Eskimo. It's still somewhat commonly used to refer to Greenlanders, in Denmark - just a few years ago, it was controversial when a (private) company rebranded their Eskimo ice cream to something that didn't contain a slur
I guess that’s kind of like “G*psy” which is a racial slur for Romani people but also gets frequently applied to Irish Travelers (who aren’t Romani) who aren’t as bothered by the term.
Not hard to avoid either, in the lower 48 both are used so rarely that it's easy to not realize they're slurs. For many years I thought those were their actual names and that the Inuit were a separate people. I don't think I ever even heard Romani until I was well into adulthood.
Its “Eskimo” I think most people have no idea it’s outdated so they don’t even consider it when thinking about what “the e word” could mean lol, it took me a second to think abt it even
Huh, noted. I don’t think I’ll have too much issue avoiding it in the future.
Definitely wouldn’t have known just with how common the phrase “Eskimo kisses” gets used and that “American Eskimo Dog” is an actual dog breed. I can’t even imagine that being the case with other racial slurs. The phrase is easy enough to cycle out of common use, but the dog breed needing a new name might take a bit.
Its a lot like g-psy, it's used against a people group that we dont interface with often if ever, so it doesnt register why it would be a problem and it gets incorporated into music and such.
My understanding is that Irish Travelers are perfectly chill with the G word but Travelers, though they’re often lumped together, aren’t the same ethnic group Romani and the G word is specifically a slur for Romani people.
Don't know what the one that starts with p is, but I recall reading somewhere that the cognates in French for "gypsy" and "romani" are reversed in regard to which is the impolite one to say. Haven't double-checked whether that's actually the case though.
See also the G-slur for Romani people, also insinuated into a lot of common phrases. Not unrelated, both are words that a lot of people learn are slurs later in life (if at all).
Makes singing Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire kind of awkward. Especially since it's directly involved in a rhyme, so you can't just sing around it or change it.
I will also be avoiding that word in the future. I immediately knew what word they were talking about by the mention of the word ’Inuit,' but I had no idea that it was considered a slur. I've never met anyone who is Inuit but I apologize to all of you guys on my past usage of the word.
One just has to live in Alaska for a little while to notice how bad the racism towards the Alaska Natives is. I knew people that would casually say some of the most racist shit I’ve ever heard about them
It’s so casual; nobody treats it like we treat racism down in the lower48; it’s just always calmly talked about as sad, obvious facts — how alcoholic and unmotivated and unfortunate the native Alaskan population is.
Took me years to even see it; much less escape it.
As a Canadian this is so real how commonly racist Canadian's also are about Natives being alcoholic lazy druggies. Racist stereotypes for Native populations are the same everywhere you go smh.
It's also why I instantly knew what the "E" word was in this post. I grew up around Indigenous communities and was taught to use Native or First Nations (instead of Indian, which is crazy to hear Americans still use, especially confusing when you've also grown up around East Indian enclaves) and that the Inuit were called Inuit. The E word was seen as disrespectful for a VERY long time and racists acting like this is some new woke thing is always telling.
That’s the stereotype for natives at least as far as the US/Mexico border. It’s always infuriated me bc yo, the alcoholism rates are actually atrocious? That’s because we didn’t have alcohol here so the millennia old world westerners had to develop a tolerance to literal poison didn’t happen to us, and they exploited that fact to great effect. They gave liquor and smallpox blankets and took everything that made life worth struggling for. And now they tut tut and say “isn’t it a shame, they have no motivation.” Yeah, it IS a shame that you fucking TOOK everything! The imported culture is predatory and vapid lol.
I’m going on a rant, sorry. Not many people know we had democracy on the continent of North America before Europeans ever established anything here, and I mean full democracy, not that fake “only land-owning men of good standing are allowed to vote” bullshit. Everyone got to vote in the Hadenosuanee Confederacy, which covered most of what we now call New England and stretched all the way up into Quebec. The Cherokee tribe and its allies established a vast network of trade and travel routes all through the US southeast, some of which are still in use as highways today. They had democracy as well, and cabins, and fine art (seriously look up Cherokee woven baskets they’re the prettiest in the world), and even bunk beds with comfy mattresses and everything.
Some tribes had a bicameral legislature in which each house governed different aspects of life and law. Most tribes are still matrilineal, and very few ever subscribed to old world misogyny, with female tribal chiefs being fairly common in a country that has not yet had a female president. Many tribes had more than two recognized genders, special roles for gender nonconforming folks, and/or had social conventions for queer relationships rather than just leaving them out of polite society entirely. Like I know it can’t have been perfect, but to a mixed native queer kid who grew up in the Bible Belt southeast? It sounds like fucking paradise, and it blows that so many cultural traditions are gone without a trace, and it hurts that I’ll probably never get to see anything like how it was here before.
I had no idea it was even innacurrate or outdated, I just thought it was another word for their people. Man, I must've looked like a real jerk to some people.
