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Sometimes you hear people use "exotic" to refer to something foreign to them. It can be a place, music, food, clothes, or even a person.

Some people argue that the word exotic has racist connotation because of its past history so it should not be used in today's conversations.

The question is does "exotic" still carry racist connotation or it has already put that behind and evolved into a non-racist word that can be used safely without labelling other people or cultures as inferior, non-native and distant?

Also in case "exotic" is racist, what would be a good non-racist synonym?

kaptan
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  • Have you discovered any dictionaries that give a warning along these lines? If you want to see how they do this, look up a word that is indisputably racist. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 18:46
  • @EdwinAshworth, I didn't notice any warning in couple of dictionaries that I checked. – kaptan Aug 11 '14 at 20:53
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    That's as I expected. It's not so much racist as parochial (as Chris S says below). – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 21:29
  • Can you give any evidence supporting your claim that 'exotic has racist connotation because of its past history'? – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 08:20
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    A useful warning sign in cases like this is that describing somebody as "exotic" is applying a label to the other person when you're really talking about yourself. For example, if I were to describe somebody from country X as "exotic", what I'd really be saying is "I'm not used to seeing people from country X": that's a description of me and my experiences, not a description of country X and its people. – David Richerby Aug 12 '14 at 10:17
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    Intent is more important than context, which is more important than protagonists, which is more important than location, which is more important than the word itself. – stevemarvell Aug 12 '14 at 13:32
  • @stevemarvell, I totally agree with you. I think intent is the most important one. Someone can use pretty ordinary words but at the same time imply a racist comment. – kaptan Aug 12 '14 at 17:53
  • @EdwinAshworth, my evidence is from real life experience of my friends. – kaptan Aug 12 '14 at 18:45
  • Are they very old, your friends? Or etymologists? You claim 'Some people argue that the word exotic has racist connotation because of its past history'. We'd like to see a source that backs up their claim. I knew someone who claimed that James Watt invented the steam engine. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 18:52
  • Name ONE that has "evolved into a non-racist word that can be used safely". – Mazura Aug 14 '14 at 02:18

5 Answers5

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There are many words that have racist connotations in some contexts and not in others. I think you'd be hard pressed to make a case that talking about "exotic cars" or "exotic loans" would be perceived by a reasonable person as racist. Describing a woman as an "exotic beauty," on the other hand, may well give offense.

Trying to sort all the nouns in the English language into safe-with-exotic and not-safe-with-exotic would be a useless exercise. The best you can do is pay attention to how people use and react to language, and err on the side of caution if that's something that's important to you.

phenry
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    An offence because of the "exotic" or because calling someone beautiful to their face is sexual harassment and behind their back would be sexual objectification? – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 22:17
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    @stevemarvell I would strongly disagree that calling someone beautiful is always or even normally sexual harassment, have you never seen someone called beautiful as a compliment, say at a wedding or other event when people are expected to try and look nice? – Vality Aug 12 '14 at 08:14
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    @Vality didn't think about all this, but if someone was said to be an "exotic beauty" at her wedding, I'm pretty sure she'd (he'd?) feel akward about the use of this adjective. – Pierre Arlaud Aug 12 '14 at 08:51
  • @ArlaudPierre That is indeed true. The only time I could see that being acceptable would be among very close friends, probably a little tongue in cheek. But yes, I do agree that the term definitely can be used to cause offence, I just argue that it does not necessarily do so dependant on context. – Vality Aug 12 '14 at 09:17
  • @Vality I was over emphasising the point due to not understanding assumed offence. – stevemarvell Aug 12 '14 at 13:25
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Collins Cobuild, the English Learners dictionary states:

adjective

Something that is exotic is unusual and interesting, usually because it comes from or is related to a distant country. ⇒ ...brilliantly coloured, exotic flowers. ⇒ She flits from one exotic location to another.

This has no warnings.

