Political correctness

Political correctness (or PC for short) means using words or behavior which will not offend any group of people. Most people think it is important for everyone to be treated equally, fairly and with dignity. Some words have been used for a long time that are unkind to some people. Sometimes these words have now been replaced by other words that are not offensive. Such words are described as politically correct. The term is often used in a mocking sense when attempts at avoiding offense are seen to go too far.

History

This term has been used since the early 1990s.

Examples

Politically correct words or terms are used to show differences between people or groups in a non-offensive way. This difference may be because of race, gender, beliefs, religion, sexual orientation, or because they have a mental or physical disability, or any difference from what is considered the norm.

Political correctness with race

The PC word "African-American" is used instead of the word "Black".

Political correctness with gender

Throughout the 20th century women have been fighting to have the same rights as men. In PC language this is seen in changes to job titles such as "lineman", "postman", and "chairman" which now commonly go by the gender-neutral titles "lineworker", "letter carrier" and "chairperson" or "chair" as well as with terms having broader application, such as "humankind" replacing "mankind".

Political correctness in sexual orientation

People who participate in a sexual relationship between 'men with men' or 'woman with woman' are commonly called "homosexual" or "Queer" and the PC words being "gay", or "lesbian" is used. The word "queer" is commonly used within the "gay community" to refer to others that are engaging in similar behavior.

Political correctness in medicine

People who are mentally disabled are now rarely described as "mentally retarded" (sometimes called "M.R.") but may be said to have "special needs". M.R. has been changed to I.D.; Intellectual Disabilities.

People who are blind or deaf may be referred to as "vision impaired" and "hearing-impaired". People who cannot speak are never "dumb" but "mute" or "without speech".

Criticism

Some of the new politically correct words are often criticized for being rather ridiculous. Some examples of these are the terms ending in challenged. For example, someone who is very short might be described as "vertically challenged". People also say that things that are obviously bad are called by something else which hides the fact that they are bad. For example, young people who are in trouble with the law, instead of being called "juvenile delinquents" became "children at risk". Some PC terms may be ambiguous i.e. have two possible meanings. "Hearing impaired" can also mean someone who is only partly deaf (hard of hearing).

Words alone cannot be good or bad. It is the way they are used that determines whether people feel they are good or bad. If one person's attitude towards another person is unkind, then new politically correct terms will also start to sound offensive. The important thing is to treat everyone with respect. This is what PC tries to do.