Editing Asian Americans (section)

==Terminology==
As with other [[Race (human categorization)|racial]] and [[Ethnic group|ethnicity]]-based [[Ethnonym|terms]], formal and common usage have changed markedly through the short history of this term. Prior to the late 1960s, people of various Asian ancestries were usually referred to as ''Yellow'', ''[[Oriental]]'', ''Asiatic'', ''[[Brown (racial classification)|Brown]]'', ''[[Mongoloid]]'', or ''Hindoo''.<ref name="K. Connie Kang">{{cite news |title=Yuji Ichioka, 66; Led Way in Studying Lives of Asian Americans |author=K. Connie Kang |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-07-me-yuji7-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=September 7, 2002 |access-date=May 4, 2013 |quote=Yet Ichioka created the first inter-ethnic pan-Asian American political group. And he coined the term "Asian American" to frame a new self-defining political lexicon. Before that, people of Asian ancestry were generally called Oriental or Asiatic. |archive-date=March 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314211804/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/sep/07/local/me-yuji7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Mio |editor1-first=Jeffrey Scott |date=1999 |title=Key Words in Multicultural Interventions: A Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQnUTLMeds0C&pg=PA20 |series=ABC-Clio ebook |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=20 |isbn=9780313295478 |access-date=August 19, 2014 |quote=The use of the term Asian American began in the late 1960s alongside the civil rights movement (Uba, 1994) and replaced disparaging labels of Oriental, Asiatic, and Mongoloid. |archive-date=January 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103004328/https://books.google.com/books?id=UQnUTLMeds0C&pg=PA20 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lee|first1=Jennifer|last2=Ramakrishnan|first2=Karthick|title=Who counts as Asian|url=https://www.russellsage.org/sites/default/files/Who%20counts%20as%20Asian.pdf|website=Russellsage.org|page=4|date=October 14, 2019|access-date=July 7, 2021}}</ref> Additionally, the American definition of 'Asian' originally included [[West Asia]]n ethnic groups, particularly [[Turkish Americans]], [[Armenian Americans]], [[Assyrian Americans]], [[Iranian Americans]], [[Kurdish Americans]], [[American Jews|Jewish Americans]] of [[Middle East]]ern descent, and certain [[Arab Americans]], although in modern times, these groups are now considered [[Middle Eastern Americans|Middle Eastern American]] and grouped under [[White Americans]] in the census.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/asiaticexclusion00asia "Proceedings of the Asiatic Exclusion League"] Asiatic Exclusion League. San Francisco: April 1910. Pg. 7. "To amend section twenty-one hundred and sixty-nine of the Revised Statutes of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that section twenty-one hundred and sixty-nine of the Revised Statutes of the United States be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following: And Mongolians, Malays, and other Asiatics, except Armenians, Assyrians, and Jews, shall not be naturalized in the United States."<br /></ref><ref name="Middle East">{{cite news |last=Cortellessa |first=Eric |date=23 October 2016 |title=Israeli, Palestinian Americans could share new 'Middle Eastern' census category |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-palestinian-americans-could-share-new-middle-eastern-census-category/ |work=Times of Israel |access-date=22 April 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144106/https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-palestinian-americans-could-share-new-middle-eastern-census-category/ |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite news |last=Nussbaum Cohen |first=Debra |date=18 June 2015 |title=New U.S. Census Category to Include 'Israeli' Option |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-new-u-s-census-category-to-include-israeli-1.5372299 |work=Haaretz |access-date=22 April 2018 |archive-date=July 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710200538/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/.premium-1.661491 |url-status=live }}<br /></ref><ref>[http://www.modelminority.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=284:how-the-us-courts-established-the-white-race-&catid=42:law&Itemid=56 How the U.S. Courts Established the White Race] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811164418/http://www.modelminority.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=284%3Ahow-the-us-courts-established-the-white-race-&catid=42%3Alaw&Itemid=56|date=August 11, 2014}}</ref> The term "Asian American" was coined by historian-activists [[Yuji Ichioka]] and [[Emma Gee]] in 1968 during the founding of the [[Asian American Political Alliance]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kambhampaty |first1=Anna Purna |title=In 1968, These Activists Coined the Term 'Asian American'—And Helped Shape Decades of Advocacy |url=https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/ |date=May 22, 2020 |magazine=Time |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601175631/https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/|archive-date=June 1, 2020|url-status=live|access-date=January 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Maeda|first=Daryl Joji|year=2012|title=Rethinking the Asian American Movement|place=New York|publisher=Routledge|pages=9–13, 18, 26, 29, 32–35, 42–48, 80, 108, 116–117, 139|isbn=978-0-415-80081-5}}</ref> and they were also credited with popularizing the term, which meant to be used to frame a new "inter-ethnic-pan-Asian American self-defining political group".