Ethnic food. Ethnic music. Ethnic restaurants. Ethnic fashion. The word ethnic is frequently used to describe things that come from countries outside North America and Western Europe or cultures other than White. Like exotic, the word connotes otherness and can be seen as marginalizing and offensive. In general, try to avoid.
Instead, use the specific country or culture the food or music comes from. When writing about things from multiple cultures use terms like international music, global food or world cuisine.
In addition, the word ethnic should never be used to describe a person.
However, ethnic is still commonly used in the academic field of ethnic studies, which refers to the interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity, particularly in regard to oppression and power.
For more discussion of these terms see:
“4 Reasons Why We’ve Got to Stop Using ‘Ethnic’ to Describe People of Color,” Everyday Feminism, July 1, 2016
“Why everyone should stop calling immigrant food ‘ethnic,’” The Washington Post,
“Tara O’Brady Says You Should Stop Calling Food ‘Ethnic,’ Kitchn, Nov. 6, 2017
“Is it time to stop calling food ‘ethnic’?” The Charlotte Observer, March 31, 2017
“To David Chang, the ‘ethnic’ food aisle is racist. Others say it’s convenient,” The Washington Post, Sept. 30, 2019
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