Exotic or unusual things; a collection of items, plants, or objects from foreign or distant places.
From exotic + the Latin neuter plural suffix -a. The word treats exotic things as a category, emphasizing the exotic quality and foreign origins of items.
Museums filled with exotica from the Victorian era reveal how Western explorers were obsessed with collecting bizarre foreign items—many colonial collections were built on the idea that 'exotic' equals fascinating and valuable!
Exotica carries gendered history through colonial-era sexualization. The term 'exotic' was weaponized to fetishize non-Western women, particularly in the context of orientalism and imperial expansion, where feminine 'otherness' became a commodity.
Use when referring to culturally diverse or non-local objects/art without implying othering or fetishization. Avoid applying 'exotic' to people or reducing cultural diversity to spectacle.
["distinctive","culturally diverse","non-local","unfamiliar"]
Women of color fought back against exoticization; contemporary usage should acknowledge how this term historically erased agency while celebrating actual cultural contributions without objectification.
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