Is this offensive or not? South Island girl

I agree.

There is far too much transference from US cultural politics to the UK, we share little with the US race issues here.

What's offensive about that?

Thank you. Every day is a learning day as they say. If I had been going to use uppity it would have been in relation to a Hyacinth Bucket type of person, genuinely did not know any other meaning behind the word.

Uppity: It's an epithet used by White people in the Jim Crow era to describe Black people they believed weren't showing them enough deference.

It's far more malevolent than a synonym for "arrogant," though. Per PBS' long-running "American Experience" series, many Black men and women were lynched by White mobs for seeming too "uppity."

"It was and remains an insulting way to describe a Black person because it suggests that they are 'too big for their britches' or are demonstrating a sense of dignity or autonomy they are not supposed to possess," said Krystal Smalls, an assistant professor of anthropology and linguistics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The insult was frequently lodged at President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama throughout the 44th president's two terms, usually by conservative opponents who claimed they were unaware of the word's racist origins. And American and British journalists have used the term to describe Meghan Markle, who is biracial, after she became the Duchess of Sussex.

@yellowsmileyface , @GBoucher , I am much more on the side of sharing and celebrating everyone's culture. Unfortunately, many people seek to be offended, so I gave a reductio ad absurdum example which, if you applied the same logic as being used for words like "uppity" or "thug" earlier in the thread, should be on the list of banned words.

If ther person your saying it to is:

White = not offensive
Black = offensive

Even if the reason your calling them uppity or a thug has nothing to do with skin colour .

Apparently something to do with historical stuff.

Same as a poster on here was replying aggressively to other poster and when called out on it. other posters came to her defence saying you can say that because shes black. And historically black woman have been called aggressive.

My sister in law is of South Islander descent. She’s from and lives in New Zealand.
She’s beautiful with stunning black curly hair.
Take it as a compliment. The Southern Islanders are lovely happy people.

@TreadLight So to clarify, you deem the word "pyjamas" to be offensive, rather than the act of wearing them?

By this logic, it's offensive to use the word "kimono" to refer to, well, kimonos.

What is wrong with thug and uppity? Neither are words I particularly use but equally I have never heard that either of them are now considered offensive

ODFOD.

We get it. You're sore because nowadays you get called on your racist shit. Good. Get used to it.

Obvs replying to @TreadLight .

Oh, you're one of those people who think 'curry' is racist too. I feel sorry for you. Do you also think 'pepperoni' is racist? Or is that okay because Italians are white?

From the Isle of Wight I expect: strange women those caulkheads 😁

Cultural appropriation of pjs

Give me strength.

The issue here is that OP hears a phrase she is not familiar with and immediately wonders if its offensive. Thats the problem.

Pyjamas are Hindi dress, introduced to Britain through the Raj. I.e. cultural appropriation of oppressed people.

It has all the characteristics of a word which could cause offence.

I'm surprised words like pyjamas and wearing mufti for school are allowed

mufti is rarely used in schools these days, so as not to cause offence!

I’d understand it to be a compliment, as it brings to my mind images of beautiful pacific island girls, combing their long dark hair on the banks of a pool beneath a waterfall. An image I have from old films I used to watch with my gran! Probably South Pacific as others have mentioned.

Is it racist? I don’t think so. But it’s an example of how we stereotype some
cultures as ‘exotic’ natives. And shows how so much of our knowledge of parts the world is due to how Hollywood portrays it!

What the heck is wrong with "pyjamas"??

People talking with glee about others dying soon. Racism isn't the only ill in society, you know.

This is MN. Ageism is a-ok.

@Bagsundermyeyestoday

As an elderly person I find this offensive but I’m happy that my approaching death will be a pleasure for you.

You're nice. 🤔

Yes, you're using a racist term, although that doesn't make you "a racist".

You don't have to be a committed, bigotted, knuckle-dragging Nazi to unthinkingly use racist words or terms. Many of us might use them. Often they are habitual - we learned then as a child, never really thought about their origins or why they might be racist.

I think it's more instructive to see, once you learn that something is considered racist, what your attitude then is. Do you double down and say "I'm not a racist, so it's nonsense to claim I am using a racist phrase and I'm going to keep on saying it" or do you say "now that has been explained to me, I can see how it might make people feel uncomfortable, so I'm going to try and stop saying it"?

(Similarly, Pakistan is a country, not a race, but that doesn't make using the he racist epithet linked to the country any less racist.)

It must be very tedious to monitor everything you say in case it might be misconstrued as cultural appropriation, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. And however much you self censor, there will always be someone woker than thou, who will get you eventually.

Or you could look at it as being less about constant self-monitoring and more about remaining open to learning about different ways that words come across to people who've lived different lives to you, and seeing opportunities to expand your thinking about the world and extend your vocabulary and ability to communicate in a way that people will find caring and supportive.