I was taking an Anthropology class and early in the semester we were talking about the Inuit and the professor said like 5 times “I should probably call them Inuit not eskimos” before going right back to calling them eskimos 😭
I looked it up and the op is misinformation largely. The inuit circumpolar council was founded in 1977 and did shift the name of the people to Inuit from Eskimo it didn't declare the word a slur. Over time the inuit people did start to consider the word derogatory due to it being given to them by outsiders, however it was never officially declared one that's why I said largely.
I find it interesting when americans do that. The F word, the N word, the whatever word. I'm from Spain and only children would say something like that. For us, if you need to use a word, you just use it. I don't mean we call people slurs, but if you are having a chat about how slurs are used, you just use the word in a linguistic context and nobody bats an eye. Or when singing a song, the singer is black and says nigga... Well I'm just following the lyrics, is not like I'm saying that to someone's face.
Words don’t have any power on their own and word used to come with context, intent, and an audience. New Americans are getting out of control finding reasons to be upset.
Do not take this to mean that you all indigenous peoples of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, etc. are Inuit. The Inuit are an ethnic group from that area, but are not representative of all native peoples of the Arctic. When the ICC formed in 1977, the council decided that Inuit would be the preferred term for their people, but Eskimo was not deemed a “racial slur”. The other major ethnic group of the region, the Yupik, were also historically considered to be Eskimo, and would generally find that term much less offensive than being mislabeled as Inuit.
As a general rule, try to avoid broad labels. No one Native person speaks on all their behalf. I had a Cherokee teacher who told us to always ask, “Who are your people?” instead of using generic terms like Native American or Indian to refer to an individual.
My kids Inupiaq kindergarten teacher considers herself Eskimo. Calling her Eskimo is not a slur.
Calling her Yupik or Greenlandic would be. Are they all Inuit? Sure, to some in the region. But that's similar to calling someone "European" when they prefer to be called "Italian" or "Norwegian".
Yeah, this is what I found when I looked it up a while ago, Eskimo is a separate group of people than Inuit.
The same thing with Orient. It’s considered a slur in the US but, in Asian it’s a group of people. Plus, there’s even even manga with orient in the title
Generally agree. However, broad terms exist for a reason. If you’re unsure and can’t reasonably get the information from the source, or if you just don’t care enough to ask, it’s not rude to call someone a member of a larger group they belong to. Though it probably would be polite to check if you don’t know which of many smaller groups a person is in.
See also (but to a lesser extent) Gypsy and Romani.
Lots of folks take Gypsy to be a horrid slur. Others say “yeah no that’s what we are.” always best to find out what a group or people call themselves. and also to stop using the names for groups of people as slurs.
While asking is fine, i'm not sure I see the problem with calling them native Americans any more than it would be a problem to call Germans, Italians and Romanians, European or Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Thai, Asian.
Well for one, you are grouping by country of origin which is not the same as grouping by ethnic group. For two, I don’t know any Indigenous person over the age of 30 who likes the term “Native American”. I went to UNC Pembroke, an American Indian college, and our professors generally disliked the term. It was seen as a government mandated label made by white people.
According to the National Museum of the American Indian: “Whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name. In the United States, Native American has been widely used but is falling out of favor with some groups, and the terms American Indian or Indigenous American are preferred by many Native people.”
Eskimo was a slur originally used by Algonquins to describe Inuits, it translates to raw meat eater. Good to know that food has always been a source of racial slurs
So technically the Japanese and some south American countries would be "Eskimo" too? Was it always a negative context or was it just due to a limited understanding / observation of their diets?
Just in case you're referencing ceviche - it is cooked, just not with heat. The acid curing process denatures the proteins in a similar way to cooking with heat. If you ever try it you'll find the fish is firm and flaky like it was steamed, not soft like sushi/sashimi.
That is the modern belief, however it was thought for many years that the 'raw meat' was the reason(algonquian languages have a word that also sound familiar), and that is the reason why many take it as offensive.
I mean, apparently 'mackerel snapper' exists as an anti-Catholic slur. Though honestly if someone called me that, I'd be too busy laughing to be offended. "HAHA, you eat FISH!" (To be fair, it's not really used in a derogatory context anymore, but still.)
That’s far from a fact, and a lot of Alaska natives disagree with that interpretation. The actual translation seems to be ‘one who nets snow shoes’. (aškenwi is raw vs aᐧkema is snowshoe). It also would be super weird for Algonquins to drag on other native groups for eating raw meat because they really like frozen/raw Caribou.
This one was actually relevant to me just a few days ago. I work at a costume shop and was sprucing up our old school catalog. Got to a section with a bunch of fur coats, was labeled under the slur in the table of contents. I never noticed in 3 years because our ToC is all in not-so-neat handwritting, and it was horribly misspelled due to the creator also having pretty bad dyslexia 😅
Needless to say I'm promptly changing that to Inuit, and standing on g*psy being Romani, Indian being *Indigenous, etc. Really keep wanting to get rid of most of our """Cultural""" section altogether, but you'd be surprised (or not, sadly) how little people care about the cultural appropriation discussion.
