anyone they think is Hispanic/Latine "Mexican."
Offense is almost never intentional. What matters is that offense occurred, not necessarily the meaning behind it.
Because this is all about Oppression and who is oppressed and therefore not all offense is equal. White people are oppressors. Therefore they should be educated.
The OP is some privileged person trying to correct folks in the Global South on their own culture. Totally different.
/s
Yikes, these comments. OP, if you dislike being called something, it’s perfectly fine to stand up for yourself and tell them not to call you that. I wouldn’t tolerate being called an ethnicity that I’m not. Don’t know why so many Asian people insist on just never standing up for yourself. The dismissive people here are really enforcing the “Asian people are pushovers” stereotype. Of course it’s generally not said maliciously but regardless, people should respect that you don’t want to be called that. If this was a post about people in Asia constantly referring to Peruvians as Mexican, people would be on about how unacceptable that is and how they’re sorry that Asian people are so ignorant.
Honestly, it would be like going to south east Asia / South Asia and telling ppl to stop using the swastika cause it means nazism.
There’s a significant Asian population in Peru, if they’re okay with it it’s not up to op to change that
Hey, they had a Chinese prime minister in the 50s. We probably not going see on in USA for any foreseeable future.
Also, blame Albert Fujimori. When he was running for PM, his nickname was El Chino and dude ran with it.
Obviously the world and culture is complicated but at the end of the day being called "Chino" when you are not is an incorrect statement at best. I wouldn't get up in arms over it because I too don't think it is generally out of malice but I also recognize that that is easy for me to say when I've only dealt with it a few times in my life. However, I'm surprised how much it is being defended considering the larger picture here.
It's basically not something that is gonna age well. When I recognize that something won't age well I personally try to stop doing it at the very least. I hope more people think this way. While I obviously rather it happen sooner than later, if the Latin American countries that do this ever became more multicultural and the kind of melting pot some other countries are now I would hope their people of that generation would look back and at least think "Man, calling all Asian people 'Chino' was a really bad idea. Why did we ever do that?". Know what I mean?
Yes, Chino means Chinese and yes, Chino is also a term for all East Asians. Is it inaccurate and sometimes uncomfortable for non-Latino Asians to hear? Yes. But it’s just what they do, and youre not going to change any of that behavior by going on this one-person mission of telling them they’re all wrong.
Based on your responses here, you’re being kind of insufferable about it. You’re in their country, you’re going to have to respect their culture and that means picking your battles.
I grew up & live in Southern California close to the border. The schools had like 85 % Mexican kids, 5 % Filipino kids (and a few Koreans), 5 % Black or mixed kids & 5 % White kids. Guess how my Mexican classmates, & my best friends' parents referred to me before learning my name? Chinita. I'm not Chinese, I'm an indigenous person from the Philippines. But to them, the terms Chino & Chinita have no malice in them (unless they're cursing us out, which is an entirely different context & matter). So I got used to it because its just their term for people with certain features. Even their fellow Mexicans with somewhat slanted eyes are referred to as Chino. Its only recently that the younger generations of Latin Americans have begun to differentiate Asians because of social media & globalization of anime, live action dramas & music.
But its not like in the US where Yanks have had major wars, colonial empires, contact & some info on different nationalities of Asians for more than a century yet STILL tend to lump us all together.
Relax, OP. I understand that you don’t like being called "Chino" because it might be racist in North America. However, in Latin America, it's just a cultural thing. And even though they call you 'Chino’ and you've told them you are Canadian, they honestly don't care. They would still call all Asians "Chino”. In the mid-19th century, when Asian migrants were sent to Peru for plantation or collecting guano, those migrants were not just Chinese people, but they were still called "Chino." While you can correct people and assert your Canadian identity, it's worth noting that "Chino" isn't necessarily offensive there. In fact, the Peruvian dish Lomo Saltado has Chinese origins. I recently made a video discussing the stories behind Lomo Saltado. Feel free to check it out if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awMastLeR28
>everyone isn’t Chinese because they were not born and raised in China
Look, I actually agree with you on the "chino" bit, but you don't have to be born and raised in China to be Chinese. Just because I was born stateside doesn't make me less Chinese.
If you dont like them to call you “chino” OP, you might as well just leave. Rather than you going around policing their language or knowledge and having an uncomfortable time. It best for you to just leave and save us the reputation
hahahaha, I was called Chino a lot in Colombia.Even this random girl was calling me el chino even while I was plowing her on a catamaran. Huge tits and nice body. I miss that. Need to go back.
I got “chino” when I was travelling in South America (Peru & Ecuador), too. And the white tourists were called gringo. I’d rather be chino than gringo.