<ref name="K. Connie Kang" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Yen Espiritu|title=Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1nBBxVTCjYC&pg=PA34|date=19 January 2011|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-4399-0556-2|page=34|access-date=April 19, 2019|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530115534/https://books.google.com/books?id=_1nBBxVTCjYC&pg=PA34|url-status=live}}</ref> This effort was part of [[New Left]] [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war]] and [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] activism, directly opposing what was viewed as an unjust [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gayla |first=Marella |date=20 October 2021 |title=Searching for Coherence in Asian America |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/searching-for-coherence-in-asian-america |magazine=The New Yorker |location=New York  |access-date=10 July 2022|quote=The term "Asian American" emerged from the radical student movements of the late nineteen-sixties, most notably at San Francisco State College and the University of California, Berkeley. The activists, modelling their work after [[Black Power movement|Black]] and [[Chicano Movement|Latinx liberation movements]], hoped to create a pan-Asian coalition that would become part of an international struggle against empire and capitalism.}}</ref>

Prior to being included in the "Asian" category in the 1980s, many Americans of South Asian descent usually classified themselves as ''Caucasian'' or ''other''.<ref>Chandy, Sunu P. [http://way.net/sawa/desiaspora/02conf.html What is a Valid South Asian Struggle?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205220353/http://way.net/sawa/desiaspora/02conf.html|date=December 5, 2006}} Report on the Annual SASA Conference. Retrieved July 13, 2021.</ref> Changing [[Asian immigration to the United States|patterns of immigration]] and an [[Asian immigration to the United States|extensive period of exclusion of Asian immigrants]] have resulted in demographic changes that have in turn affected the formal and common understandings of what defines Asian American. For example, since the removal of restrictive "national origins" quotas [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965|in 1965]], the Asian American population has diversified greatly to include more of the peoples with ancestry from various parts of Asia.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Chin|first=Gabriel J.|date=April 18, 2008|title=The Civil Rights Revolution Comes to Immigration Law: A New Look at the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965|journal=North Carolina Law Review|ssrn=1121504}}</ref>

Today, "Asian American" is the accepted term for most formal purposes, such as government and academic research, although it is often shortened to ''Asian'' in common usage.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert M. Jiobu|title=Ethnicity and Assimilation: Blacks, Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Mexicans, Vietnamese, and Whites|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5uOexz2DMYC&pg=PA13|year=1988|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-88706-647-4|page=13|access-date=March 28, 2018|archive-date=June 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601001838/https://books.google.com/books?id=G5uOexz2DMYC&pg=PA13|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite journal |last1=Chang |first1=Benjamin |date=February 2017 |title=Asian Americans and Education |url=http://education.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-102 |journal=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education |volume=1 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.102 |access-date=27 March 2018 |isbn=9780190264093 |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328103916/http://education.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-102 |url-status=live }}</ref> The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the US Census Bureau definition, which includes all people with origins in [[East Asia]], [[South Asia]], and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="centech">United States Census Bureau, ''[https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf Census 2000 Summary File 1 Technical Documentation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722023641/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf |date=July 22, 2017 }}'', 2001, at Appendix B-14. "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes ''Asian Indian'', ''Chinese'', ''Filipino'', ''Korean'', ''Japanese'', ''Vietnamese'', and ''Other Asian''."</ref> This is chiefly because the census definitions determine many governmental classifications, notably for equal opportunity programs and measurements.<ref name="whoisasianam">{{cite news |last=Sailer |first=Steve |date=11 July 2002 |title=Feature: Who exactly is Asian American? |url=https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |work=UPI |location=Los Angeles |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-date=September 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905065158/https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], "Asian person" in the United States is most often thought of as a person of [[East Asian Americans|East Asian]] descent.<ref name="Oxford1">{{cite web |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1223255?rskey=D9mRoS&result=2#m_en_us1223255 |title=Asian American |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=March 29, 2011 |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326122533/https://languages.oup.com/#m_en_us1223255 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/asian?view=get |title=Asian |publisher=AskOxford.com |access-date=September 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415110425/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/asian?view=get |archive-date=April 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}{{full citation needed|date=July 2010}}<!