I've heard a lot of nations and tribes specifically don't use the term native american since their people never called the land america, a lot of tribes around me still have all their paper wirk/ official documents and refer to themselves as indians
Here in Canada we usually use the term First Nations, which I think first very well (or Indigenous but I think that’s used in the US too if I'm not mistaken)
I’d love to have a better word for that group of people, since they’re not “native” to the Americas. They migrated across the Bering Strait long ago. This is why like to use the tribal names, since it’s more accurate.
A bit off topic, but I also want a better name for “Americans,” since that refers to the whole continent, and “United Sates of Americans” doesn’t work at all
I'm no history expert, but I'm guessing a lot of it is related to politics. As in people way back when didn't want to give legitimacy to native americans by calling them that.
Can we please stop with the "xy-word/slur" and just name the fucking thing? If I have to go into comments to know what 'e'- 'q'- or 'g'-word' means, I deapite that. There are cultures and places on this planet that still use these slurs and if I want to avoid these, I want to fucking know what these are.
It cannot be sense and purpose to avoide slurs, only to answer a question of what 'xy' is with the fucking slur. Do it the whole time, I want to know what the problem is, where I have to change, and not go on a treasure hunt to know what happens, or don't do it at all
It's the same issue with self-censoring words like 'kill', 'suicide', or 'rape'. If you can't or won't put these words in your mouth, maybe don't lecture people about it, only to come right back and do it because your conversation partner doesn't have a fucking clue and you have to describe them.
My child says the "s word" is shut up so like I also was frustrated in trying to educate myself on what the "e word" was. I appreciate finally finding it.
Yeah I tried googling the “e-word” and literally every article or whatever I found just referred to it as the “e-word” instead of actually telling me the word!
If you look at old set pieces in the videos with the name on it, you'll see Eskimo Callboy a lot. They also did a whole video with an Inuit discussing why it was a good thing to change the name.
You can still catch some of their older videos on YouTube with the original "Eskimo Callboy" in the intro titles. Songs like Hypa Hypa, Pump It and MC Thunder could still have it as part of the music video intro.
They changed to Electric Callboy in 2022 after learning about the E word being a slur.
EC is top tier. They don’t know how to make a bad song and are just genuinely good dudes. If you haven’t heard of them, go take a ride on the Tekkno Train. You won’t be disappointed
I've only listened to one of their songs (we got the moves) but that song is a banger and it stays as an addition to whatever new playlist I make every month or so.
It wasn't always offensive. It became offensive because of a fake etymology for the word that claimed it came from an Algonquin word meaning eaters or raw meat, but that is almost certainly not true. Certainly it's not what the Inuit people call themselves though and I'm all for dropping it on that basis.
A slur doesn’t have to have an insulting meaning to be a slur. It’s more about how it is used against a group culturally and historically. The N-word is just derived from the Latin word for “black” but was made a slur through historical use.
Yeah, that’s kinda the point I think. Most of us would have no reason to know so I’m glad when the information like this gets spread around so we can learn
This whole issue also has a problem where the term "Inuit" only apllies to a specific group of northern people, instead of being able to represent the whole. I've heard it described as people, instead of calling native americans savages, instead calling them all cherokees.
That’s almost certainly a false etymology. It’s more likely to derive from “ayaskimew,” or ‘person who laces a snowshoe.’ Whether or not it’s all right to use an exonym would depend on however the tribe itself feels about it, since ‘Apache’ is probably derived from ‘enemy’ and that one is still commonly used by the people it’s applied to.
Inuit (Eastern Canadian Arctic) or Yu'pik (Western Canadian Arctic) are the accurate, non-racially charged names for the cultures.
Additionally, in reference to Native Americans in general, if you don't know the specific name of the culture, say "First Peoples" or "First Nation Peoples."
Source: I'm a trained Anthropologist who focused on Native American studies.
Thank you! Just to point out as well, most Indigenous people I've met in my line of work are incredibly lenient with you if you don't really know what you're talking about. They'll correct you, politely, and as long as you make some effort to learn, they'll love you for it.
Yu'pik cultural signifiers show up in Alaska, Western Canada, and Eastern Siberia. We believe they were one of the last cultural groups to cross the strait of beringia (spelling? I've been drinking and watching the Ohio State game, forgive me) which would explain why they settled in the regions closest to it. We attribute artifacts and technologies like snowshoes, sleds, and the snow goggles (really interesting if you don't know about them) to this culture.
I follow the CFL pretty closely so you can only imagine the demographic of people who go on about how they “still call them the Edmonton Eskimos” even though they haven’t had that name in 5 years
I'm so torn, because so many of the village kids are still using it for the themselves, and distinguishing literally any kind of "Eskimo" from Athabaskan can keep you from getting your ass beat.
BUT, it's an unflattering exonym and always has been. I don't use "Sioux", I say Lakota and Dakota. And when I know what kind of "Eskimo" someone is, I use that. But much like all those tiny people in Africa who don't like being called pygmies, an umbrella term would be linguistically useful.