For reference, a swear word would normally add for example:

(very rude, feelings)

and a definite racist word would add:

(very offensive)

whilst a word that could potentially interpreted as racist or could be used to make a phrase racist might add:

This use could cause offence.

I suspect that any racist connotation associated with the word 'exotic' would be in the context, rather than with use of the word itself.

EDIT: More specifically, the intent with which it's used, like a knitting needle being an offensive weapon.

stevemarvell
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    It seems likely to me that the perception of exotic as offensive is recent enough to have outpaced the dictionaries. The perceived connotations of words can change quite rapidly. – Chris Sunami Aug 11 '14 at 19:19
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    Cite your source? – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 21:34
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    It seems likely to me that any perception of exotic as racist is marginal. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 21:34
  • @stevemarvell: A good example of this exists in the sitcom Better Off Ted. I don't have a link to the specific scene but someone refers to their Asian coworker as "exotic" in a inappropriate way. The potentially offensive use of "exotic" does exist whether you are Edwin have happened to encounter it. – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 21:52
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    @MrHen That's could be a complement in a different context. It's not the word that's at fault. It's like calling a knitting needle an offensive weapon; it only is when it is. – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 21:56
  • @MrHen In the sitcom, if they had changed the word to "Asian", "foreign" or "eastern", would it have been any more or less offensive? – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 22:07
  • @MrHen was it also possible that the term was used as a euphemism and that any racist attribution should come from the word covered up? – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 22:21
  • @stevemarvell: In the script, she corrects the character by saying, "I'm not exotic. I'm Asian." In the context, labeling her a "foreign" would probably have been offensive as well considering she wasn't foreign. She just happened to be ethnically Asian. "Eastern" would have probably been just as bad. I'm not sure what you are asking regarding euphemisms? – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 22:37
  • @MrHen If ' "Eastern" would have probably been just as bad [as "exotic"]', or "Jewish", say, are we to take these words as being 'potentially offensive'? I remember a famous sports personality misidentifying a sporting Royal as a man in the 'identify the famous sports personality' part of a show; should we stop using the word 'man' in case a misuse offends someone? – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 10:16
  • @EdwinAshworth: If you refer to someone as "eastern" simply due to racial profiling then yes, it is potentially offensive. Yes, misidentifying a woman as a man is potentially offensive. Whether you want to avoid the word man is your decision. It has little bearing on the current conversation. – MrHen Aug 12 '14 at 13:03
  • @MrHen What do you mean by "racial profiling" in this context? – stevemarvell Aug 12 '14 at 13:33
  • @stevemarvell: Labelling someone solely because of their racial appearance/profile. – MrHen Aug 12 '14 at 14:37
  • @mrhen That's being descriptive in this context. Racial profiling in a normal context is determining characteristics based on race, which this is not. If someone said someone was "bad" based on racial appearance, or race for that matter, then that would be racial profile in the traditional sense. – stevemarvell Aug 13 '14 at 11:27
  • @stevemarvell: Oh, sorry, I was just using the word "profiling." I didn't mean to use the full term. – MrHen Aug 13 '14 at 14:19
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I think the largest issue with exotic is it (like the infamous "flesh-colored" crayon or band-aid) presupposes a shared default cultural context, which is increasingly rare in today's globalized society. As such, it's become a much less useful word, and it comes across as tone-deaf when used in any context where a shared cultural context shouldn't be assumed.

It might be best to replace it with words that are either more descriptive or that are more clearly referenced to your own experience (not to a culture that you assume your listener shares):

The food there was quite exotic. >> The food there was all unfamiliar to me.
She has very exotic looks. >> Her facial features are very non-European.
We're planning a trip to somewhere exotic. >> We're planning a trip to a country on the other side of the world.

