Correct Use of the Word "Ethnic"

"Ethnic: of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background."

This is not a rant against racism. Racism is vile, and nothing raises my blood pressure faster, but if I start out writing a blog about it I'll end up writing a book. Rather, this is about grammar.

Allow me to address the misuse of the word "ethnic."

In high school, I was once asked if I was half black. I believe I gave the eloquent response "noooo...?" My coworker's next comment was "Oh. You look ethnic." I don't remember what I said next, or if I said anything, but my immediate reaction today is "Thanks! So do you!"

Here's the thing: you belong to an ethnic group. Your ancestors belonged to an ethnic group - if you're like me, your ancestors belonged to a LOT of ethnic groups. When most people say "ethnic," what they usually mean is:

"Exotic: introduced from another country : not native to the place where found."

I blame the fashion industry for perpetuation of this grammatical faux pas, but that's another story.

... so, yes, I DO look exotic to a lot of people, especially in the Bemis area (Bemis is pronounced "BAY-mis," for those of you who don't know), which is populated mostly with people of English, Irish, or Scottish descent. I can trace my ancestry back to those places, too, but I'm also very Norwegian and Swedish, with some French, Cherokee, and Choctaw, with just a touch of je-ne-sais-quois to keep things interesting. Exoticism is relative; I may look exotic here, but blond hair and blue eyes are exotic in a lot of other places.

You may not care about my ancestry, but what I'm getting at is that, yes, I look ethnic. I probably inherited charicteristics from a lot of ethnicities. And everyone else in the world looks ethnic, whether they're alabaster-pale with blue eyes, coffee brown with brown eyes, red-haired with green eyes, inky black with black eyes, or any other possible color combination. And any facial structure, and any height, and any build. You are ethnic. Everyone around you is ethnic. We're all different combinations of different ethnicities. And that is a beautiful thing.

It is also the correct way to use the word "ethnic." Consider yourselves informed.