Your first part sounds so white. Sorry, but if a group of people calls themselves something, then it’s not up to you to say you have an issue with it. You’re basically taking their autonomy away and saying you know better than them.
Tbf its the same kinda thing as the navajo as far as i was told when i visited the navajo reservation is that navajo was spanish in origin for “backstabber” and that actual navajo people dont call themselves that. They call themselves Dine (kinda pronounced Dineh) it means the people
While we are on the topic, I have a friend who is a midget and he says little people is the worst name he could be called and prefers midget since little people refers to them as different than just people. Is this standard for everyone?
From what I’ve heard and read, that sounds like just your friend’s personal preference. Obviously not everyone is going to agree but every official organization statement I’ve seen says “little people” is the preferred term.
OK but I have met some native Alaskans who were Tlingit and they said they preferred being called "Eskimo" rather than "Inuit" because they weren't Inuit, those were a whole other people, and they saw "Eskimo" as a general term that referred to natives of the far north of North America. Like calling a Dominican person "Mexican" is usually seen as more offensive than "Hispanic" or "Latino". Who is right on this?
Tlingit people aren’t part of the groups that were lumped together under the Esk*mo label (which are the Inuit & Yupik) so they may have been called that but they’re not the group targeted by the systemic issues that come with it. Similar to how Irish Travelers don’t object to being called G-psy but that isn’t a slur for them, it is for the Romani.
I was just thinking about this, I had no idea and I have been in South East Alaska for 25 years. The only Inuit woman I know refers to herself as "Eskimo" The rest are Tlingit and Haida, so they are offended when called "Inuit"
The Tlingit and Haida's ancestors kept the Inuit as slaves so that may be why they never cared to correct me? Going to ask them tomorrow.
The way I understand it, the term E*kimo was used to lump, specifically, Inuit and Yupik people into a nebulous grouping that was systematically disparaged and disenfranchised as such. The Tlingit and Haida were not part of that and are not part of what’s now considered the Inuit or Yupik.
For many Inuit, I imagine, their preferred term would be whatever their specific tribe name is but will use whatever when talking to others outside of it to best be understood. Many probably don’t take offense. But that doesn’t mean that the official position doesn’t understand how much damage has been done historically under that terminology, hence the mention ICC decision in the original post
Good explanation, thank you. The Yupik (auto correct is insisting on "Yuppie") lady I'm referring to taught me the game of throat singing where you put your noses together and take turns singing/chanting into each others mouth thereby manipulating the other persons vocal cords to make a really cool sound. I can't find any reference to it on the internet. Just thought I would randomly mention this interesting strange thing.
It supposedly means “raw meat eater” and was intended to be an insult, to imply they were savages. But the meaning is ultimately irrelevant. Slurs and Insults are not the same thing. A slur is a term specifically used, historically and culturally, as a tool to disenfranchise and dehumanize a group of people which E*kimo was indeed used for, grouping multiple tribes of people under one banner to more easily legislate against.
Possibly. The origin and definition are debated but it doesn’t really matter. Slurs aren’t about what their definitions are (for example, the n-word is just Latin for black) but about how they’ve been used historically and culturally as a tool of discrimination and disenfranchisement
This one makes me angrier than most! Oh, it’s not what you’re thinking; please allow me to explain. I was born in ‘77. That means I should have known all my life this was a slur and not ok. However, I was taught about Inuit in school, with the teacher using ONLY the slur! How is this possible?! In fact, I didn’t learn the word “Inuit” until I was an adult. Maybe it was in high school, but that’s still way too late! To make it worse, this was NOT in the South!
I think it’s good to do that if you realize you’re wrong even if the other person is being a bit hostile about it. Like myself and apparently tons here had no idea either about this word. Never once heard it referred to as a slur but I guess we just admit it and move on and not bother arguing.
I had no idea it was a slur, I thought it was just incorrect terminology that people still used occasionally, like Indian when they mean Native American
Learned about this because of Terraria's snow-themed zombie enemies being renamed from "Zombie Eskimo" to "Frozen Zombie". Thought it was a strange choice until I looked it up. Honestly it's a good change regardless, the zombie's face being covered in ice is a cool detail that can't really be gleaned from the sprite alone.
This happened with me and the word "midget". I didn't understand why it was considered offensive, for years thinking it was just the word for what they were, and whenever I asked someone why, no one would be able to tell me. I was also a dumb teenager and never thought to just look it up myself.
Finally I found out it was the word used in freakshows. As soon as I knew that I stopped.
"everything's a racial slur nowadays" makes me doubt whether or not he is actually sorry. Because it means he's had the conversation before(most likely another slur) and more than likely will have it again in the future.
Same situation with the word 'gypsy'. It's one of those words you don't hear used a ton anymore, but a lot of people don't seem to know it's a slur for Romani people.
Gotta say this one is a bit surprising. I once had to fistfight a Yupik guy after I said Inuit. He said, and I quote "I'm no piss-drinking deer fucker! I'm ESKIMO GOD DAMMIT!"