--https://web.archive.org/web/18990101080101/http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0043470#m_en_gb0043470 works as of July 25, 2010, but there is no guarantee that it will remain stable as the dictionary content changes--></ref> In vernacular usage, "Asian" is usually used to refer to those of East or [[Southeast Asian Americans|Southeast Asian]] descent, with [[South Asian Americans|South Asians]] not included as often.<ref>[https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003030.htm Epicanthal folds] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512223415/https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003030.htm|date=May 12, 2016}}: MedicinePlus Medical Encyclopedia states that ''"The presence of an epicanthal fold is normal in people of Asiatic descent"'' assuming it the norm for all Asians{{cite book |last=Kawamura |first=Kathleen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZN7w2kXxtoC |title=Body Image: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice |publisher=Guilford Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59385-015-9 |editor=Thomas F. Cash |pages=243–249 |chapter=Chapter 28. Asian American Body Images |access-date=October 16, 2015 |editor2=Thomas Pruzinsky |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZN7w2kXxtoC&pg=PA243 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530202534/https://books.google.com/books?id=qZN7w2kXxtoC |archive-date=May 30, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> This differs from the US census definition,<ref name="centech" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/2007/usedata/Subject_Definitions.pdf |title=American Community Survey; Puerto Rico Community Survey; 2007 Subject Definitions |publisher=United States Census Bureau |page=31 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}<br />{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/SubjectDefinitions/2007_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf |title=American Community Survey; Puerto Rico Community Survey; 2007 Subject Definitions |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=April 11, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}<br />{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/code_lists/2017_ACS_Code_Lists.pdf?# |title=American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey: 2017 Code List |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2017 |website=Code Lists, Definitions, and Accuracy |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |access-date=3 May 2019 |archive-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601024007/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/code_lists/2017_ACS_Code_Lists.pdf |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2017_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf?# |title=American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey: 2017 Subject Definitions |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2017 |website=Code Lists, Definitions, and Accuracy |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |access-date=4 May 2019 |pages=114–116 |quote=Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of East Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes people who indicate their race as "Asian Indian", "Chinese", "Filipino", "Korean", "Japanese", "Vietnamese", and "Other Asian" or provide other detailed Asian responses. |archive-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605075859/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2017_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Asian American Studies departments in many universities consider all those of East, South, or Southeast Asian descent to be "Asian".<ref>[http://www.aasp.cornell.edu/courses.php Cornell Asian American Studies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509122745/http://www.aasp.cornell.edu/courses.php |date=May 9, 2008 }}; contains mentions to South Asians<br />[http://sis.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_list_crse_req?p_dept_name=Asian+American+Studies&p_dept_cd=ASAMST UC Berkeley – General Catalog – Asian American Studies Courses] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221023715/http://sis.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_list_crse_req?p_dept_name=Asian%20American%20Studies&p_dept_cd=ASAMST |date=December 21, 2008 }}; South and Southeast Asian courses are present<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.uic.edu/ucat/catalog/LAASAM.htm |title=Asian American Studies |year=2009 |work=2009–2011 Undergraduate Catalog |publisher=University of Illinois at Chicago |access-date=April 11, 2011 |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607085718/http://www.uic.edu/ucat/catalog/LAASAM.htm |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://hss.fullerton.edu/asian-american/program.asp |title=Welcome to Asian American Studies |year=2003 |work=Asian American Studies |publisher=California State University, Fullerton |access-date=April 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711072924/http://hss.fullerton.edu/asian-american/program.asp |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://aas.stanford.edu/program.htm |title=Program |work=Asian American Studies |publisher=[[Stanford University]] |access-date=April 11, 2011 |archive-date=January 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110165001/http://aas.stanford.edu/program.htm |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://asianamericanstudies.osu.edu/aboutus |title=About Us |year=2007 |work=Asian American Studies |publisher=Ohio State University |access-date=April 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811221323/http://asianamericanstudies.osu.edu/aboutus |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |df=mdy }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.umass.edu/asianasianamstudies/index.html |title=Welcome |year=2011 |work=Asian and Asian American Studies Certificate Program |publisher=University of Massachusetts Amherst |access-date=April 11, 2011 |archive-date=December 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223001218/http://www.umass.edu/asianasianamstudies/index.html |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.aasp.cornell.edu/overview.php |title=Overview |year=2007 |work=Cornell University Asian American Studies Program |publisher=Cornell University |access-date=April 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615023227/http://www.aasp.cornell.edu/courses.php |archive-date=June 15, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref>