Chris Sunami
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    The fact that it's an English word makes it deictic. Are you saying that we might be better dropping words such as 'import', 'foreign', 'abroad'? – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 21:33
  • @EdwinAshworth: I would advice against referring to specific people as "imported," yes. See also: Fresh-off-the-boat (FOB). – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 21:50
  • I live in a small village in the country. I wasn't born there. I'm "an incomer", "a blow in", "an outsider" and "imported". I'm not offended. – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 22:05
  • @MrHen I wouldn't use 'imported' to describe say temperatures or protoactinium or the Crab Nebula. You're changing the terms of reference. CS here is recommending that we drop the word 'exotic' even for collocates such as food. We're into the area where a minority can dictate what should be considered right. Some people even object to the new usage of 'gay' to mean 'deficient' etc, but are quite happy to offend those people who believe the original sense has already been tarnished. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 22:05
  • ...Why did you hit him? _'I didn't like the way he said "Hello".' – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 22:08
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    Equally, exotic food could be full or pleasant and rare ingredients and flavours and an exotic looking girl could appear sun kissed and wear beautiful clothes associated traditionally with another country. In the UK, where it rains a lot, an exotic holiday would be one with palm trees and sunshine. I can't think of anything that's exotic and bad. – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 22:12
  • @EdwinAshworth: I haven't encountered a situation where "exotic" is considered offensive outside of referring to particular individual persons as "exotic". – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 22:27
  • @stevemarvell: The issue is isolating someone due to their race/looks. If I label someone "exotic" and they happen to be from the same town as me than it is quite the faux pas. – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 22:28
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    @Edwin The fact that it's an English word is what makes it so non-deictic. Indian food might be quite exotic to someone living in a small town in northwestern Canada, but it's common as dirt to a Londoner; pale skin and freckles are quite exotic to many Jamaicans, but perfectly commonplace to people from Scotland. The point of this answer, as I read it, is that it implies a corroborating link between language and culture/setting that very often does not exist anymore, particularly in English. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Aug 11 '14 at 22:56
  • @Janus It's deictic in that it's a "[word] that introduce[s] particulars of the speaker's and hearer's shared cognitive field into the message"- R.Rommetveit"; it can't sensibly be used to a non-anglophone* learning English without first explaining the culture being departed from (ie demands an understood cognitive field). It's a word needing common reference points if it is to be understood by the hearer (like 'at that time'). My 'here' is not your 'here'. Your Canadian's 'exotic' is not the Londoner's. *I should have written "the fact that it's an English word makes it 'even more deictic' ". – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 09:41
  • ... Fretheim & Amfo state: 'Depending on contextual evidence, a token of "abroad" in a discourse must be processed either as an anaphor with the meaning "away from the subject referent's country" or as a deictic word with the meaning "away from the speaker's/writer's country".' 'Exotic' is at least metaphorically 'abroad', alien to the speaker/writer. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 10:07
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    @EdwinAshworth Abroad is deictic, but non-normative, while exotic is both deictic and normative. In my opinion, exotic is still perfectly appropriate in the case you are in a truly monocultural context (a remote small town, for example) or in the case that you wish your habits of speech to convey a message that you expect those around you to conform to your cultural expectations. – Chris Sunami Aug 12 '14 at 13:13
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Yes, "exotic" frequently has a racist connotation. The primary reason for this is because of statements like this:

Have you seen the new girl? She is so exotic!

If her exoticness is related to her race, then you are making a big deal out of her race which is, almost by definition, racist.

This doesn't mean that all uses of "exotic" are inherently racist but it is definitely a word that should be used with care. If you are at all concerned with it sounding racist you should find an alternative.

An example of a non-racist example:

I just bought some exotic fish for my aquarium!

We have planned a trip to exotic Egypt!

The racist connotations mostly apply when using the word to describe a person.

EDIT:

Alright, since people seem to be completely misunderstanding this issue I'll clarify a few things. The primary reason "exotic" can be problematic is because the only way you can immediately label someone "exotic" is by their appearance. In the United States, minority ethnic groups can extremely sensitive about being singled out due to their race.