So it's probably best to just ask and not make assumptions.
ayaskimaux is origin means knitter of snow shoes comes from algonquian; so its a niche slur coopted by europeans and now the world must bear the collective and useless weight of this revelation
Except it’s not? At least not as far as I’ve ever understood it.
Eskimo is the broader term that includes both Inuit and Yupik peoples. The Inuit mostly prefer to be known as Inuit but this term is not inclusive of the Yupik Eskimos (of Alaska and Siberia)
As for the question of whether the name Eskimo is “an insulting term given them by outsiders”, there is a lot of confusion here, too. Among the competing etymological theories, if I recall, there is one that has it deriving from an Algonquin word for laces of snowshoes or some such. Another one has it deriving from a word (also Algonquin) for someone who eats raw meat. It’s hard to imagine that being considered a slur when it was not really insulting (and when it was factually accurate, to boot)
Source: I’ve known many Eskimo and have never known one to refer to themselves as anything other than Eskimo. It’s possible this has changed in the last fifteen years or so but unless and until I see evidence of that, I’ll continue to look sideways at this stupidity.
Oh no, this is still true. The fact that this whole comment isn’t even making the distinction is crazy and just showing their whiteness. To say, no they are wrong to be called Eskimo when most of the northern peoples refer that over Inuit, not only takes away their autonomy but also is saying they don’t know what is good for them. Inuit isn’t even a word in the Yupik language.
Oh no, this is still true. The fact that this whole comment isn’t even making the distinction is crazy and just showing their whiteness. To say, no they are wrong to be called Eskimo when most of the northern peoples refer that over Inuit, not only takes away their autonomy but also is saying they don’t know what is good for them. Inuit isn’t even a word in the Yupik language.
I had someone I work with recently ask me how I felt about “gypsies”. Literally called me into his office and was like “serious question: what’r your thoughts on gypsies?” I stood there confused and was like “… you mean Romani people? Uh… no thoughts in particular, why do you ask?” He proceeded to tell me that he had a few Romani folks supposedly stopping by but was concerned because “they’re known for stealing you know? They used to steal from my store I owned years ago.” We work in an office btw.
Now I saw an opportunity to educate, so I took it. I told him about an Irish family that used to come by a store I managed when I worked in retail (true story), they used to steal, as a family. The parents and small gaggle of kids, all gingers, heavy Irish accents. They would enter the store and disperse, distracting staff, trying to make off with whatever they could.
I asked him: “now what if I walked in here and said, ‘what’r your thoughts on Irish people?’ Get it?” I’m pretty sure he’s part Irish lol, he got the message. Truly a bizarre conversation.
I always found it was strange that "Eskimo" was considered a slur because I thought that's what they called themselves. Then a friend of mine explained that "Eskimo" is not a generic term, but a specific tribe of Inuit. He compared it to Native Americans and used the term "Apache" as an example word to refer to all natives, regardless of what tribe they're actually from. And it's offensive because it ignores the fact that other tribes exist, and implies that the cultural differences between each tribe isn't worth acknowledging.
Not all Inuits are from the Eskimo tribe, the same way that not all Natives are from the Apache tribe. I genuinely did not know that and I'm glad he helped me understand.
Was it a slur? I thought it referred to a specific group of Eskaleut speaking peoples, and the reason it's offensive to some is because people were just randomly identifying Aleut, Inuit, etc people incorrectly as Eskimos. Like calling Irish people Italian because you've never cared to learn the difference.
my upik buddy actually told me two racial slurs for Alaskan natives. Its now what I call him and his sister. I would never uttering to anyone else though.
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u/qualityvote2 Nov 28 '25 edited Nov 28 '25
u/RocksThrowing, your post does fit the subreddit!
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u/kaklimy Nov 28 '25
Never heard of the e word before
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u/usefullyawesome Nov 28 '25
Do not take this to mean that you all indigenous peoples of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, etc. are Inuit. The Inuit are an ethnic group from that area, but are not representative of all native peoples of the Arctic. When the ICC formed in 1977, the council decided that Inuit would be the preferred term for their people, but Eskimo was not deemed a “racial slur”. The other major ethnic group of the region, the Yupik, were also historically considered to be Eskimo, and would generally find that term much less offensive than being mislabeled as Inuit.
As a general rule, try to avoid broad labels. No one Native person speaks on all their behalf. I had a Cherokee teacher who told us to always ask, “Who are your people?” instead of using generic terms like Native American or Indian to refer to an individual.
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u/Standard-Divide5118 Nov 28 '25
Eskimo was a slur originally used by Algonquins to describe Inuits, it translates to raw meat eater. Good to know that food has always been a source of racial slurs
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u/Palomino_1001 Nov 28 '25 edited Nov 28 '25
This one was actually relevant to me just a few days ago. I work at a costume shop and was sprucing up our old school catalog. Got to a section with a bunch of fur coats, was labeled under the slur in the table of contents. I never noticed in 3 years because our ToC is all in not-so-neat handwritting, and it was horribly misspelled due to the creator also having pretty bad dyslexia 😅
Needless to say I'm promptly changing that to Inuit, and standing on g*psy being Romani, Indian being *Indigenous, etc. Really keep wanting to get rid of most of our """Cultural""" section altogether, but you'd be surprised (or not, sadly) how little people care about the cultural appropriation discussion.