===Census definition===
In the [[United States census|US census]], people with origins or ancestry in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia are classified as part of the [[Ethnic groups in the United States#Asian Americans|Asian race]];<ref name=":5" /> while those with origins or ancestry in parts of West Asia ([[Israeli Americans|Israelis]], [[Turkish Americans|Turks]], [[Iranian Americans|Persians]], [[Kurdish Americans|Kurds]], [[Assyrian Americans|Assyrians]], [[Arab Americans|Arabs]], etc.) and the [[Caucasus]] ([[Georgian Americans|Georgians]], [[Armenian Americans|Armenians]], [[Azerbaijani Americans|Azerbaijanis]], [[Chechen Americans|Chechens]], [[Circassian Americans|Circassians]], etc.) are classified under the "Middle Eastern and [[North Africans in the United States|North African]]" race.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lo Wang |first=Hansi |date=28 Mar 2024 |title=Next U.S. census will have new boxes for 'Middle Eastern or North African,' 'Latino' |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1237218459/census-race-categories-ethnicity-middle-east-north-africa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403113722/https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1237218459/census-race-categories-ethnicity-middle-east-north-africa |archive-date=3 April 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">United States Census Bureau, 2000 Census of Population, Public Law 94-171 Redistricting Data File.{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011103175823/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68178.htm|date=November 3, 2001|title=Race}}. (archived from [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68178.htm the original] on November 3, 2001).</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ferris.edu/diversity/measurements/ferris%20state%20university%20enrollment%201999%20to%202006.pdf |title=COMPARATIVE ENROLLMENT BY RACE/ETHNIC ORIGIN |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Diversity and Inclusion Office |publisher=Ferris State University |access-date=August 9, 2014 |quote=original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924011925/http://www.ferris.edu/diversity/measurements/ferris%20state%20university%20enrollment%201999%20to%202006.pdf |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.aaiusa.org/pages/not-quite-white-race-classification-and-the-arab-american-experience |title=Not Quite White: Race Classification and the Arab American Experience |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 4, 1997 |website=Arab American Institute |publisher=Arab Americans by the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University |access-date=August 9, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826035428/http://www.aaiusa.org/pages/not-quite-white-race-classification-and-the-arab-american-experience |archive-date=August 26, 2014 |df=mdy }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.modelminority.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=284:how-the-us-courts-established-the-white-race-&catid=42:law&Itemid=56 |title=How the U.S. Courts Established the White Race |author=Ian Haney Lopez |date=1996 |website=Model Minority |publisher=New York University Press |access-date=August 9, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811164418/http://www.modelminority.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=284%3Ahow-the-us-courts-established-the-white-race-&catid=42%3Alaw&Itemid=56 |archive-date=August 11, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_RHI125213.htm |title=Race |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2010 |website=United States Census Bureau |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |access-date=August 9, 2014 |quote=White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716122857/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_RHI125213.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2014 |url-status=dead }}<br />{{cite web |last=Kleinyesterday |first=Uri |url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/.premium-1.661491?v=58948502ECBEAD6D447FB207FE19031C |title=New U.S. census category to include 'Israeli' option – Jewish World Features – Haaretz – Israel News |website=Haaretz |date=2015-06-18 |access-date=2017-02-27 |archive-date=September 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911155847/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/.premium-1.661491?v=58948502ECBEAD6D447FB207FE19031C |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/programs-surveys/decennial/2020-census/2015_census_tests/nct/2015-nct-frn.pdf |title=Public Comments Received on Federal Register notice 79 FR 71377: Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2015 National Content Test: U.S. Census Bureau; Department of Commerce: December 2, 2014 – February 2, 2015 |website=Census.gov |access-date=2017-02-27 |archive-date=July 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726045556/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/programs-surveys/decennial/2020-census/2015_census_tests/nct/2015-nct-frn.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> As such, "Asian" and "African" ancestry are seen as racial categories only for the purpose of the census, with the definition referring to ancestry from parts of the Asian and African continents outside of parts of West Asia and [[North Africa]].

