It “fails to recognize South America.”
According to a “Bias-Free Language Guide” used by the University of New Hampshire, the word “American” is “problematic” and therefore should not be used.
“North Americans often use ‘American’ which usually, depending on the contexts, fails to recognize South America,” the guide explains.
“[It] assumes the U.S. is the only country inside these two continents,” it adds.
It recommends using “Resident of the U.S.” or “U.S. citizen” instead.
According to the guide, other “problematic” terms include “opposite sex” (it recommends using “other sex,”) “senior citizen” (it recommends “old people” or “people of advanced age”) and “obese” (it recommends using “people of size.”)