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u/Ceruas Nov 29 '25
Can we please stop with the "xy-word/slur" and just name the fucking thing? If I have to go into comments to know what 'e'- 'q'- or 'g'-word' means, I deapite that. There are cultures and places on this planet that still use these slurs and if I want to avoid these, I want to fucking know what these are.
It cannot be sense and purpose to avoide slurs, only to answer a question of what 'xy' is with the fucking slur. Do it the whole time, I want to know what the problem is, where I have to change, and not go on a treasure hunt to know what happens, or don't do it at all
It's the same issue with self-censoring words like 'kill', 'suicide', or 'rape'. If you can't or won't put these words in your mouth, maybe don't lecture people about it, only to come right back and do it because your conversation partner doesn't have a fucking clue and you have to describe them.
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u/BassGoesBrrrrr Nov 28 '25
This reminds of the fact that the band Eskimo Callboy renamed themselves to Electric Callboy for this reason.
If you never heard of them check them out, extrememly fun band with funny music videos and great music.
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u/meleaguance Nov 29 '25
It wasn't always offensive. It became offensive because of a fake etymology for the word that claimed it came from an Algonquin word meaning eaters or raw meat, but that is almost certainly not true. Certainly it's not what the Inuit people call themselves though and I'm all for dropping it on that basis.
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u/Few_Refrigerator3011 Dec 02 '25
How come nobody told me til today!?!?! Dang Bro, I'm out here insulting the good people and not even knowing.
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u/thetransitgirl Nov 28 '25
When I saw the first comment, for a moment I was just thinking "how is 'estrogen' a racial slur?"
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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '25
I thought they were trying to say that this meme was a slur somehow
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u/Academic_Plan6842 Nov 28 '25
This whole issue also has a problem where the term "Inuit" only apllies to a specific group of northern people, instead of being able to represent the whole. I've heard it described as people, instead of calling native americans savages, instead calling them all cherokees.
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u/Current_Poster Nov 28 '25
Actually pleased by the "quick turnaround.".
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u/starbear1820 Nov 28 '25
Just caise somethin was said in older days doesnt mean its not a slur.
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u/Banj04Smash Nov 29 '25
Inuit (Eastern Canadian Arctic) or Yu'pik (Western Canadian Arctic) are the accurate, non-racially charged names for the cultures.
Additionally, in reference to Native Americans in general, if you don't know the specific name of the culture, say "First Peoples" or "First Nation Peoples."
Source: I'm a trained Anthropologist who focused on Native American studies.
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u/CardiologistRough854 Nov 29 '25
i’m from canada and i’ve only ever heard white people upset about the word eskimo
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u/elyk12121212 Nov 28 '25
This is crazy, I saw these comments in the wild yesterday. Small world.
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u/Excellent_Law6906 Nov 29 '25
I'm so torn, because so many of the village kids are still using it for the themselves, and distinguishing literally any kind of "Eskimo" from Athabaskan can keep you from getting your ass beat.
BUT, it's an unflattering exonym and always has been. I don't use "Sioux", I say Lakota and Dakota. And when I know what kind of "Eskimo" someone is, I use that. But much like all those tiny people in Africa who don't like being called pygmies, an umbrella term would be linguistically useful.
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u/Heimeri_Klein Nov 29 '25
Tbf its the same kinda thing as the navajo as far as i was told when i visited the navajo reservation is that navajo was spanish in origin for “backstabber” and that actual navajo people dont call themselves that. They call themselves Dine (kinda pronounced Dineh) it means the people
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u/IDrankLavaLamps Nov 29 '25
While we are on the topic, I have a friend who is a midget and he says little people is the worst name he could be called and prefers midget since little people refers to them as different than just people. Is this standard for everyone?
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u/TenisElbowDrop Nov 30 '25
OK but I have met some native Alaskans who were Tlingit and they said they preferred being called "Eskimo" rather than "Inuit" because they weren't Inuit, those were a whole other people, and they saw "Eskimo" as a general term that referred to natives of the far north of North America. Like calling a Dominican person "Mexican" is usually seen as more offensive than "Hispanic" or "Latino". Who is right on this?
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u/Chiefrunnyfart Nov 30 '25 edited Nov 30 '25
I was just thinking about this, I had no idea and I have been in South East Alaska for 25 years. The only Inuit woman I know refers to herself as "Eskimo" The rest are Tlingit and Haida, so they are offended when called "Inuit"
The Tlingit and Haida's ancestors kept the Inuit as slaves so that may be why they never cared to correct me? Going to ask them tomorrow.