In 1980 and before, census forms listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups, along with ''white'' and ''black or negro''.<ref>[http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/items1980.shtml 1980 Census: Instructions to Respondents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061130102446/http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/items1980.shtml |date=November 30, 2006 }}, republished by [[IPUMS|Integrated Public Use Microdata Series]], [[Minnesota Population Center]], [[University of Minnesota]] at http://www.ipums.org {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711234118/http://www.ipums.org/ |date=July 11, 2013 }} Accessed November 19, 2006.</ref> Asian Americans had also been classified as "other".<ref name="GordonLee">Lee, Gordon. ''Hyphen'' magazine. {{cite web |url= http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/features/issues/summer03/theforgottenrevolution.php |title= The Forgotten Revolution |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030707160800/http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/features/issues/summer03/theforgottenrevolution.php |archive-date= July 7, 2003 |url-status=dead |access-date= June 1, 2016 }}. 2003. January 28, 2007 (archived from [http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/features/issues/summer03/theforgottenrevolution.php the original] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002114541/http://hyphenmagazine.com/features/issues/summer03/theforgottenrevolution.php |date=October 2, 2007 }} on March 17, 2008).</ref> In 1977, the federal [[Office of Management and Budget]] issued a directive requiring government agencies to maintain statistics on racial groups, including on "Asian or Pacific Islander".<ref>{{cite book |title=Yellow: race in America beyond black and white |last=Wu |first=Frank H. Wu |year=2003 |publisher=Basic Books|location=New York |isbn=9780465006403 |page=310 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkPvf5Cs-DgC&pg=PA310 |access-date=April 15, 2011}}</ref> By the 1990 census, "Asian or Pacific Islander (API)" was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry as a subcategory.<ref>[http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/items1990.shtml 1990 Census: Instructions to Respondents] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406100938/http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/items1990.shtml|date=April 6, 2012}}, republished by [[IPUMS|Integrated Public Use Microdata Series]], Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota at http://www.ipums.org {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711234118/http://www.ipums.org/ |date=July 11, 2013 }} Accessed November 19, 2006.<br />Reeves, Terrance Claudett, Bennett. United States Census Bureau. ''[https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-540.pdf Asian and Pacific Islander Population: March 2002] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110075208/https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-540.pdf|date=January 10, 2021}}. 2003. September 30, 2006.''</ref> Beginning with the 2000 census, two separate categories were used: "Asian American" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.api-gbv.org/resources/census-data-api-identities.php|title=Census Data / API Identities {{!}} Research & Statistics {{!}} Resources Publications Research Statistics {{!}} Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence|website=www.api-gbv.org|access-date=May 27, 2016|archive-date=June 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609135048/http://www.api-gbv.org/resources/census-data-api-identities.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Debates and criticism===
{{See also|Racial classification of Indian Americans}}

The definition of ''Asian American'' has variations that derive from the [[use of the word American|use of the word ''American'']] in different contexts. Immigration status, citizenship (by birthright and by naturalization), acculturation, and language ability are some variables that are used to define ''American'' for various purposes and may vary in formal and everyday usage.<ref>Wood, Daniel B. [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0425/p03s03-ussc.html "Common Ground on who's an American."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208183807/http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0425/p03s03-ussc.html|date=February 8, 2007}} ''Christian Science Monitor''. January 19, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2007.</ref> For example, restricting ''American'' to include only US citizens conflicts with discussions of Asian American businesses, which generally refer both to citizen and non-citizen owners.<ref name="Asian Owned Businesses 2018">{{cite news|url=https://census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2016/07/asian-owned-businesses-nearing-two-million.html|title=Asian-Owned Businesses Nearing Two Million|author=Mary Frauenfelder|newspaper=census.gov|access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-date=July 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719121341/https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2016/07/asian-owned-businesses-nearing-two-million.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2023 [[Pew Research Center]] survey of Asian Americans found that 28% self-identify as "Asian", with 52% preferring to refer to themselves by more specific ethnic groupings and 10% simply self-identifying as "American".<ref name="2023survey">{{Cite web |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2023/05/08/diverse-cultures-and-shared-experiences-shape-asian-american-identities/ |title=Diverse Cultures and Shared Experiences Shape Asian American Identities |date=2023-05-08 |accessdate=2023-05-11 |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |first1=Neil G. |last1=Ruiz |first2=Luis |last2=Noe-Bustamante |first3=Sono |last3=Shah |language=en-US}}</ref>