If you refer to someone as "exotic" because they appear Indian, it is very likely to turn the conversation awkward. Especially if they grew up two blocks away from you and are for all intents and purposes American.

Furthermore, the connotation of "exotic" is one of labelling someone as belonging to a different culture or group. Calling someone exotic essentially puts them on a pedestal and casually implies they do not belong to your own culture. Doing this based simply on appearances is racist and potentially offensive.

If someone actually is from a "exotic" culture it is much more acceptable to describe them as exotic. The issue is jumping the gun and committing a faux pas by assuming anyone who looks foreign must be exotic.

For what it is worth, this may be a "bigger" issue in the United States where racial tensions tend to be rather awkward. White people have gained a reputation for being racially exclusive. Automatically clumping entire ethic groups into a label of "exotic" isn't considered polite. It's an age old cultural sore spot.

Community
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MrHen
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    This seems to be opinion-based. There may be some people who would consider it in a racial way but, there are many who do not. It depends on the personal opinions of individual people. Generally, people don't consider it to be racist. – Tristan r Aug 11 '14 at 19:12
  • I could see people finding "exotic Egypt" mildly offensive. – Chris Sunami Aug 11 '14 at 19:15
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    @ChrisSunami: Generally speaking, referring to a location as "exotic" is okay. Lots of vacation advertisements use "exotic". – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 19:47
  • @Tristanr: When it refers to someone's race, it is mildly racist. Whether people find that offensive is more subjective. It is certainly on the lessor side of the offensiveness scale and the particular context is probably more important than the specific word. – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 19:48
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    How can being described as 'unusual and interesting, usually because it/they come/s from or is related to a distant country' be perceived as racist? Is 'vive la difference' a sexist comment? – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 21:40
  • @EdwinAshworth: Because the word tends to be applied due to race. As in, you assume the dark skinned, Indian looking girl is from a distant country and, therefore, label them "exotic." – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 21:48
  • For what it is worth, I don't personally have a big problem with the word. But it has absolutely been used inappropriately and shouldn't be used carelessly. People not realizing it has been used inappropriately isn't actually a valid counterpoint. – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 21:49
  • @MrHen I don't assume .... And when I eventually got to a few human referents on the internet, I found very little to do with racial appearance, but much more emphasis on the allure and just 'otherness' of someone different. Nothing pejorative. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 11 '14 at 21:57
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    @MrHen Racism is associated with assumed superiority based on race. Using race as a distinguishing factor is not racist. Calling someone Indian is not racist, nor is saying someone has black skin, a turban or clogs. When I was in China recently, I was distinguished in introduction by being called the white guy. That's because I was the only white guy in the room.

    In addition, is calling someone a woman sexist?

