Political Correctness

                                                                 Political Correctness

 

                                                                                         By Lee Hyon-soo

 

Political correctness is a hot topic in the English-speaking Western societies such as the United States and Canada. Political correctness means using words or behavior which will not offend any particular group of people in society. The rationale behind it is that it is important for everyone to be treated equally, fairly and with dignity regardless of gender, race, appearance, ability, religion, and sexual orientation, among other things.

 

The use of gender-specific language seems to have become a thing of the past. Now it is politically correct to use gender-neutral terms. Some examples are:

 

chairman: chair/chairperson

fireman: firefighter

anchorman: anchor

congressman: legislator

postman/mailman: letter carrier

policeman/policewoman: police officer

steward/stewardess: flight attendant

waiter/waitress: server

actor/actress: actor

businessman/businesswoman: businessperson

salesman/saleswoman: salesperson

manpower: workforce

manhole: utility hole

 

Replacing gender-specific terms with gender-neutral ones is an ongoing process. Here is a case in point. The traditional lyrics of Canada’s national anthem “O Canada” included “all thy sons.” But Canadian women lobbied to get the wording replaced with a gender-neutral one, and the Canadian government changed “all thy sons” to “all of us” in 2018.

 

Besides gender-neutral terms, some other politically correct words which are commonly used are:

 

Negro: African American

Indian: Native American

colored people: people of color

illegal immigrant: undocumented immigrant

short: vertically challenged

handicapped: physically challenged

retarded: mentally challenged

blind: vision impaired

deaf: hearing impaired

 

It is interesting to note that some terms which are purported to be politically correct have gone too far. Some examples are:

 

ignorant: factually unencumbered

homeless: residentially flexible

dishonest: ethically disoriented

wrong: differently logical

poor: financially inept

rich: economically maximized

alcoholic: anti-sobriety activist

garbage-man: sanitation engineer

car wash worker: vehicle-appearance specialist

 

Beyond mere politeness or civility, political correctness is “political” in the sense that it aims at bringing about social change. As a matter of fact, political

correctness forces us to think more deeply about our own ingrained and frequently unconscious oppressive attitudes.

 

Granted, there are quite a few people who feel censored by political correctness. They believe that political correctness infringes too much on their freedom of expression. Despite such criticism, it is generally acknowledged that political correctness is vital in society because without it all imaginable prejudices would still be around.