In a PBS interview from 2004, a panel of Asian American writers discussed how some groups include people of Middle Eastern descent in the Asian American category.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/searching/aafr_erq1_1.html|title=Searching For Asian America. Community Chats – PBS|website=pbs.org|access-date=November 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104122128/http://www.pbs.org/searching/aafr_erq1_1.html|archive-date=November 4, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Asian American author Stewart Ikeda has noted, "The definition of 'Asian American' also frequently depends on who's asking, who's defining, in what context, and why... the possible definitions of 'Asian-Pacific American' are many, complex, and shifting... some scholars in Asian American Studies conferences suggest that Russians, Iranians, and Israelis all might fit the field's subject of study."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdiversity.com/Villages/Asian/dialogue_opinion_letters/archives/ikeda_apa_definition.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610050512/http://www.imdiversity.com/Villages/Asian/dialogue_opinion_letters/archives/ikeda_apa_definition.asp |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |title=What's an "Asian American" Now, Anyway? |author=S. D. Ikeda |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> [[Jeff Yang]], of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', writes that the [[Panethnicity|panethnic]] definition of Asian American is a unique American construct, and as an identity is "in [[Beta test|beta]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=Easy Tiger (Nation) |first=Jeff |last=Yang |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/10/27/easy-tiger-nation/ |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=October 27, 2012 |access-date=February 19, 2013 |archive-date=March 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316154525/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/10/27/easy-tiger-nation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The majority of Asian Americans feel ambivalence about the term "Asian American" as a term by which to [[Identity (social science)|identify themselves]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Park |first1=Jerry Z. |date=1 August 2008 |title=Second-Generation Asian American Pan-Ethnic Identity: Pluralized Meanings of a Racial Label |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241278559 |journal=Sociological Perspectives |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=541–561 |doi=10.1525/sop.2008.51.3.541 |s2cid=146327919 |access-date=14 August 2019 |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326122521/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241278559_Second-Generation_Asian_American_Pan-Ethnic_Identity_Pluralized_Meanings_of_a_Racial_Label |url-status=live }} <!--This information is in the 4th sentence, of the 2nd paragraph of page 543, which is page 4/23 of the PDF document.--></ref> [[Pyong Gap Min]], a sociologist and Professor of Sociology at [[Queens College]], has stated the term is merely political, used by Asian American activists and further reinforced by the government. Beyond that, he feels that South Asians and East Asians do not have commonalities in "culture, physical characteristics, or pre-migrant historical experiences".<ref>{{cite news |last=Sailer |first=Steve |date=11 July 2002 |title=Feature: Who exactly is Asian American? |url=https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |work=UPI |location=Los Angeles |access-date=20 September 2020 |quote=It is a political term used by Asian-American activists and enhanced by governmental treatment. In terms of culture, physical characteristics, and pre-migrant historical experiences, I have argued, South and East Asians do not have commonalities and as a result, they do not maintain close ties in terms friendship, intermarriage or sharing neighborhoods |archive-date=September 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905065158/https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Scholars have grappled with the accuracy, correctness, and usefulness of the term Asian American. The term "Asian" in Asian American most often comes under fire for only encompassing some of the diverse peoples of Asia, and for being considered a racial category instead of a non-racial "ethnic" category. This is namely due to the categorization of the racially different South Asians and East Asians as part of the same "race".<ref name="whoisasianam"/> Furthermore, it has been noted that West Asians (whom are not considered "Asian" under the US census) share some cultural similarities with Indians but very little with East Asians, with the latter two groups being classified as "Asian".<ref>{{cite news |last=Sailer |first=Steve |date=July 11, 2002 |title=Feature: Who exactly is Asian American? |url=https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |work=UPI |location=Los Angeles |access-date=July 8, 2021 |archive-date=September 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905065158/https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |url-status=live|quote=Dinesh D'Souza ... told United Press International, "Middle Eastern culture has some similarities (religion, cuisine, taste in music and movies) with Asian Indian culture, but very few with Oriental (Far Eastern) culture."