     – stevemarvell Aug 11 '14 at 22:26
  • @stevemarvell: Calling someone "exotic" because they look (say) Indian is the potential issue. Making assumptions about someone's place of origin based on nothing but skin color and ethnic features does offend people. Not everyone, obviously; and this particular word isn't treated equally across all English speaking cultures. – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 22:32
  • @stevemarvell: Also, a white person not being offended for being labeled white has very little to do with whether someone would be offended by the label "exotic". They aren't remotely similar situations. – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 22:33
  • @EdwinAshworth: You can offend people with things that are not pejoratives. You could think of this issue as over emphasizing someone's "otherness" due to racial stereotyping. – MrHen Aug 11 '14 at 22:35
  • @MrHen I have just looked up a range of antonyms for exotic. They are boring, common, dull, familiar, native (?),normal, ordinary, regular, standard, uninteresting, usual. I think I'd rather be considered exotic! – WS2 Aug 11 '14 at 23:18
  • @WS2: The issue has nothing to do with whether "exotic" is good or bad. The point is the label is assuming something based on race. "Offensive" doesn't mean "insulting." – MrHen Aug 12 '14 at 03:31
  • @MrHen: You appear to be confusing racist with racial. As steve correctly said, "Using race as a distinguishing factor is not racist." – Ben Voigt Aug 12 '14 at 04:58
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    @MrHen: You are absolutely off the mark. It's racist to believe that someone is stupid, dishonest, dirty, because they are exotic. It's racist to avoid someone because they are exotic. It's absolutely not racist to believe that someone is exotic because they are exotic! People are what they are. Saying what they are is not racist. Quite the contrary, most people like to stand out and denying that an exotic person is exotic could be taken as quite insulting. – gnasher729 Aug 12 '14 at 07:36
  • @gnasher729 So you're saying that more people would consider not being called exotic when they look alluring and resplendent offensive than would consider being called exotic offensive. I'm with you; there's too much catering for the nitpickers. Do we cater for the one person who considers 'the' offensive? – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 08:19
  • @EdwinAshworth I'm puzzled as to why my post about Yorkshiremen liking cricket and Welsh preferring Rugby appears to have been deleted. Was that racial stereotyping too far, do you think? All I was anxious to discover was whether it was 'offensive' to hold a presumption, if you are talking to a Yorkshireman in a pub, that he will be interested in the Test Match score, but if talking to a Welshman he might not. Is that the sort of stereotyped thinking I should expunge from my thoughts? – WS2 Aug 12 '14 at 11:50
  • @MrHen Another one of mine that seems to have been deleted is my enquiry as to whether it was 'incorrect' to talk about 'exotic dancing'. – WS2 Aug 12 '14 at 11:53
  • @gnasher729: Calling someone exotic when they aren't exotic is the issue. You cannot actually tell from looks alone which is the entire issue. Singling someone out in conversation due to their race is potentially offensive. – MrHen Aug 12 '14 at 13:05
  • @WS2: I have no idea why your comments were removed but I'd advise against repeating the comments since they are also likely to be removed. :P – MrHen Aug 12 '14 at 13:07
  • @MrHen Are you saying dictatorship rules? – WS2 Aug 12 '14 at 13:12
  • @WS2: I'm saying if the mods acted in a particular way they are likely to act in the same way in the future. :) – MrHen Aug 12 '14 at 13:19
  • @MrHen That sounds like a sentence from Orwell's 1984. In that case, as I recall, it wasn't 'The Mods' - it was the 'Thought Police'. – WS2 Aug 12 '14 at 17:52
  • @WS2 The Welsh sing about rugby, but a Yorkshireman is blunt about cricket. And Viv Richards was the most exotic batsman for years. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 18:02
  • @EdwinAshworth Careful, you are attaching labels based on racial stereotypes! – WS2 Aug 12 '14 at 18:35
  • @stevemarvell The Chinese do have some particularly 'exotic' terms for describing white people. I know because I have been married to one for well over 40 years. In Cantonese something that sounds like 'hoong mo ji', means 'little red-haired devil'. I trust you didn't get called that! – WS2 Aug 12 '14 at 18:42
  • Was my comment deleted or did I forget to send it? something about 'exotic' invoking stereotypes... It was a question so I could see that. Easily made into a statement but was it deleted on the grounds of being racist? – Mazura Aug 14 '14 at 01:08
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Many words can be used in both positive and negative connotation. Politically correctness has ruined much as people do not feel free to express themselves as someone might interpret what they say totally out of context. It is up to the speaker to say what he feels as clearly as he/she can. If the speaker means no ill, those interpreting it in such a way are at fault, not the speaker.

ASaf
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    This is a marvellous answer, but I'm not sure it's strictly an answer to OP's question. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 12 '14 at 09:30
  • @ASaf, I agree with your point. I hate when political correctness forces people into self-censorship. – kaptan Aug 12 '14 at 18:36
  • If the speaker means no ill but it is being interpreted as such, then they are not being very clear. Know your audience. – Mazura Aug 14 '14 at 02:15