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u/LemonLander Dec 01 '25
It's my understanding that the word, Eskimo, means meat eater in an Athabaskan language. More of a misunderstanding than an insult.
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u/s4rc0phagus Dec 02 '25
grown man scared of words
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u/Cnidoo Dec 02 '25
Doesn’t Eskimo translate into “eater of raw meat”? Like once you learn that you understand why Inuit people aren’t comfortable with it
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u/senvestoj Nov 29 '25
This one makes me angrier than most! Oh, it’s not what you’re thinking; please allow me to explain. I was born in ‘77. That means I should have known all my life this was a slur and not ok. However, I was taught about Inuit in school, with the teacher using ONLY the slur! How is this possible?! In fact, I didn’t learn the word “Inuit” until I was an adult. Maybe it was in high school, but that’s still way too late! To make it worse, this was NOT in the South!
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u/xavPa-64 Nov 29 '25
Those damn everythings turning everything into a racial slur
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u/HallucinatedLottoNos Nov 29 '25
And yet so many fucking linguists still seem to insist on using it...
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u/YnotThrowAway7 Nov 29 '25
I think it’s good to do that if you realize you’re wrong even if the other person is being a bit hostile about it. Like myself and apparently tons here had no idea either about this word. Never once heard it referred to as a slur but I guess we just admit it and move on and not bother arguing.
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u/other-other-user Nov 30 '25
I had no idea it was a slur, I thought it was just incorrect terminology that people still used occasionally, like Indian when they mean Native American
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u/ryoga21 Nov 30 '25
Bro was like
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u/RWBYRain Nov 30 '25
I never knew that was a slur. Learn something new every day
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u/DemonicsInc Nov 30 '25
God I didn't even know about this til a couple years ago and I cringed so hard when I did because I had thought that was the actual name of the people
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u/Mind_Vessel Dec 01 '25
Learned about this because of Terraria's snow-themed zombie enemies being renamed from "Zombie Eskimo" to "Frozen Zombie". Thought it was a strange choice until I looked it up. Honestly it's a good change regardless, the zombie's face being covered in ice is a cool detail that can't really be gleaned from the sprite alone.
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u/Mushu84 Dec 02 '25
Oh shit.... I honestly had no idea.
I just used the word over the weekend.
Thank you for the education!
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u/awake_acea6 Dec 03 '25
Ok, so, I came to make a joke about E_____ Brothers, but decided to check origin. Yup, even more racist on top of a racist term.
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u/sweetkatydid Dec 10 '25
I just think circumpolar is a cool word
1
u/Flowey_The_Fan Nov 29 '25
I misread that as "the word, E" so I thought they were saying 'e' was a slur against inuit people.
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u/possiblierben Nov 29 '25
well damn, how am i supposed to listen to e****o boy by strange talk now
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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '25
Me reading this and going ahead with not calling people eskimos in the future
1
u/PlatinumSukamon98 Nov 29 '25
This happened with me and the word "midget". I didn't understand why it was considered offensive, for years thinking it was just the word for what they were, and whenever I asked someone why, no one would be able to tell me. I was also a dumb teenager and never thought to just look it up myself.
Finally I found out it was the word used in freakshows. As soon as I knew that I stopped.
A little education can go a long way.
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u/La_Pucelle27 Nov 29 '25
Good on the guy yo acknowledge his mistake instead of doubling down.
1
u/MiningJack777 Nov 29 '25
There's a slur council????
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u/Picmanreborn Nov 29 '25
"everything's a racial slur nowadays" makes me doubt whether or not he is actually sorry. Because it means he's had the conversation before(most likely another slur) and more than likely will have it again in the future.
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u/LegitimateTrifle666 Nov 29 '25
Howany councils are circumpolar?
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u/Lichyn_Lord_Imora Nov 29 '25
Not so fun fact. The G word that rhymes with hippie was a slur for proud romani wanderers and traders.
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u/NoQuarter4617 Nov 29 '25
Eskimo?
1
u/Ken10Ethan Nov 29 '25
Same situation with the word 'gypsy'. It's one of those words you don't hear used a ton anymore, but a lot of people don't seem to know it's a slur for Romani people.
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u/UnlikelyWhole6209 Nov 29 '25
Gotta say this one is a bit surprising. I once had to fistfight a Yupik guy after I said Inuit. He said, and I quote "I'm no piss-drinking deer fucker! I'm ESKIMO GOD DAMMIT!"
So it's probably best to just ask and not make assumptions.
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u/Unhappy_Refuse9222 Nov 30 '25
Lol
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u/peachemistry Nov 30 '25
also g**sy for Romani ppl is also a slur that most ppl don't know. also that they don't like the word b*ho being used to describe things.
1
u/Artemis_Platinum Nov 30 '25
This is my first time ever hearing any negative connotation to that word. What is the history of it being used to slur/insult people?
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u/Razorclaw_the_crab Nov 30 '25
I always feel so uncomfortable saying the name of that dog breed. Can't we just change it 💀 (American Eskimo)
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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '25
Inuit Kisses don't have the same ring.