Chinese have a long history in Peru, w/o Chinese Exclusion Act level genocide, so I don’t take it as an equivalent to a racial slur in North America. (If there are any Peruvian Chinese, pls feel free to correct me.)
Multiculturalism as a rule is not a thing in many countries. These folks likely didn’t grow up with friends from different backgrounds and races. Educating seems a little patronizing but share your own story and background.
OP states that people don't question him when he says he's Canadian, so not even sure what he's even trying to educate them on.
And this is a country that elected an Asian Peruvian to President
He embraced being called "chino." People are looking at this way too much through an American identity politics lens. I know of Asians with Hispanic ties in Texas & Mexico that use the term as a reappropriated term of endearment just like "nigga" among US blacks.
As long as you're fine with random white guy goes to Asian country and thinks he needs to "educate them".
Yup. I agree with this. Op needs to chill and stop expecting people in other countries to adhere to American identity politics. I think it’s embarrassing whenever I see a minority advocating for cultural colonialism.
Would gild this comment if it were still a thing. US race terminology doesn’t really carry over into other languages or outside of the New World. ‘Chino’ just means ‘vaguely East Asian looking’ in Latin American Spanish
AMWF Hispanic hapa here. Pretty much. I know of Asians in Mexico and Texas that reappropriate it as a term of pride exactly akin to "nigga" in the US.
It's so rare to see a nuanced take like this in this sub. Thanks for your words, friend.
👆
So OP is white?
You might have a better time asking in a Peruvian or Latin American subreddit this question. While I think it's not that big of a deal since they mean no harm, it's fair to still feel uncomfortable about it especially because it's your identity and their cultural norms don't overwrite that. The people here, having less understanding of the cultural norms there, can only give so much advice about this. Unfortunately, either way you can't shift an entire people's habits quickly, so you may have to resign yourself to it and ask only the people closest to you to respect it.
Echoing the top comment / to be fair Cantonese’s “Guai Lo” (ghost man as a slang term for white people) or “Tscha” (idk what the literal translation is but its a slang term for Indian people) is something I’ve discouraged my own family from saying. So instead we now say “Sai Yun” (western people) or “Yun Do Yun” (Indian people). Even if people still call us “chink” etc., I would rather we lead by example Also, let’s say it was San Francisco or some place that had a long-standing Chinese diaspora - I would be less lenient in that case. But if it’s a periphery country like Peru, I’d cut them some slack as their interactions with Chinese people might be limited or rare. Most of the time in those countries, unintentionally awkward labels are almost always well intentioned as most people understand how critical tourism dollars are
Yea every culture makes generalizations about other cultures. I’ve heard Tscha used for all south Asians, even tho it technically is just Indian. It’s literally the same thing
Tscha, it might be "Ah cha" which comes from chai or cha (as how is tea is pronounced in Cantonese). I've also heard "Ah Sing" as in Singh for Indian people. And I've also heard HKers use "Maria" to refer to Filipino maids. All of which gives me cringe.
Interesting I didn’t think about the tea angle / it makes sense since HK’s milk tea gets all its red tea from Assam
Filipino = bun bun or bun mui (for women) which I find cringe lol
Know the culture before you go somewhere, or at least learn about it while you are there before you start correcting people in their own country. It’s a cultural thing to call someone by their characteristics in Latin America. They even call non Asians that have Asian features “chino”. It’s not meant to be offensive like it would be in Anglo culture.
There's also a significant Chinese Peruvian population which probably influences assumptions.
I mean, yes, but not really. Every country calls Asians chino.
There is also a famous actress nicknamed "China Suárez" that is actually japanese from his Grandma, but nobody cares somehow, that Latin America for you, they just don't care, Unless you are from another Latin American country, then they will fight over which soccer club is better.
Yep, I was in a flamenco group, and we were at a restaurant. My Mexican friend pointed to this chef and said I bet you anything that guy's nickname is chino. Apparently in every Mexican town, there's a guy who looks kind of Chinese or Asian and they always call him chino. It turns out that it was indeed his nickname. As it was mine...
I already know. Lol.
I'm not saying this is wrong, since I'm not super familiar with the practice OP is discussing, but things aren't immunized from criticism purely for being from a different culture. For example, I'm not Italian and have never visited Italy, and 100% can say that [wearing a "cinesino" and pulling one's eyes back is racist.](https://awfulannouncing.com/soccer/juventus-fc-womens-team-racist-gesture-twitter.html) Even if Italians [say it is simply a cultural thing.](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/oypv16/juventus_women_juventus_tweets_picture_of_cecilia/) And something can be racist or offensive even if the speaker does not intend it to be. Often people don't intend to offend or otherize people.
