Media and Political

Correctness

Political Correctness

• is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts, and, as purported by the term, doing so to an excessive extent

Political Correctness:

- Cultural pluralism- Different kinds of equality(social, national, socaial…)

PC and Cultural Marxism

3 parallels:• totalitarian ideologies• single-factor explanations

of history• declare certain groups

virtuous and others evil a priori

• expropriation (конфискация имущества лишение права собственности)

J. Wilson's comments in U.S. Republic, 1793:

• The states, rather than the people, for whose sake the states exist, are frequently the objects which attract and arrest our principal attention... Sentiments and expressions of this inaccurate kind prevail in our common, even in our convivial, language... ‘The United States,’ instead of the ‘People of the United States,’ is the toast given. This is not politically correct."

‘Ethnic’ Question

• negro – Negro – black –African-American/ member of African Diaspora, person of black races

• Eskimo – Native Alaskan/Inuit• Hispanics – Latino/Latina;

Chicano/Chicana; Spanish American

• Oriental – Asian• Jew – Jewish Person

• “This fall the college has opened a new Access Center in Hyattsville, the geographic heart of the county's Latino population” (The Gazette)

• “Now the nation`s largest minority, Latinos are the prize in the defining battle of politics in the new millenium” (Newsweek)

‘Female’ Question

• Cameraman- camera operator

• Fireman –fire fighter• policeman – police

officer• Actor/actress – actron• Waiter- waitron

‘Age’ Question

• “Japanese toy makers now see senior citizens as their most dinamic market.” (Newsweek)

• “For Ms Jose there is no moral dilemma in breaking the law to bring people from Mexico – most of them elderly or needing medical care – to their tribal hospital in Sells.” (The Dallas Morning News)

‘Disability’ Question

• “The money will be used to provide before-and-after-care educational and social services for children under eight and students with disabilities”. (The Gazette)

• “I would prefer to see a much more focused effort on reducing class size for kids that have special needs, or disadvantaged areas”, Professor Lazear said.” (The New York Times)

• "visually challenged”/ hearing impaired

“Politically Correct" Phrases:

• "Mentally challenged" in place of "Retarded" and other terms• "African American" in place of "Black," "Negro" and other

terms. (However, "Black" is used in English-speaking countries other than the U.S.)

• "Native American" (or "First Nations" in Canada) in place of "Indian"

• "Caucasian" in place of "White", and other terms• "Gender-neutral" terms such as "firefighter" in place of

"fireman“• "Persons of color" in place of "ethnic minorities" or "non-

whites" in countries populated predominantly by people who are white.

• "Holiday", "winter" or "festive" in place of "Christmas"

Euphemisms• the poor - the needy - the ill-provided - the deprived

- the socially deprived - the underprivileged - the disadvantages - low-income people

• Cripple - differently abled - physically different • fat - big-boned - differently sized – bald - hair-

disadvantaged• Deaf – aurally inconvenienced • blind - unseeing• learning disable – special - mentally challenged

people

Satirizing PC:

Thank you for your attention!