}}</ref> Scholars have also found it difficult to determine why Asian Americans are considered a "race" while Americans of Hispanic and Latino heritage are a non-racial "ethnic group", given how the category of Asian Americans similarly comprises people with diverse origins.<ref name="LeeMountainKoenig2001">Lee, S.S., Mountain, J. & Koenig, B.A. (2001). The Meanings of Race in the New Genomics: Implications for Health Disparities Research. ''[[Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics]] 1,'' (1). Pages 43, 44, & 45. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061101012859/http://www.yale.edu/yjhple/volume_1/pdf/033%20%28koenig%29.pdf Wayback Machine link].</ref> However, it has been argued that South Asians and East Asians can be "justifiably" grouped together because of Buddhism's origins in South Asia and contemporary practice in East Asia.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sailer |first=Steve |date=July 11, 2002 |title=Feature: Who exactly is Asian American? |url=https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |work=UPI |location=Los Angeles |access-date=July 8, 2021 |archive-date=September 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905065158/https://www.upi.com/Feature-Who-exactly-is-Asian-American/34451026436660/ |url-status=live|quote=The most common justification advanced for federal government's clustering together South Asians and East Asians is that Buddhism originated in India.}}</ref>

In contrast, leading [[social science]]s and [[humanities]] scholars of race and Asian American identity point out that because of the racial constructions in the United States, including the social attitudes toward race and those of Asian ancestry, Asian Americans have a "shared racial experience".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Geisha of a Different Kind: Race and Sexuality in Gaysian America|last=Han|first=Chong-Suk Winter|publisher=New York University Press|year=2015|location=New York|page=4}}</ref> Because of this shared experience, the term Asian American is argued as still being a useful [[Panethnicity|panethnic]] category because of the similarity of some experiences among Asian Americans, including stereotypes specific to people in this category.<ref name=":0" /> Despite this, others have stated that many Americans do not treat all Asian Americans equally, highlighting the fact that "Asian American" is generally synonymous with people of East Asian descent, thereby excluding people of Southeast Asian and South Asian origin.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kambhampaty|first=Anna Purna|title=At Census Time, Asian Americans Again Confront the Question of Who 'Counts' as Asian. Here's How the Answer Got So Complicated|url=https://time.com/5800209/asian-american-census/|date=March 12, 2020|access-date=July 9, 2021|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|quote=But American culture tends not to think of all regions in Asia as equally Asian. A quick Google search of "Asian food nearby" is likely to call up Chinese or Japanese restaurants, but not Indian or Filipino. Years after someone posted a thread on College Confidential, a popular college admissions forum, titled "Do Indians count as Asians?" the SAT in 2016 tweaked its race categories, explaining to test-takers that "Asian" did include "Indian subcontinent and Philippines origin."}}</ref> Some South and Southeast Asian Americans may not identify with the Asian American label, instead describing themselves as "Brown Asians" or simply "Brown", due to the perceived racial and cultural differences between them and East Asian Americans.<ref>{{cite web|last=Schiavenza|first=Matt|title= Why Some 'Brown Asians' Feel Left Out of the Asian American Conversation|url=https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-some-brown-asians-feel-left-out-asian-american-conversation|date=October 19, 2016|access-date=September 9, 2022|website=[[Asia Society]]|quote=It's one of the reasons many brown Asians do not identify as Asian Americans. Perhaps we just don't feel connected to East Asian people, cultures, and lived realities. Perhaps we also don't feel welcomed and included.}}</ref><ref name="Asia Society 2016">{{cite web|last=Schiavenza|first=Matt|title= Why Some 'Brown Asians' Feel Left Out of the Asian American Conversation|url=https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-some-brown-asians-feel-left-out-asian-american-conversation|date=October 19, 2016|access-date=September 9, 2022|website=[[Asia Society]]|quote=And that, unfortunately, did not include any South Asians and only one Filipino. That caused a bit of an outcry. It raises a legitimate issue, of course, one about how 'brown Asians' often feel excluded from the Asian American conversation.}}</ref><ref name="AAPR">{{cite journal|last=Nadal|first=Kevin L|date=February 2, 2020|title=The Brown Asian American Movement: Advocating for South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Filipino American Communities|url=https://aapr.hkspublications.org/2020/02/02/the-brown-asian-american-movement-advocating-for-south-asian-southeast-asian-and-filipino-american-communities/|journal=Asian American Policy Review|volume=29|access-date=September 9, 2022|quote=South Asian Americans have shared how they are excluded from the Asian American umbrella because of their cultural, religious, and racial/phenotypic differences – resulting in lack of representation in Asian American Studies, narratives, and media representations.}}</ref>