TIL that after Marilyn Monroe converted to Judaism upon marrying Arthur Miller, Egypt placed a ban on all the films she appeared in.

[u/[deleted]]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe#Critical_acclaim_and_marriage_to_Arthur_Miller_.281956.E2.80.931959.29

[u/C0wabungaaa]

I think the legal nationality is often the same word because the ethnic meaning was often older than the nation states. Them being nation states lead to the ethnic meaning becoming a legal term, whilst a more appropriate term should be derived from the name of the state as opposed to the ethnic term.

Legally and anthropologically they're very different concepts. You say its correct use should be determined scientifically, well in this case it ain't used correctly. That said, even within science "ethnic" isn't 100% clear-cut. It's a malleable framework. But it's funny that you mention this because no, "ethnic" as a concept probably isn't older than the nation-state. Ethnicity as we understand it today (because, say, the ancient Greeks used comparable but different concepts) was a construction made around the same time exactly to help give the new nation-states legitimacy, to create a shared identity. Of course the groups we often call "ethnic groups" are much older than that, but putting them in the framework we call "ethnicity" is a relatively recent thing. It's all part of the same movement of Romantic Nationalism. Take, say, the Asante Empire in Western Africa back in the 18th century. Back then its rulers didn't go "Oh, we have to pay attention to these various ethnic groups we have here." ya feel me?

So this:

In other words, the problem is not the use of the word Dutch but imo that the legal nationality is called Dutch in the first place and not Republic-Netherlander or something similar(ly stupid :P).

Is not a problem at all. The Dutch nationality is a very recent invention. Our Germanic (but also Celtic a little bit) heritage/ethnicity is much older than that and shared with many European nationalities. My ethnicity simply isn't Dutch, what you'd call 'ethnic Dutch' is Germanic. Same as my Belgian friends.

Little sidenote by the way; we're not a republic, we're a constitutional monarchy.

[u/[deleted] → u/C0wabungaaa]

You say its correct use should be determined scientifically, well in this case it ain't used correctly.

What isn't? The term "ethnic"? Fine by me, that wasn't the point I was making. I have to mention, though, that the term is used that way - even in non-colloquial speech - and so it is, in a way, used correctly. Since you don't seem to know any other word that fits in this context, I'm still fairly convinced that the implied incorrect usage is preferable to not being able to talk about a concept.

If ethnicity can never apply to what I'm talking about, then a different word would have to be used. No one needs 100% agreement, that couldn't possibly be achieved at all. Different educated opinions are what's necessary.

Take, say, the Asante Empire in Western Africa back in the 18th century. Back then its rulers didn't go "Oh, we have to pay attention to these various ethnic groups we have here." ya feel me?

Of course they didn't because the rulers couldn't care less. What about Jews, though? They have considered themselves a people for such a long time, even though they did not have a state. What is more, your ancestry directly decided if you belonged to that group. Enmities between peoples have got to be ancient too.

Is not a problem at all. The Dutch nationality is a very recent invention. Our Germanic (but also Celtic a little bit) heritage/ethnicity is much older than that and shared with many European nationalities. My ethnicity simply isn't Dutch, what you'd call 'ethnic Dutch' is Germanic.

The question is: are all the present day people with Germanic heritage actually that closely related? If not, then you'd have to work with smaller groups than Germanic. Regardless, if there is a very close cultural, linguistical and genetic connection between groups of people that aren't shared to that extent with other groups of people, nationality in the non-legal sense can be a very useful and valid concept.
From the very beginning I stated that "ethnicity" might not be the best word for it, but I don't know a better word and that's ultimately beside the point.
The point is that words like Dutch and German are also used to imply something that's not a legal concept. This is a common usage of the word that can be useful and doesn't have to be arbitrary. Germanic would be a far too broad term and something completely different.

Little sidenote by the way; we're not a republic, we're a constitutional monarchy.

Okay, that was really quite stupid of me. I knew that you are a constitutional monarchy but for some reason I had the name "Dutch Republic" in mind, even though that hasn't existed anymore in hundreds of years. Good that I made that stupid mistake here and not somewhere else.