Political correctness

"Politically correct" and "Politically incorrect" redirect here. For other uses, see Politically Correct (disambiguation) and Politically Incorrect (disambiguation).
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"Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language,[1][2][3] policies,[4] or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society.[5][6][7] Since the late 1980s, the term has been used to describe a preference for inclusive language and avoidance of language or behavior that can be seen as excluding, marginalizing, or insulting to groups of people disadvantaged or discriminated against, particularly groups defined by ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. In public discourse and the media,[4][8][9] the term is generally used as a pejorative with an implication that these policies are excessive or unwarranted.[10][11]

The phrase politically correct first appeared in the 1930s, when it was used to describe dogmatic adherence to ideology in totalitarian regimes, such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.[5] Early usage of the term politically correct by leftists in the 1970s and 1980s was as self-critical satire;[8] usage was ironic, rather than a name for a serious political movement.[12][13][14] It was considered an in-joke among leftists used to satirise those who were too rigid in their adherence to political orthodoxy.[15] The modern pejorative usage of the term emerged from conservative criticism of the New Left in the late 20th century, with many describing it as a form of censorship.[16]

Commentators on the political left in the United States contend that conservatives use the concept of political correctness to downplay and divert attention from substantively discriminatory behavior against disadvantaged groups.[17][18][19] They also argue that the political right enforces its own forms of political correctness to suppress criticism of its favored constituencies and ideologies.[20][21][22] In the United States, the term has played a major role in the culture war between liberals and conservatives.[23]

  1. ^ "'politically correct' definition". Cambridge English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Definition of political correctness in English". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  3. ^ "'Politically Correct' definition". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b Kohl, Herbert (1992). "Uncommon Differences: On Political Correctness, Core Curriculum and Democracy in Education". The Lion and the Unicorn. 16 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1353/uni.0.0216. S2CID 145173687.
  5. ^ a b Gibson, Caitlin (13 January 2016). "How 'politically correct' went from compliment to insult". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  6. ^ Florence, Joshua (30 October 2015). "A Phrase in Flux: The History of Political Correctness". Harvard Political Review. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  7. ^ Chow, Kat (14 December 2016). "'Politically Correct': The Phrase Has Gone From Wisdom To Weapon". National Public Radio (NPR). Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Schultz-1993a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Friedman, Marilyn; Narveson, Jan (1995). Political correctness: for and against. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0847679867. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Charles-Wartella was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Hughes, Geoffrey (2011). "Origins of the Phrase". Political Correctness: A History of Semantics and Culture. John Wiley & Sons. 1975 – Peter Fuller. ISBN 978-1444360295. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Perry-1992a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Schultz citing Perry (1992) p. 16
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference willis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hall was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Ford, Becky R. (2017). An Empirical Test of the Effects of Political Correctness: Implications for Censorship, Self-Censorship, and Public Deliberation (Thesis). University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wilson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Messer–Davidow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Mink, Eric (6 October 2016). "Trump's Political-Correctness Con Job". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Conservative Correctness" chapter, in Wilson, John. 1995. The Myth of Political Correctness: The Conservative Attack on Higher Education. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p. 57.
  21. ^ "Don Williams comments – Dixie Chicks Were Right". mach2.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  22. ^ Krugman, Paul (26 May 2012). "The New Political Correctness". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  23. ^ Kaufman, Scott Barry (20 November 2016). "The Personality of Political Correctness; The idea of political correctness is central to the culture wars of American politics". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2016.