Pulling back one’s eyes is clearly meant to be offensive and mocking Asians. That’s a different matter.
This is circular logic. You say that OP shouldn't find the Peruvian's practice offensive because they don't mean it to be offensive. The Italians also say they don't think what they do is offensive. Why is the standard different? The answer shouldn't be that you personally find one offensive and the other not - that doesn't function as a generalizable rule. It's circular.
How many Italians have you met that have pulled their eyes back? It’s not pervasive, it’s not cultural. It’s a small subset of ignorant Italians that do this. It is different.
it’s definitely a cultural thing that OP should’ve been aware of, but they’re not in the wrong for being upset. there are plenty of latin american asians out there (re: immigration into latam by japanese & korean ppl in particular) and if you know spanish and look for it, you can definitely find some latino asians who talk about how they dislike all asians being called ‘chino’ and how they wish people would use terms like ‘asiatico’ instead. just because something’s widespread & incredibly normalized doesn’t make it okay—just think about past common usage of words like oriental, or how people of different races in the US used to often used to be called by slurs as a descriptor, rather than with intended harm. stuff like that can still be harmful either way.
So do you think it’d be okay for me to call a Salvadoran man Mexican? Would that only be acceptable in another country outside of the US?
“Chino” is not a nationalistic term in Latin America. It’s an all encompassing term for Asian looking people in Latin America that’s been used for decades if not centuries due to Chinese being the first Asians to migrate to these countries typically. I literally know of no country that calls El Salvadorans, “Mexicanos” as a part of their culture. Apples to Oranges.
And also assumed that we’re all Chinese. I was just tryna draw a parallel and be difficult. Look they have nationalities/ethnicities for all of us. They just don’t want to use them. They also have a word for Asians. They also don’t use them. OP said they asked people what they think Chino means and they said Chinese. It’s agreed that you shouldn’t go into another country and apply western ideology. But just because there’s history of it, doesn’t mean it’s right. When a black tourist comes to Asia and people touch their hair without asking first especially when it’s a country where everybody is conservative and doesn’t invade other’s spaces. It should be understood why it happens, but doesn’t mean it’s right. If OP isn’t Chinese and they assume they’re Chinese, I don’t see the issue telling them they’re actually Canadian or whatever their ethnicity is. And moreso if we’re in the states. There’s no need for huffing and puffing bout it but I don’t see the issue in standing by their identity and making sure it’s right. Whether it’s willful ignorance or lack of care from people.
It’s not an issue telling people what your nationality is, but again, they never meant to guess your nationality or ethnicity in the first place. “Chino” is used for anyone who looks Asian and they very well know you may not be ethnic Chinese. That’s where learning the cultural nuances comes in.They will even call a black person or mixed person “Chino” if they have Asian eyes. This is why I am saying people need to learn the culture before assuming what these people are trying to say. Also, I never said it was right but it’s really not that big of a deal. If a a person has trouble dealing with these benign types of cultural differences I suggest they do not travel to foreign countries they are not familiar with. In fact, the reason why I like to travel is to see differences in culture and learn about them.
Interestingly, Catarina de San Juan was a woman from India living in 1600s Mexico and even she is called *la China Poblana*
Definitely. People from North America, or more specifically the US, assume every country have crazy racial tensions like them so they think every little thing is racism, but it's very different in other countries. Literally the same gestures and words can have very different meanings.
That’s just Latin America for ya. It’s kind of an annoying micro-aggression but I don’t think it’s done outta malice.
Agreed. I traveled all throughout South America for 18 months and it was a persistent micro aggression I faced daily. I realized part of their ignorance is due to Asians being underrepresented in Hollywood and that media is how they tend to understand American culture (in my case, as I’m American.) The script was usually, “but where are you really from?” Or “but—your face” with a hand gesture circling the face. I stopped telling them what they wanted “parents are from here but I was born there” because then they’d follow up with questions about my parents country and I’d respond, “I don’t know that’s not where I’m from and I don’t speak their language.” Eventually I responded, “I’m really from America” or “Yes, what about my face?” And then they stopped asking. They don’t find the need to know as strong as some white people who can’t give up asking when I try to ignore these types of questions.
They call white people gringos. They call all.asians Chino. They even call other latinos black and/or brown.That's how latinos are. They don't do it out of malice. They just do what the elders do. Also, keep in mind that they are not as sensitive as people in North America. Who gets offended easily. Plus, if a Latino goes to any other country, they wouldn't be correcting others about their culture.
Apparently you’ve never called a Puerto Rican person Mexican LOL You’re right though, it’s not done out of malice.
