l33tminion | The G-Word

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The G-Word

In the comment threads two posts ago, I used the word "gaijin" (lit. outside person; outsider, foreigner) as opposed to "gaikokujin" (lit. outside country person; foreign national, foreigner), and a fellow IESer chewed me out for that, asking me (politely, if somewhat condescendingly) to stop using the word. I'm not sure I have an informed opinion on the subject, so I'll just open the floor to discussion.

So, "gaijin": When is it acceptable for foreigners to use the word referring to themselves? What about referring to other foreigners? Does it make a difference if they're expats as opposed to those staying more temporarily? Is it acceptable for Japanese people to use it ever? In what contexts is it pejorative? Is using the word "culturally insensitive"? Is it equivalent to "nigger" (and therefore deserving to meet the business end of the PC ban-hammer), or is that an overreaction? Is it better for racist epithets to be co-opted or excluded by the group that they refer to?

Food for thought:

Wikipedia entry on Gaijin
Essay arguing that "Gaijin" is a Racist Word
Blog entry on Racism in Japan with some interesting discussion in the comment threads

Update: I asked my host mom 外人と話すのは失礼ですか (gaijin-to hanasu-no-wa shitsurei desu-ka; "is it rude to say 'gaijin'?" [although "hanasu" is probably not quite the right verb, among other problems]), and her response was that it wasn't, although she noted that the word makes some older Japanese people uncomfortable (that's heavily paraphrased, though... I may have missed some of the details of her explanation).

Update 2: The above is totally wrong (wrong verb, can be misinterpreted as "is it rude to talk to outsiders". The correct phrase is apparently 外人の言葉は失礼ですか (gaijin-no kotoba-wa shitsurei desu-ka; "is the word 'gaijin' rude"). According to Kyoko-san (again heavily paraphrased) the word is impolite because it seems to imply that there is some fundamental difference between "nihonjin" and "gaijin" (Japanese people and all other people).

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I think it depends a lot on what context you're in. I made a point of not using it in Japan/not bringing my 馬鹿外人(=ばかがいじん) shirt to Japan, out of a desire to avoid the complexity of whether or not it was appropriate. Us MIT-Japan students use the term ironically, not so much "claiming it" as saying that we're ignorant foreigners when we're much better prepared than a lot of people is funny. I think that probably comes from otaku usage, though I think a couple of our (American) profs used it the same way. Area Studies teachers definitely didn't. I'd never use it to, say, one of the Japanese profs or someone at Ricoh*, but in the same way I wouldn't use ばか**, not in the same way I wouldn't use nigger in English.

That said, most people are aware that it's an offensive word, and that first paragraph was assuming I was using 外人 to refer to myself or generic people in a group I'm in. I'd certainly never use it to refer to a random foreigner I met, and definitely not to refer to someone like Yutaro, for obvious reasons. Some people are offended by it, and I think that's their right. In terms of Japanese people using into it, they're going to use it whether you like it or not, the only question is whether you notice and/or get offended. I personally expect it and don't feel a reason to get offended, but that's how I treat most things. Certainly people who've had to deal with real discrimination in Japan might be more touchy about it.

It's interesting that you imply that being equivalent to "nigger" leads to it getting the PC ban-hammer. The logical conclusion of it being equivalent to "nigger" is that some foreigners would use it as a matter of pride and others would not appreciate that usage, and both would be offended if a non-foreigner used the word, which is more or less what actually happens. *shrug*

In conclusion, the best way to eliminate offensive terms is to not be offended by them, but co-opting terms is messy. I don't think I'd ever say that someone "should" be offended by a term, but nor would I ever say that you "should" use a term that you know will or think is likely to offend someone. Your own LJ turf is a tough call, though, since it's much more impersonal.

Woah, I write long comments these days.

* Other than 西田さん／にしださん, who'd be totally disrespectful enough to be amused by it. My workplace was unusual, though.
** Except when asked why I don't use Windows.

Also, Wikipedia on PC in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotobagari).

I'd certainly never use it to refer to a random foreigner I met

Yeah, I probably wouldn't either, if for no other reason than "hey, outsider", is a really strange way to greet someone.

The flip-side of that is that I have no problem calling myself an outsider when I am one. Whether I'd find it offensive if used by a Japanese person depends on context.

It seems to me that some of the expats who are offended by the word are being unreasonable in their desire to be accepted as "nihonjin". That seems to me like moving to Nigeria and wanting to be accepted as black.

I can see why expats would feel sensitive to the word gaijin if they've been subject to "anti-gaijin" prejudice and frequently heard the word used in the context of anti-foreigner racism, but I do wish people would be more sensitive to context (perhaps this is hypocritical of me... although I want to be more sensitive to context, so perhaps not).

and definitely not to refer to someone like Yutaro, for obvious reasons

If it's a racist distinction, wouldn't Yutaro be a nihonjin? Even if not, the main reason I wouldn't use gaijin to refer to Yutaro is that would be obviously inaccurate. He's certainly far more of an "insider" than I am...

> That seems to me like moving to Nigeria and wanting to be accepted as black.

Then again, if a Japanese person moves to the US, stays there 10 years, and learns to speak English well, most people are going to treat them like an American. The same isn't true in Japan.

> If it's a racist distinction...

