Political Correctness
Political Correctness is a term used to describe language, ideas, politics, or behavior seen as seeking to minimize offense to racial, cultural or other groups.
Over the years Political correctness has started to change not only the way we speak, but also the way we think with emphasis on "Not hurting anyone's feelings" whether they be different Physically, mentally, racially, gender-wise, or in any other way.
As a result of Political Correctness Freedom of Speech has somewhat diminished and personal opinions edged out. Subsequently "the Individual" loses the ability to express his/her opinions freely and with impact.
“The self-censorship resulting from Political Correctness easily trampled freedom of speech.”
(Agustin Blazquez, 8 April 2002)
Gender-neutral language
Feminists are often proponents of using non-sexist language, using "Ms." to refer to both married and unmarried women, for example, or the ironic use of the term "herstory" instead of "history". Feminists are also often proponents of using gender-inclusive language, such as "humanity" instead of "mankind", or "he or she" in place of "he" where the gender is unknown. This can be seen as a move to change language which has been viewed by some feminists as imbued with sexism.
Eg.
The word "mankind" refers to all "human beings" and was not originally intended to exclude women. The feminist movement however saw it differently and preferred to use the word "humanity"
In General
Political correctness is a means to include all of the world's population as equal. People share the same rights but not the same abilities - so in a way PC is trying to correct the idea that "some people are better than others"
Pro's and Con's of PC
PRO'S -
- It encourages awareness of minority groups and encourages inter-cultural competence
- encourages compassion towards others
- It has brought about various days of awareness for groups of people such as "the hearing impaired" and "The visually impaired" (blind awareness week)
CON'S -
- Limits expression and subsequently the impact of what's being said
- minorities are given "special treatment" and ironically things become unfair for the rest of the population.
- PC is used as a way to gain the moral high ground - an "I'm right, You're wrong" attitude
To sum up:
Political Correctness is said to promote equality and consideration towards people of all groups (including minorities) and cultures within a society. And to provide an indirect term for something so as to detract attention away from it. But by creating elaborate round-about phrases for straight forward words, the politically correct are making a bigger deal out of it than it actually is. In short the Politically Correct are making a big deal about the people that may not actually want or need sympathy in the first place.
PC can be used as a way for people (especially those in power) to take the moral high ground - while limiting opposition.
Political Correctness tends to clutter language, rather than create a happy medium for everyone. Instead of bringing about understanding, which is one of the main ideas behind PC, it seems to do more to further alienate minority groups.
Ben Nilsson