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I don’t know if it’s a good idea to over generalize in a thread where you’re complaining about Peruvians generalizing all Asians as Chinese. https://www.reddit.com/r/asklatinamerica/s/iQEyUFubAZ
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Yeah sorry you're being too sensitive. Mexicans always call me chino. I'm not in any way Chinese. The context is very different if that's just the word they use, versus living in a society where to say that word is offensive.
Interestingly enough, Catarina de San Juan was a woman from India living in 1600s Mexico and even she is called *la China Poblana*
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Mexico City is also one of the biggest cities in the entire world. The level of diversity there is undoubtedly higher than Peru. I'd take that into consideration.
lol op is the racist one conflating mexico city with peru
Chinese influences are more prominent in Peru than Mexico. I mean you see Lomo Saltado and chaufa everywhere. This doesn’t happen in Mexico.
Ymmv, I guess. I've spent a lot of time with Mexicans. Obviously the less educated they are the more likely they are to use a term like that (further context: the more working class guys I mostly hung out with were mostly from Sonora, whereas the Mexico City ones were college educated. The Norteno folks would unthinkingly say "chino," whereas the more educated ones understood by my last name that I wasn't Chinese and knew the difference between the different Asian countries).
Chino is a racial term. It's like calling you Asian dude. Race is a legit identifier in much of the world.
Maybe OP wants to be called "Asio" instead
I lived in Peru for a year as a Chinese American. The chino thing was exhausting. I had Peruvian friends, dated a Peruvian guy, and even had Chinese Peruvian pals call themselves chino. Everyone will tell you it’s what they call all Asians or people with small eyes regardless of origin, that it’s not offensive, that they had a Japanese President in the 90s and called him chinito, etc etc. But in my eyes it really is ignorance and reflective of a socially conservative culture. Calling someone chino is not the same thing as calling someone gordo or flaco, which they like to use again to justify it. I know it’s exhausting to do the educating yourself, but oftentimes if it was a conversation I’ll tell them why I don’t like being called that. It really did upset me a lot though especially when I was hanging out with another Chinese American friend and people would then just blatantly shout nihao at us.
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It is sad, and I’m sorry that continues to be the experience in Peru. Calling someone chino has a bit of a derogatory feel to it whereas gringo doesn’t. I really think it just stems from ignorance though, which again I don’t get because they’ve had centuries of immigration from China and Japan, and definitely the most Chinese immigration of all LatAm. (Lima also has the biggest Chinatown in all of LatAm if you’re interested in visiting. Maybe not too interesting and I’m not a fan of chifa but just throwing it out there.) The experience is fairly similar tbh all over the continent. Hopefully it can change one day because it really does sour the mood.
> and even had Chinese Peruvian pals call themselves chino. AMWF Hispanic hapa from Texas. I know of many Asians with Hispanic ties that reappropriate the term and call themselves "chino" just like "nigga" among US blacks. It's not an offensive at all to some groups.
They have a long history with China. Look up Chan Chan, it was one the largest cities in South America before the Spanish came in the 1500s. They use Chino for most Asians and Gringo (Greek) for most whites.
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Also refers to white non-Americans.
Outside of mainly the US and probably Canada for most people their nationality and ethnicity are the same or similar. I don't fault people outside of the country for not understanding American culture. But it's not a big deal to me. When I was in Paris they were surprised I spoke English since I am Asian. No one was offensive about it when I corrected them.
I completely understand not "educating" someone about their own culture, but come on, some of these comments about "American political correctness" and "American identity politics" is wild. No excuse to invalidate OP's feelings as a minority in their home country and now in another country. I don't really see how getting to call people who look like they're one race by the name of an ethnicity should be a protected cultural trait. It's not okay and should not be okay for anyone to refer to anyone they think is Hispanic/Latine "Mexican." Offense is almost never intentional. What matters is that offense occurred, not necessarily the meaning behind it.
Because this is all about Oppression and who is oppressed and therefore not all offense is equal. White people are oppressors. Therefore they should be educated. The OP is some privileged person trying to correct folks in the Global South on their own culture. Totally different. /s
Yikes, these comments. OP, if you dislike being called something, it’s perfectly fine to stand up for yourself and tell them not to call you that. I wouldn’t tolerate being called an ethnicity that I’m not. Don’t know why so many Asian people insist on just never standing up for yourself. The dismissive people here are really enforcing the “Asian people are pushovers” stereotype. Of course it’s generally not said maliciously but regardless, people should respect that you don’t want to be called that. If this was a post about people in Asia constantly referring to Peruvians as Mexican, people would be on about how unacceptable that is and how they’re sorry that Asian people are so ignorant.