Gaijin means outsider. It's not racist as much as anti-non-Japanese, where Japanese implies a race, a culture, and a way of thought, etc. I haven't actually talked to Yutaro about this, so I don't actually know how he'd feel, but if I was born in Japan but grew up in the US, had trouble reading books sometimes, sort of thing, I'd probably be sensitive to Japanese people calling me a gaijin*. I feel like in general, people who are clearly in one category or the other are less likely to be offended by being pejoratively stereotyped by people less clearly in a category.

* At least among Japanese and Chinese immigrant communities in the US, Asian immigrants and their descendants who "think like Americans" and "forget their roots" are insultingly called bannanas: yellow on the outside and white on the inside.

Then again, if a Japanese person moves to the US, stays there 10 years, and learns to speak English well, most people are going to treat them like an American. The same isn't true in Japan.

There's definitely some mixing of race-based and nationalistic distinctions you're jumping over there. Also, it's worth pointing out that this hasn't been the case in the US until relatively recently, and we've been a heavily immigrant nation with a highly non-homogeneous culture for ages.

Part of my point is that I don't think that Japanese people using the word gaijin are distinguishing race from nationality. You're either Japanese, which means racially, culturally, and nationally, or you're not. I guess in my worldview whether something is racism or xenophobia or some other kind of prejudice doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me.

Sorry, I was getting off on a tangent without any real point...

Tangents are valid. Now secants, on the other hand...

I hear those can be irrational.

Also, I read 西田さん correctly before I looked at the hiragana, which makes me happy.

I'm going to respond to this by using an experience that actually happened several times during my first couple of months here last year.

A friend and I were sitting in the cafeteria at KUIS having a conversation with our brush-up Japanese teacher, that is to say a senior KUIS student who had taught us for a week at the beginning of the semester. Somewhere in our friendly conversation one of us used the word "gaijin" to describe ourselves or possibly himself. It was flippant, sort of like if you were talking to a gay person and they suddenly said in the conversation "but I'm a huge faggot anyway."

Immediately, our teacher's disposition changed. Conversation stopped and he said "You really shouldn't use the word 'gaijin', its really impolite. It's like the word 'nigger' in English." Remember this is being told to us by a native Japanese person.

After that I paid attention to the reactions of Japanese people, KUIS students and others, when one of the IES kids would use "gaijin" in conversation with them. Always, ALWAYS, there is the uncomfortable pause when a Japanese person hears a racially charged, offensive word spoken by someone who isn't even Japanese, but a student of Japanese who has somehow picked up the word. I realized it makes a big impact on them that is easily visible if you bother to pay attention.

And I think that's what it comes down to. There are a lot of foreigners who live in Japan who have a lot of bones to pick with it. I think that there's a pretty significant amount of resentment among non-japanese living in japan who still choose to use the word "gaijin" like its the name of members of a secret club of enlightened expats and foreigners. But what the use of "gaijin" especially in conversation with Japanese people is a determined LACK of concern about how the use of the word will be received by its audience. You come off sounding arrogant, ignorant, and culturally insensitive.

In the end I don't really know why you would even bother to keep using it except for the purpose of being stubborn. After even one person told me it was impolite I made a mental note not to use it any more. Not speaking this language fluently and having only been here a month, in your case, gives you more than enough cultural boundaries that you have to clear, why would you needlessly give yourself more, not to mention one that has the potential not just to confuse but to actively OFFEND?

I must say I'm really startled by this. I mean no offense by this, but you seem like a rather brash person, I wouldn't expect you to be the biggest proponent of political correctness.

someone who isn't even Japanese

It also doesn't make sense to me that such a word would be less offensive if spoken by a Japanese person.

In the end I don't really know why you would even bother to keep using it except for the purpose of being stubborn...

Well, I certainly am stubborn. Seriously, I'll be more careful, but reacting to one person unexpectedly saying that a word isn't polite by unquestioningly never using the word again, regardless of context, seems like a bit of an overreaction.

I hope you realize that offending people is something I want to avoid. It certainly isn't my goal.

what you said to your host mom was "is speaking with a foreigner considered rude?"

I am not comfortable with words like faggot and nigger in the english language. EVEN IF they are used self-referentially by the people to whom they refer. That doesn't make the word okay.

I didn't mean the word would be less offensive if spoken by a Japanese person but they would probably wonder where you learned it. AKA my example of a tourist coming to America and asking if there were a lot of niggers (or faggots or kikes or gooks just take your pick of any number of these sorts of words) in the area.

what i was trying to say was that Japanese people are rarely going to confront you on something they think is rude, but that doesn't mean they don't think it.

Another example. Saying "that girl has huge tits" can be rude or not rude depending on the audience. but if you were in a group of a bunch of guys and a girl or two, I would say that talking about one of the girls in your group like "so and so has HUGE TITS" is pretty rude even if the dudes don't take offense to it.

Regardless of whether someone says it or not or whether everyone takes offense or not, Why be the guy that says it? You aren't here in order to belong to the cool foreigners who use rude self-referential words club. You're here to try to learn some Japanese in context. I'd say this is a good example of something contextually inappropriate to say.

I did clarify what I said in English, so I think she got what I actually meant to say... but maybe not.

What verb should I have used?

I've already conceded your point: I'll be more careful in the future. ご免なさい先輩。

「外人」って失礼なの？

Japanese is so simple you don't even need a verb there

Lol quit using kanji you don't know. The IME isn't there so you can impress your friends with what you wish you knew.

I agree with Betsy.

I wouldn't guess with the IME; its first suggestion is often not what I want to say. I looked up the kanji for those words in a dictionary.

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The G-Word

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betsy again

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