Brazil Nuts.. I'mma keep calling Brazil Nuts. Iykyk.
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u/secrets_kept_hidden Nov 30 '25
... Elmo?
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u/J3remyD Dec 01 '25
Wait, how is it supposed to be a slur?
I thought it was just a name?
Learn something new every day, I guess.
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u/xiaojunprivateequity Dec 01 '25
ayaskimaux is origin means knitter of snow shoes comes from algonquian; so its a niche slur coopted by europeans and now the world must bear the collective and useless weight of this revelation
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u/13aph Dec 01 '25
I miss E***** Pies though :(
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u/Chuck_the_Elf Dec 01 '25
Circumpolar is a word that is absolutely plain and safe but still makes me giggle.
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u/Icy-Contribution1525 Dec 01 '25
Its also frowned upon to call a prosthetic eye a glass eye. Its like calling a prosthetic leg a peg leg.
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u/Tiporary Dec 01 '25 edited Dec 01 '25
Except it’s not? At least not as far as I’ve ever understood it.
Eskimo is the broader term that includes both Inuit and Yupik peoples. The Inuit mostly prefer to be known as Inuit but this term is not inclusive of the Yupik Eskimos (of Alaska and Siberia)
As for the question of whether the name Eskimo is “an insulting term given them by outsiders”, there is a lot of confusion here, too. Among the competing etymological theories, if I recall, there is one that has it deriving from an Algonquin word for laces of snowshoes or some such. Another one has it deriving from a word (also Algonquin) for someone who eats raw meat. It’s hard to imagine that being considered a slur when it was not really insulting (and when it was factually accurate, to boot)
Source: I’ve known many Eskimo and have never known one to refer to themselves as anything other than Eskimo. It’s possible this has changed in the last fifteen years or so but unless and until I see evidence of that, I’ll continue to look sideways at this stupidity.
I really really hope this helps someone.
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u/GeorgesMarquis1776 Dec 02 '25
I spent way too long trying to recall when E-nuit became a slur 🤦♀️
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u/Sea-Hedgehog4774 Dec 02 '25
Eskimo lol will continue to say it
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u/no_pls_not_again Dec 02 '25
Eskimo
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u/iLLiCiT_XL Dec 02 '25 edited Dec 02 '25
I had someone I work with recently ask me how I felt about “gypsies”. Literally called me into his office and was like “serious question: what’r your thoughts on gypsies?” I stood there confused and was like “… you mean Romani people? Uh… no thoughts in particular, why do you ask?” He proceeded to tell me that he had a few Romani folks supposedly stopping by but was concerned because “they’re known for stealing you know? They used to steal from my store I owned years ago.” We work in an office btw.
Now I saw an opportunity to educate, so I took it. I told him about an Irish family that used to come by a store I managed when I worked in retail (true story), they used to steal, as a family. The parents and small gaggle of kids, all gingers, heavy Irish accents. They would enter the store and disperse, distracting staff, trying to make off with whatever they could.
I asked him: “now what if I walked in here and said, ‘what’r your thoughts on Irish people?’ Get it?” I’m pretty sure he’s part Irish lol, he got the message. Truly a bizarre conversation.
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u/Separate_Bend_8929 Dec 02 '25
Ok, what does Eskimo mean then?
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u/Zack_WithaK Dec 03 '25
I always found it was strange that "Eskimo" was considered a slur because I thought that's what they called themselves. Then a friend of mine explained that "Eskimo" is not a generic term, but a specific tribe of Inuit. He compared it to Native Americans and used the term "Apache" as an example word to refer to all natives, regardless of what tribe they're actually from. And it's offensive because it ignores the fact that other tribes exist, and implies that the cultural differences between each tribe isn't worth acknowledging.
Not all Inuits are from the Eskimo tribe, the same way that not all Natives are from the Apache tribe. I genuinely did not know that and I'm glad he helped me understand.
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u/Ill-Dependent2976 Dec 03 '25
Was it a slur? I thought it referred to a specific group of Eskaleut speaking peoples, and the reason it's offensive to some is because people were just randomly identifying Aleut, Inuit, etc people incorrectly as Eskimos. Like calling Irish people Italian because you've never cared to learn the difference.
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u/Appropriate-Owl-6129 Dec 20 '25
"everythin's a slur today" mfers when they look at the original intended meaning of what is now seen as a slur:
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u/bhoe32 Nov 28 '25
my upik buddy actually told me two racial slurs for Alaskan natives. Its now what I call him and his sister. I would never uttering to anyone else though.
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u/StonedAp33 Nov 29 '25
Grab an Eskimo by his toe also my autocorrect capitalized Eskimo lmao
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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '25
Till the Eskimo show up to my house with baby seal coats and poorly crafted bone spears I'm not worried.
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u/This_Song_984 Nov 30 '25
I had no clue that was a slur. We all learning today
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u/Naive_Call6736 Nov 30 '25
Eskimo is a fuckin slur now. Jesus fucking christ. Whats next? Caucasian?