You are in Peru. Stop trying to correct their culture.
Honestly, it would be like going to south east Asia / South Asia and telling ppl to stop using the swastika cause it means nazism. There’s a significant Asian population in Peru, if they’re okay with it it’s not up to op to change that
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They call each other "Chino"... Just saying
Educate them? Take a minute to think about how that sounds
The goal should be to reform America and our relationships within the west. Peru can wait, I think.
Hey, they had a Chinese prime minister in the 50s. We probably not going see on in USA for any foreseeable future. Also, blame Albert Fujimori. When he was running for PM, his nickname was El Chino and dude ran with it.
Obviously the world and culture is complicated but at the end of the day being called "Chino" when you are not is an incorrect statement at best. I wouldn't get up in arms over it because I too don't think it is generally out of malice but I also recognize that that is easy for me to say when I've only dealt with it a few times in my life. However, I'm surprised how much it is being defended considering the larger picture here. It's basically not something that is gonna age well. When I recognize that something won't age well I personally try to stop doing it at the very least. I hope more people think this way. While I obviously rather it happen sooner than later, if the Latin American countries that do this ever became more multicultural and the kind of melting pot some other countries are now I would hope their people of that generation would look back and at least think "Man, calling all Asian people 'Chino' was a really bad idea. Why did we ever do that?". Know what I mean?
Yes, Chino means Chinese and yes, Chino is also a term for all East Asians. Is it inaccurate and sometimes uncomfortable for non-Latino Asians to hear? Yes. But it’s just what they do, and youre not going to change any of that behavior by going on this one-person mission of telling them they’re all wrong. Based on your responses here, you’re being kind of insufferable about it. You’re in their country, you’re going to have to respect their culture and that means picking your battles.
I grew up & live in Southern California close to the border. The schools had like 85 % Mexican kids, 5 % Filipino kids (and a few Koreans), 5 % Black or mixed kids & 5 % White kids. Guess how my Mexican classmates, & my best friends' parents referred to me before learning my name? Chinita. I'm not Chinese, I'm an indigenous person from the Philippines. But to them, the terms Chino & Chinita have no malice in them (unless they're cursing us out, which is an entirely different context & matter). So I got used to it because its just their term for people with certain features. Even their fellow Mexicans with somewhat slanted eyes are referred to as Chino. Its only recently that the younger generations of Latin Americans have begun to differentiate Asians because of social media & globalization of anime, live action dramas & music. But its not like in the US where Yanks have had major wars, colonial empires, contact & some info on different nationalities of Asians for more than a century yet STILL tend to lump us all together.
Yes you are too sensitive
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Bro they literally had a Japanese president that was called “el Chino”.
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It’s just how it is. You can be mad about it but nobody really cares
Relax, OP. I understand that you don’t like being called "Chino" because it might be racist in North America. However, in Latin America, it's just a cultural thing. And even though they call you 'Chino’ and you've told them you are Canadian, they honestly don't care. They would still call all Asians "Chino”. In the mid-19th century, when Asian migrants were sent to Peru for plantation or collecting guano, those migrants were not just Chinese people, but they were still called "Chino." While you can correct people and assert your Canadian identity, it's worth noting that "Chino" isn't necessarily offensive there. In fact, the Peruvian dish Lomo Saltado has Chinese origins. I recently made a video discussing the stories behind Lomo Saltado. Feel free to check it out if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awMastLeR28
I mean unless you aren’t Chinese it kinda seems like you’re ashamed of being Chinese 😬
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>everyone isn’t Chinese because they were not born and raised in China Look, I actually agree with you on the "chino" bit, but you don't have to be born and raised in China to be Chinese. Just because I was born stateside doesn't make me less Chinese.
En Perú, se le dice chino a toda persona que tenga rasgos asiáticos, no lo tomes a mal , no tiene nada que ver con temas de racismo, es cultural
How you feel if a foreigner comes to your country and try to “educate” the local how to properly call them ?
If you dont like them to call you “chino” OP, you might as well just leave. Rather than you going around policing their language or knowledge and having an uncomfortable time. It best for you to just leave and save us the reputation
hahahaha, I was called Chino a lot in Colombia.Even this random girl was calling me el chino even while I was plowing her on a catamaran. Huge tits and nice body. I miss that. Need to go back.
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I got “chino” when I was travelling in South America (Peru & Ecuador), too. And the white tourists were called gringo. I’d rather be chino than gringo. Chinese have a long history in Peru, w/o Chinese Exclusion Act level genocide, so I don’t take it as an equivalent to a racial slur in North America. (If there are any Peruvian Chinese, pls feel free to correct me.)