Is the term 'Oriental' still offensive in the UK?

Chrissy Teigen has prompted outrage in the Twittersphere for saying she does not find the word “oriental” offensive. read more

Most people in the UK or the US, for that matter, don’t use the term “oriental” in an offensive way, but its imperialist origin is indeed offensive in spite of that. “Oriental” is usually reserved for East and South East Asians, but the term has also been used to refer, in imperialist terms, to non-Western cultures in the area of imperial domination stretching from North Africa through Southwest, South, and East Asia. read more

It's not offensive at all in the UK. In America it's rarely used - they call them 'asian' instead. read more

Before this, immigrants to the UK from imperial India were naturally called Indians. When that country split into three there was a problem. There was a need to fit another non-offensive single term to refer to them as a group. The term, Asian (or South Asian) was adopted. read more